Love Archives - Page 3 of 3

Just Believe.

October 15, 2012 By: Sarah Leffcomment

Hello and Happy Monday! Hope you all (y’all?) had a great weekend. James and I took it pretty easy and did a bit of sight seeing and exploring. We were supposed to get our furniture yesterday, but it was delayed until this evening…only a few more hours! I seriously never knew how much I could miss a bed. Anyways. I finished Matthew and started Mark over the weekend, and this morning I came across a short but impactful verse…

“Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

Mark 5:36b

Like I said—short and sweet. Let me give you a little bit of background information so you understand the context. Jesus was on his way to heal the daughter of Jarius, on of the synagogue rulers, when word reached them that Jarius’ daughter had already died. Assuming they were too late, Jarius became sad and afraid. But, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” I don’t know about you, but I think if I were Jarius I would have found it rather hard to believe anything right then. I would have been thinking about how my child had just died—not that there was still any hope left. But with Jesus all things are possible—even bringing the dead back to life. They carried on towards Jarius’ house, and when they reached it Jesus told all who were there that the daughter was not dead but merely sleeping. Onlookers laughed, but Jesus had other plans. He went to the child, held her hands, and brought her back to life. Amazing.

“Don’t be afraid; just believe.” It sounds so simple, yet it can be so difficult at times. When times are tough, fear and doubt seem like the easiest places to turn. So often we fall into fear, when what we really need to do is trust and believe. When tempted to be afraid, we must remember these words spoken by Jesus. No matter what the circumstance may be, Jesus is much bigger, and able to overcome it. We don’t need to be afraid. Instead, we need to believe in him and in his perfect will for our lives. When we begin to feel hopeless and afraid, remember that Jesus is king of all, and that his ways are higher and better than ours.

Is there something that you are struggling with today? Perhaps it is something that is causing you to live in fear. I challenge you to remember the words of Jesus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe,” and let him guide you through whatever it is that you are going through.

Hope you all are having a great day so far—God bless!

Letting Go.

October 10, 2012 By: Sarah Leffcomment

So. Big news. James and I have just added a new addition to the family…we adopted a little baby kitten yesterday! He is seriously the cutest thing ever. And he is so tiny! So far he likes climbing up my clothes, sitting on my shoulder, and then falling asleep on my lap. I will try and post some pictures tomorrow:) Oh, and his name is Sampson. He must know his name is biblical, because as I was doing my devotions this morning, he fell asleep on my Bible. Precious.

Anyways, while I was trying to read around baby Sampson sleeping on my Bible, I came across this verse…

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often have I longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.”

Matthew 23:37

Jesus continually tried to gather the people of Jerusalem to him. He wanted to protect them, like a hen protects her young, but they rejected him. In the same way, he longs to wrap each of us in his arms and protect us from the sinful world we live in. Unfortunately, just as the Israelites, we tend to reject him. We think we can do everything on our own—and that we don’t need his help. How wrong we are.

When we let him in and allow him to help us, we can never fail. We should learn a lesson from Jerusalem. When things in life become difficult—even when things are easy—the most important thing we can do is relinquish our own personal control, and let him in. He wants so badly to help, guide and protect us. We need to let go of our pride, our idols, and anything else that is getting in his way, and let him overtake us with his perfect love and peace.

This is something that I have been dealing with a lot lately. I try so hard to do things on my own. I think that I can plan every detail of my life on my own, and I tend to think I know what’s best for me. Generally, I end up failing. It’s difficult for me, but I am learning day by day how to give up my own plans, worries, stresses, fears and anxieties, and turn everything over to God. His plan is perfect, and he wants to protect me, just as he wanted to, and still wants to, protect Jerusalem. Letting go can be scary, but the peace that accompanies it makes everything worth it. Is there anything you need to let go of today? Let Jesus in, and allow him to hold and protect you. It may seem hard at first, but it will be more than worth it in the end.

