The LORD gave the most beautiful sunrise, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
by Tammy Phillips August 7, 2023
O LORD, I give my life to you. I trust in you, my God. [Psa 25:1 NLT]
How does the song go? “I surrender all. I surrender all. All to thee my precious Savior. I surrender all.” When we give our life to the Lord it is not in partial, He wants it all. He gave us His ONLY son so that we could live, here, now and forever with Him. The very least we can do is give all our life to Him. Have you given all your life to God?
I give…
My life My body My spirit My soul My thoughts My kids My grands My family My friends My job My money My giving My home My time My travel My worries My fears My all…to You. I trust in You, my God.
I enCOURAGE you to join me and surrender all. Give your whole life to Him. You may have to do this daily because if you are like me, you might like to try and take things back.
“Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit [who is] in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” [1Co 6:19 NKJV emphasis]
Our life is not ours. We are His.
Viva Magenta: Live. Breathe. Be giving your whole life to the Lord.
“For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature. So, they have no excuse for not knowing God.” (Romans 1:20)
MY HUSBAND JUMPED OUT OF A PLANE FROM 13,000 feet. GUESS WHAT? He hates heights. We were out west and visited Hoover Dam. I wanted a picture 890 feet above the Colorado river on the Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial bridge overlooking the dam. Kris went with me, but he was none too happy about it. He did not linger after the photo op.
You can imagine my surprise when Kris was invited by the Golden Knights, 7th Brigade, BRAVE WARRIORS to skydive and agreed. I was SHOCKED. I reiterate; he HATES heights. As jump day approached, I began to pray more for this “excursion.” I am supposed to be the one with no fear, but Kris did not show any signs of anxiety. He never entertained thoughts other than the fact that he was going to jump out of a plane. Timidity was absent. He wore brave and bold like a uniform.
Kris’ tandem partner was SFC Rick Sloan. As they were preparing to enter the plane, he told us a story of how he had saved another soldier during an exercise. He had broken his arm midair trying to gain control of the other soldiers fall. This story was so comforting to me. NOT! I talked to a few of the Golden Knights and asked how many jumps they had completed. The answer ranged from 3000 -10,000. Wonder where the 7th brigade gets its name, Brave Warriors? Wow. What a job!
Kris willingly and courageously exited the plane about 10:15 AM. It was CRAZY seeing him fall from the sky. My husband faced his fears head on and demonstrated to me that really nothing was impossible with God. If God is for us, who can be against us? No one and no thing!
Sixteen people were brave and dove that day. I wanted to know in one word what they felt. I was surprised by their answers. 2009 Titans Pro Bowl cornerback, Courtland Finnegan answered, “Serene.” Others answered, “Incredible. Peaceful! Exhilarating. Quiet. Tranquil.“ I was surprised most by my husband’s answer, “God!” He explained, “I did not feel like God, but I experienced God.” In air He asked his tandem partner, “How can you see all this and not believe in God? SFC Sloan replied, “That is what we all say.”
In our focus verse, the Bible tells us we have no excuse for not knowing God. He shows Himself in all creation. God’s word also tells us multiple times to be brave, bold, and courageous.
Faith is not always easy, but it is required to please God. God reveals to us who He is, He tells us what He has done, and will do. Our assignment is to be bold, brave, and to trust Him. Live the life He has planned and promised for us. We have no excuse. He has shown us Himself.
Sadly, scripture also tells us, “Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. 22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. 23 And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. 24 So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. 25 They traded the truth about God for a lie. So, they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. 26 That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. 27 And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved. … 29 Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. 30 They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. 31They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. 32 They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.” [Rom 1:21-27, 29-32 NLT]
WOW! Sadly, sound familiar? These are not from my mouth but from God’s.
I enCOURAGE you to stop and see God in creation. When I look at my new grandson, Jack, I am totally amazed and thankful to God for Who He is and what He does. I ditto, my husband, “How can anyone see and not believe in God?”
I enCOURAGE you to be brave and bold without excuse Face your fears. Let go and choose God. You can do nothing without Him and all things through Him. He is real and waiting on your choice to worship Him and to give Him thanks in all things. He has a great life awaiting. He wrote an instruction manual for you to follow Him into your best life.
VIVA MAGENTA. LIVE! BREATHE. BE BRAVE! BE BOLD and without excuse.
“’So, take this seriously. The LORD has chosen you to build a Temple as his sanctuary. Be strong and do the work. … 19 ‘Every part of this plan,’ David told Solomon, ‘was given to me in writing from the hand of the LORD.’ 20 Then David continued, ‘Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. He will see to it that all the work related to the Temple of the LORD is finished correctly.’” [1Ch 28:10, 19, 20 NLT]
In the verses of 1 Chronicles 28:10-20, King David tells his son, Solomon, the Lord has chosen you to build the Temple and David gives him the detailed plans for its construction.
