Brokenness – by Nancy Leigh DeMoss
This is one of my favorite messages! It defines what brokenness is according to God’s Word and shows from Scripture the way to have revival in our lives! Take an hour and find out what it truly means to be broken before the Lord.
Click on the link. http://vimeo.com/52256169
From My Heart
Issue #2 – “Is He Your Best Friend?”
Is He your best friend?
Wow, already 2 1/2 weeks into the new year! Since starting back classes here at BBTI things have been busy. I have wanted to write to all of you sooner but I guess this will have to do! I appreciated hearing your comments and feedback over the last email concerning prayer and having a prayer partner. It will be great to see what God does in our lives this year!
Okay, so here is the next thing I wanted to share with you.
Whenever I think of the purpose of why we were born, why we have life, I remember Revelation 4:11 where it says,”…thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” We exist for Him! It always reminds me that I should pursue Him like I do no other.
Just think about this…
God Almighty
desires not just to be a friend,
but to be our All in All…everything we need.
He can totally complete us. But how does He do this?
The answer is found in His Word
Here are a few questions I asked myself:
- Is what He thinks of me more important than what others think?
- How much time do I spend in His Word each day learning about Him? Do I guard this time?
- How often do I memorize? “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
- Do I daily meditate on His Word?
- Do I sing praises to Him and worship him with a clean heart? (Knowing that nothing is held back, all is surrendered, and He can speak to me about any subject.)
- Do I trust Him to change me?
“With my whole heart have I sought thee:
O let me not wander from thy commandments.”
Psalms 119:10
Is He really my best friend and am I pursuing Him with all my heart?
Nicole Condra
1 Peter 5:5-11
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From My Heart
Issue #3 – “Forgiveness”
Forgiveness
Forgiveness…such an incredible thing. Forgiveness…it is a part of who God is. When I think of Christ, nailed to the cross, breathing his last breath, I can almost hear the words he spoke,”Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”
Have you ever been hurt by someone? Have you been deeply hurt? Has something happened to you that was not right, was not fair?
Stephen, in Acts chapter 7 as he was being stoned to death said, “…Lord lay not this sin to their charge.” Wow! What kind of love had Christ produced in Stephen, that even in the pains of final death he could say, “…lay not this sin to their charge.”
If we were to ask God to evaluate our lives in light if His Word, what would He find? Of course, He already knows us inside and out. Can I ask you, is there anyone that you have not forgiven?
Is there someone you struggle to love?
In Matthew 5:44 I remember the words of Jesus.
“Love your enemies,
bless them that curse you,
do good to them that hate you,
and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”
How incredibly precious we are to Christ! Just as He saved us through His power, He can also change our hearts so that we love and forgive. At age four, in the backyard of my home in Tennessee, I accepted Christ as my Saviour. I simply asked Him to take away my sins and live in my heart. You know what? He did! He is always faithful and true to His Word.
The Lord has been working in me this month, to help me live each day with a heart submitted to Him. I long to become more like Him! I pray also for all of us, that we would surrender every part of our heart to Him this day, this week, and trust His power to change.
“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?”
— Jeremiah 32:27
Nicole Condra
1Peter 5:5-11
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From My Heart
Issue #4 -“The Past”
“The Past”
It is with simple earnestness that I write this next issue of From My Heart.
I want to share with you something I have learned about God’s forgiveness and cleansing.
Sometimes in life when I have sinned and fallen so short of what I should be in Christ, the temptation comes to get discouraged. “I have messed up again!” But you know what? I continue to feel this way as long as I am focused on self. Instead I must go back to His Word and remember what He has already done for me on the cross!
Our enemy, Satan, would like to remind us of the past, of our sin. He uses guilt so craftily. He does this because it keeps us weak, steals our joy, and keeps us in bondage to sin. To dwell on the past and live with guilt is not trusting or depending on God. It is basically saying to God, “Your Son’s Blood was not enough!” But the truth is, IT IS ENOUGH! Jesus’ blood is enough to cover allllll our sin.
- I have found that dwelling on the past keeps us from loving and serving God fully.
- It will hurt others whom we do not intend to hurt.
- It will continue to hurt us.
- It grieves Him.
Sometimes we just have to admit we have sinned by not trusting Him. Then in faith, we must accept His forgiveness, and let go of the past. Trusting His word is so important. “As far as the east is from the west so far hath he removed our transgressions.” (Psalms 103:12)
– II Corinthians 5:21We were worth His all…Is there anything too hard for Him to do in our lives?
Trusting Him and daily being in His Word has been for me a great source of strength. It helps me to accept consequences of the past, to rest in His love each day, to serve with joy because of the righteousness I have in Him, and to hope in the work He will continue to do!
What about you? Are you free from the past?
Nicole Condra
1 Peter 5:5-8