Hope you all are having a great week so far! God Bless:)

New Wineskins.

October 4, 2012 By: Sarah Leff2 Comments

Hello and happy Thursday! This week is really flying by…well actually the last month has really flown by. Is it seriously October already?? Craziness I tell you. Well, I’ll get right down to it. This morning I was reading in Matthew again, and came across this verse…

“Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

Matthew 9:17

I love the way Jesus speaks to us using examples, parables and short stories—it makes his message very easy for me to relate to. Maybe it’s the writer in me, but I LOVE the way the gospels are written:) Here, Jesus is using wineskins to describe our lives, and the way in which we respond to his message.

The message of Christ is like new wine, while our sinful nature causes us to be like old wineskins. When we hear the message, our lives should be changed—significantly. Although we are not perfect, we should strive to live above sin, and flee from the evil desires of this world. However, if we go about living our lives in the same sinful ways, and don’t change our lifestyle, we are like new wine in old wineskins. We can’t contain the truth and the message inside our old sinful shell, so we burst. In order to accommodate the new wine, we need to become like new wineskins—strong, sturdy and able to receive and apply the message of Christ to our daily lives. In order to contain it, we need to make the necessary like or lifestyle changes so that our lives match up with the word and will of God. If we refuse to give up old sinful habits, we remain like old wineskins, and are unable to experience the joy, peace and purpose that comes from the new wine. Make the changes that are necessary; experience true freedom in Christ.

This is something that I have dealt with throughout the years. When I rededicated my life to Christ, I had to give up a lot of the old habits that kept me bound in sin. But, once I did, I was able to experience the true freedom found only in Christ and the “new wine”.

Is there anything in your life that is keeping you from experiencing this freedom? Let it go. I promise you, no matter how difficult it may seem to let go of; it will be worth it in the end.

Hope you all are having an excellent week so far! God Bless:)

God’s Plans.

August 20, 2012 By: Sarah Leffcomment

Hello and Happy Monday! Hopefully you all had a great weekend. Not too much happened over here—just relaxing and enjoying the beautiful weather we had all weekend long. It was beautiful outsideJ

Over the weekend I also read one of my all time favorite verses…

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:11

Like I said, one of my favorite verses. I can still remember memorizing this when I was quite young, and it has definitely stuck with me through the years. When ever I’m feeling a little stressed or unsure of what’s next, I always think of this verse and it reminds me of God’s promises to me. That he always has a plan and purpose for my life, and his plans are always full of goodness and hope. When we allow ourselves to trust him, we can have new hope in that goodness of his plans for us. But, just because these plans are good doesn’t mean we will be spared from all heartache and pain. We all go through things at different times in our lives—test, trials, heartaches, and sometimes lots of pain. However, we can rest assured that the end result will be glorious—better than anything we could ever have imagined.

Trust that God has a perfect; good plan for your life, and allow yourself to trust him enough to see it through.

Hope you are all having a great week so far!

His Ways are Higher

August 8, 2012 By: Sarah Leffcomment

Hello and happy gorgeous Wednesday! It is a beautiful day hereJ I was reading from Isaiah out on the deck this morning (yay) and I came across this familiar passage…

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heaves are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Isaiah 55:8-9

I know I’ve read this passage before, but it really stuck out to me today for some reason. Lately I’ve been struggling with discerning God’s plans from my own. It’s hard sometimes to differentiate between the two. This passage reminded me how important it is to truly seek out God’s plans for our lives and diligently follow those plans always. The footnotes for the scripture say it best. “It is foolish to try and fit God into our mold—to make his plans and purposes conform to ours. Instead, we must strive to fit into his plans.”

So true. No matter how hard I try, my plans are never going to work out as well as God’s. This can be a difficult thing to admit, especially for someone like me who always loves to have a plan. But it’s crucial to do so if we ever want to get where we are supposed to be in life. His plans are perfect, while ours are nowhere even close.