So, take this seriously…See, see the face of God, see the face of the King, see God in this, enjoy the light, live, look at, learn about, observe, and watch.
NOW…at this time
The LORD has chosen you…approved, elected, decided, selected, proved, tried, and examined you.
The LORD has chosen you to_____________________________?
What has the Lord chosen you to do? Don’t know? Seek Him. He promises that you will find him. David told Solomon in 1 Chron. 28:9, “If you seek him, you will find him.”
The LORD has chosen me to:
Love! Go. Pray Write. Be a good wife, mother, friend, leader, and teacher. Get in shape. (Build a temple for His sanctuary. Don’t you know that your body is the temple of God?)
The LORD has chosen you to build a Temple as his sanctuary.
This was Solomon’s charge from King David, but we have the same charge from the Word via Paul, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for [His] good pleasure” (Phl 2:12-13 NKJV). And…
“Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit [who is] in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” [1Co 6:19-20 NKJV] And…
“Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.” 1 Corinthians 3:16-17
We ARE the Temple of God, body, soul, and spirit. It takes work to keep the temple, holy, clean, and pure for the Lord.
10 Then David continued, “Be strong, and do the work.”
Be strong …be firm, be resolute, be bold, be encouraged, be fastened on, be obstinate, be holding on, be bound fast and be sticking to
Be courageous…be strong, be alert, be brave, be stout, be bold, be solid, be determined be persistent .
Do the Work…work, do it, make it happen, create, complete, manufacture, fashion, act, accomplish, attend to, put in order, be at it , exercise, go about, be occupied with, be industrious, deal with it, produce and prepare it.
Don’t be afraid…be fearful, be terrified, be in awe of, be dreadful, be astonished nor be trembling
Don’t be discouraged… be shattered, be broken, be broken down, be broken to pieces, be prostrate, be afraid, be amazed in a bad way, nor be confounded
The LORD God, my God, is with you.
He will not fail you…let you drop, let you fall, cast you down, relax his hand, nor abandon you
Forsake you…let you go, leave you alone, nor be slack concerning you
He will not forsake you…leave, loosen, depart, leave you behind, abandon nor desert
He will see to it that all the work related to the temple of the LORD is FINISHED…completed, accomplished, be at an end.
Remember, we are His temple. We have work to do in Him. There is NOTHING to be afraid of. He is the Author and Finisher of our faith. We are COMPLETE IN HIM (Colossians 2:10). He is given us everything we need to do life, nothing lacking.
I enCOURAGE you, “dear brothers and sisters,I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice–the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.” [Rom 12:1 NLT]
God Almighty is WITH YOU! He will not fail nor forsake you. He has got you. He completes you!
Viva Magenta: LIVE. BREATHE. BE.
Be chosen. Be strong. Be courageous. Be working. Be not afraid. Be not discouraged. Be a living sacrifice. Be the temple of God. Be complete in Him. Be doing it!
“And the very God of peace sanctify you (make you holy) wholly; and [I pray God] your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. [1Th 5:23 NKJV clarity)
“You shall be holy: for I the LORD your God [am] holy.” (Leviticus 19:2 KJV)
“But as He who called you [is] holy, you also be holy in all [your] conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” (1Pe 1:15-16 NKJV)
Charles Spurgeon once said, “If we would follow the Lord wholly, we must go right away into the wilderness of separation and leave the Egypt of the carnal world behind us.” I remember the day the Lord called me to holiness and made the word “holy” come alive.
“You shall be holy: for I the LORD your God [am] holy.” (Leviticus 19:2 KJV)
“But as He who called you [is] holy, you also be holy in all [your] conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” (1Pe 1:15-16 NKJV
For many reasons, He told me to draw a line in the sand and to choose who I was going to serve. John 17:16 tell us “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” We are called to…
Be holy Be set apart Be separate Be sanctified Be cleansed Be consecrated Be dedicated Be devoted Be disconnected Be spotless Be pure Be clean Be unpolluted Be different Be unworldly Be uncommon
From studying the word holy in the Old and New Testament, the list above is what I have surmised as what it means to be holy.
God has called us to be holy. All that God is, He has called us to be. The God News, the Good News, is He never stops calling us onward and upward to all that He is and all that He wants us to be in Him. He paid a high price, Jesus’ life, for us to move from faith to faith; glory to glory; grace to grace; to be holy and set apart.