For me, I need to focus on trusting him to reveal his plans to me by learning to be patient, and by following the passions he has placed in my heart. I truly believe that God gives us ideas, passions and talents for a reason. He wants us to do the things we love because he is the one who placed those passions within us in the first place. Making the connection between his plans for our lives and the passions he has placed in our hearts is critical to fulfilling our purpose in life.

Is there something you are passionate about that you feel God calling you to pursue? Don’t wait any longer. Trust that he has a perfect plan for your life, and follow the promptings he places in your heart.

Hope you all are having a great week so far! God Bless J

Hope in the Lord.

August 6, 2012 By: Sarah Leffcomment

Happy Monday! Hopefully you guys all had a great weekend. We didn’t do too much over here, which was nice, but we did watch quite a bit of Olympic actionJ

I’m going to get right in to the portion of scripture I read from Isaiah over the weekend…more specifically one verse that happens to me a favorite of mine.

“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will sore on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Isaiah 40:31

I love this verse. It always makes me think of the movie “Chariots of Fire”, which is one of my all time favorites. As I was reading it this time though, it hit me in a deep and personal place. When I read the footnotes for this verse, it mentioned how “hoping” in the Lord means to “trust” in him. Trusting in him helps us be prepared for when he speaks to us. “Then we will be patient when he asks us to wait and expect him to fulfill the promises found in his word.”

Lately I have been so tired—weary. I’ve been pretty stressed with different things going on in my life, and it is causing me to shut down emotionally and physically. I’m sure most of you have felt this way before at some time or another. I need to refocus and remember that God is in control, and that his plan for my life is perfect—I just need to trust in him to fulfill it in his own timing. Putting my trust in him completely will give me more energy and strength each day.

Have you been struggling lately? Do you feel tired or weary? Maybe it’s time to refocus, regroup, and remember that God is in control. Run to him, abide in him, and he will renew your strength.

Hope you all are having a great week so far! God BlessJ

Facing Your Fears.

August 1, 2012 By: Sarah Leffcomment

Hello and happy Wednesday! It is a beautiful day here…the sun is out and everything looks so much greener after the rain we’ve finally been having. Love it. Anyways, today I thought I would deviate from my devotional journal and talk a little bit about something that has been on my heart lately. Fear. How many of you are afraid of something? You all better have said yes, because everyone everywhere is afraid of something at some time or another. Or, if your anything like me, you’re afraid of a lot of different things. Fear is a normal human feeling. We’re always going to feel it to some extent at certain times, but that doesn’t mean we have to LIVE in fear. Let me explain.

The Bible talks a lot about dealing with our fears. More specifically, it tells us not to fear. Here are a few that I found…

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

Psalms 23:4

We don’t have to be afraid. Even when things seem unbearable and terrifying, there is no need to fear because God is with us. Fear does nothing for us except to make us afraid. It doesn’t strengthen us or help us in anyway. I know it’s easier said than done, but it’s really quite useless to fear because no matter how fearful we become, we are unable to improve our fear filled situations on our own. We have to rely on God to come along side us and protect us from our fears.

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Deuteronomy 31:6

God is always with us. He will not leave us or forsake us. Ever. Remember, God is bigger than anything we could possibly be afraid of. He is bigger than our fears. And he isn’t going anywhere. Even when we feel overwhelmed by fear, he is with us. We don’t have to fear anything, because he is all powerful.

“For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.”

Isaiah 41:13

God is our helper. When fear begins to creep into our lives, we need to turn to God for help. He won’t let us fall.