“Who saved us and called us to a holy calling….” 2 Timothy 1:9.
We are called to be holy.
“’Come out from among them And be separate,’ says the Lord.” (2 Cor.6:17)
We are called to be separate and set apart. We are we are called to be different.
Holiness is a decision we make to align with the Word of God. We must pick sides, God, or Satan; good or evil; right or wrong. (Deuteronomy 6:18) We must keep ourselves on God’s side of the line. How? Walk in love. Read and do God’s word. Lean into Him. Pray with Him. Listen when He responds. When He says go, obey. When He says, change directions, follow. When we sin, repent. And we all sin. We all make mistakes. We then accept and give forgiveness. We must look like God and not the world. We must talk, walk, and be different.
“How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word.” (Psa 119:9 NIV)
Just like the Lord brought the Israelites up and out of Egypt, He can bring us up and out of anything we fall into and make us holy.
“For I [am] the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I [am] holy.” (Leviticus 11:45 KJV)
I encourage you to “put on your new nature, created to be like God–truly righteous and holy.” (Eph 4:24 NLT) “Pursue peace with all [people], and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” (Heb 12:14 NKJV)
My prayer for us all today. Now! May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, make you holy, wholly, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (adapted from 1 Thessalonians 5:23)
VIVA MAGENTA: LIVE. BREATHE. BE DIFFERENT. VIVA MAGENTA: LIVE. BREATHE. BE UNCOMMON VIVA MAGENTA: LIVE. BREATHE. BE WHOLLY HOLY.
“Grandchildren are the crown of the aged.” (Pro 17:6 ESV)
A friend of a friend posed this question, and statement: “If you could make only one more trip, where would be your destination? Heaven is not an option.” A week ago, I probably would have said the Maldives but today, my emphatic answer would be Germantown, Tennessee.
Last week, we were abundantly blessed with the most amazing, incredible gift, our first GRANDson. Our family and friends with grands tried to warn us. Honestly, we heard them but could not believe that anything could come near the love we have for our two sons and their wives. WRONG!!! It is a different love. Even after multiple warnings, it really took me by surprise.
Remember that first-love feeling? Remember the undeniable connection, the spark, the electricity that flowed between you and yours when you first began to fall in love? It was an indescribable love, energy, and elation. All you could think of was your love. I was in this state.
The day after our grand was born, we visited, he and his parents in the hospital. We brought them breakfast. I threw it at them and went to scoop up baby Jack. Normally, I would have at least plated and served it to my first born and his bride, but not today! I entered Lala Land as soon as I walked into the room. I had to get my hands on Jack. They were so gracious and let me hold him for a few hours. I was so greedy and stingy. I only let my husband enjoy our bundle of joy a for a very few minutes of the early morning visit.
I was undone. I was amazed at the perfection of God’s creative gift and found myself breathless. My heart was so full to overflowing with love for this little package of completeness that I couldn’t help but pour forth a multitude of happy tears. I was speechless in his presence, but knew I was ultimately resting in the presence of God and one of His finest works.
We sadly had to leave, give our kids their rest time, and his other grands time to bask in the joy of Jack. As we exited the hospital, we met Aunt C at the door. She exclaimed that she just could not stand being away from our little miracle any longer. I know Uncle P and Aunt CP feel the same.
Afterwards, I dropped my husband off to do a little work. I THOUGHT I would hit a few of my favorite stores. There was one problem. I was still in Lala Land with my noggin in the clouds. My “Jack crown” was so weighty that I felt intoxicated. I was so full of grandparent juice; I could only speak “grandparentese.” I walked in and out of seven of my favorite stores. The feeling would not depart. I was “Jack drunk” in love, could only talk Jack, and proudly wear my Jack crown. Nothing else mattered. My husband was proud to hear my delirium had only allowed me to purchase a couple of cases of diapers and water. I could think of nothing but Jack.
I journeyed back to our room, awaited our dinner visit with JEP, and attempted to process how I was going to function with my new crown. I am still trying to figure that one out.
Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him (Psalm 127:3 NLT). However, there is NOTHING like being a grand!