“There is no fear in love. Perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”

1 John 4:18

John says it best—there is no fear in love. Choose to love instead of fear. Choose to look your fears straight in the face, and choose not to be afraid. You can’t reach your full potential in Christ if you are living a life of fear. The devil knows this, and he tries his hardest to keep it that way. He wants us to live in fear, because that is when we are weakest. He prefers us to be cowardly and fearful instead of strong and courageous. He would rather have us live in fear than to live in love. It may seem easy to give into fear, but it’s important that we resist the temptation. Don’t give into the lies of the devil that would keep you living in fear your whole life. Choose to trust God and live in his perfect love and peace. Choose to be strong and courageous, and to break out of the darkness.

Are you living in fear? Be strong and courageous. Choose today to trust in God, and to live a life of love instead of fear.

God BlessJ

Don’t let anything steal your JOY.

July 24, 2012 By: Sarah Leffcomment

It’s another rainy morning here…and I love it! For some reason rainy days always make me happy. Not sure why exactly.

I was reading in Ecclesiastes again this morning, and came across this verse…

“So I (Solomon) commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of his life God has given him under the sun.”

Ecclesiastes 8:15

This really got me thinking about how I choose to live the life God has given me. Sometimes I feel like I focus so much on the difficult things in life that I forget to be joyful, peaceful and content. It seems like I’m always worried about something, and I find myself getting so caught up in worry that I forget to live. God gave us life not only to do his work, but also to enjoy it. He wants us to find joy in the things we do, as well as peace and contentment with the life he has given us.

The way I see it is this. Life is a journey. A journey that is not going to be without some struggles and trials at times. But, it’s important that we are happy and content with what God has given us. Joy brings refreshment and strength to continue doing his work here on earth. A life without joy would be a sad life indeed. I of all people need to remember that. It’s okay to let go of worry, and learn to be content. Even when life isn’t easy, or you just don’t feel lie being happy, it’s important to remain joyful in the Lord. Don’t let anything steal your joy.

Hope you are having a great week so far. God BlessJ

Pure Heart.

June 26, 2012 By: Sarah Leffcomment

As I was reading my daily devotions the other morning, I realized something. I’m reading too quickly, and not taking enough time for the words to soak in. Let me explain. Right now I am in the book of Psalms. Now don’t get me wrong, Psalms is beautiful, and I really do love it, it’s just after awhile the words kind of start to run together. Especially when you read a few similar Psalms back to back. Plus, a lot of them I have already read…which leads to extreme skimming on my part.

Anyways, I decided to slow down and I took a closer look at this all too familiar verse…

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit away from me.”

Psalms 51:10-11

Read it a bunch of times. Probably even memorized it in my middle school/ AWANA days. Never took the time to actually meditate on it…until now. The footnotes for this particular verse were what really got me…

“Because we were born sinners, our natural inclination is to please ourselves rather than God.”

I guess I always read this verse and didn’t really think about the actual meaning. I mean, having a pure heart and steadfast spirit sounds great…I probably prayed about it, didn’t think anything else of it, and moved on. But this footnote really got me thinking. It’s not just as simple as asking God to give us pure hearts and spirits. Since we are born sinners, and our natural inclination is to please ourselves (impure heart) rather than God (pure heart), we have to work at shifting our mindset by actively asking God to create a pure hear and spirit within us. And actually mean it.

Does that make sense? It’s not enough just to say the words “create in me a pure heart O God”. Even though those words sound nice, they are meaningless without the actions and lifestyle changes to back them up. As sinners in a fallen world, we are going to make mistakes. And mess up. It’s ok. The important piece is being able to take the necessary actions to get ourselves back on track, and in a right relationship with God—living with a pure heart and steadfast spirit.

Personally, I need to work on this. I know I’m not perfect. I don’t try to be. But I could do a better job in actively seeking God, and asking Him to create a pure heart within me. Not only through my words, but also through my actions. I want my actions to back up what I say. And I want to focus more on pleasing God rather than always looking to please myself.

Lord, create a pure heart and spirit within me. Shift my mindset to think of you before myself, and to please you first. I’m sorry for being selfish and for putting myself first more often than not. Forgive me, and continue to purify my heart and spirit everyday. Amen.

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