I encourage “you and your children and grandchildren to fear the LORD your God as long as you live. If you obey all his decrees and commands, you will enjoy a long life.” [Deu 6:2 NLT]. As a grand, I have learned to take this verse very seriously. I wear my crown with pride and infinite joy, but I know it comes with great responsibility to teach our grands. We are charged to instruct our kids and their kids to fear the Lord, which means to be in awe of Him and to live amazed by Him each and every day. I chose my grand name, “Lala,” to remind me of my new assignment. It is an acronym for Living amazed, living amazed! I am crowned, as well as Jack’s Big Kris, Cici, and Pop. I know I can speak for all the Grand’s, we take our duties very seriously. We will also encourage Jack to love the LORD our God with all his heart, all his soul, and all his strength. We will repeat God’s word again and again to our children and grands. We will talk about them when we are at home and when we are on the road, when we are going to bed and when we are getting up. [Deu 6:5, 7 NLT] (“Yep, J.E.P. Just Exactly Perfect, you are our new all-consuming assignment. We love you to infinity and beyond!”- Lala)
Viva Magenta (and today, Azure): Live. Breathe. Be…crowned with grands. It is the best!
by Tammy Phillips July 3, 2023 (Repost from July 2, 2022)
“For freedom, Christ set us free. Stand firm then and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Gal 5:1 CSB)
We throw the word freedom around like a used paper towel. We take freedom for granted. We don’t appreciate the price that men and women paid so that we can be the United States of America. As Christian’s we do not treasure the freedom that Jesus bought us on the cross.
When freedom is taken away is when it is prized the most.
Seriously, STOP and think about our freedom.
What are we free to do today?
Read our Bible
Gather openly most anywhere.
Go to the grocery.
Turn on the air.
Worship publicly.
Go to work.
Drive a car.
Fly anywhere.
Do just about anything.
Our freedom is and was not free. It was bought by the sacrificial blood of Jesus. In the United States freedom was and is expensive, individuals before and after us gave their lives so that we could become and remain free.
I enCOURAGE you in all the festivities, stop, and be thankful for your every freedom. Do not think about what you do not have, but about what you do. “Stand firm then and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery.” From the great city of Clarksville, Tennessee, USA, HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY, tomorrow.
And the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear [a child], since I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” [Gen 18:13-14 NKJV]
Is anything too hard for the LORD ?
“God [is] not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” Num 23:19 NKJV]
Do you believe God is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do?
“For nothing is impossible with God.” [Luke 1:37 NLT]
We need to be about believing the impossible
He created the heavens and the earth and ALL that is in the earth. He hangs the earth on nothing. He turns the night into day and back again.
We need to be about believing the impossible.
He causes the sun to gloriously rise in the east and to magnificently set in the west. He makes sunlight strike water droplets at the right angle to form a perfect polychromatic bow after a rain as a sign of His promise.
We need to be about believing the impossible.
“Thus says God the LORD…Who gives breath to the people on it, And spirit to those who walk on it.” [Isa 42:5 NKJV]
Have you witnessed the birth of a baby? Have you watched a newborn take its first breath? Have you seen ten little toes and fingers adorning the tiny little machine of a body?
We need to be about believing the impossible.
Have you seen the ocean roar into the coast, over and over again, only to recede it an effort not to overstep its boundary? Have you picked up a one-in-a million-minute shell on the beach and observedperfection? Have you plunged your hand in the wavy sea and discovered a treasured conch as big as your head? Have you tried to number the grains of sand on the shore ?
We need to be about believing the impossible.
At 75, The LORD told Abram that he would be the father of many nations. He told Abraham at 99 that he would have a child with his wife Sarah. Abraham dared believe for twenty-five years that nothing was too hard for God. Sarah, Abraham’s wife laughed at the thought. Guess what?
“Sarah CONCEIVED and BORE Abraham a son in his old age, at the SET TIME of which God had SPOKEN to him.” (Gen 21:2 NKJV emphasis)
Sarah conceived the promise. Sarah carried the promise. Sarah delivered the promise at the set time.
What promise has God conceived in you? You AND your household will be saved? You will be healed? You will publish a book? You will lead a ministry? You will get a new job? You will find the love of your life? You will bare your own child?
What promise of God are you carrying? How long have you waited for that promised to be birthed? Do not give in and do not give up. Nothing is too hard for God.
What are you waiting on? Be strong. Be courageous. Stand immovable. Wait because at the set time written in your book. God will deliver the promise. He is truth and He cannot lie. He is in the business of impossible deliveries.
I enCOURAGE you to be about believing the impossible. It is in the impossible that God can show up and show out for His glory alone. Remember, the earth hangs on “nothing.” Nothing is impossible nor too hard for our Great God.
“And Sarah said, ‘God has made me laugh, [and] all who hear will laugh with me.’” (Gen 21:6 NKJV). When you believe and are a witness to God performing the impossible, all you can do is laugh out your unspeakable joy.
VIVA MAGENTA: Live. Breathe. Be…believing the impossible.
“Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh [is] the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD.” (Exo 31:15 NKJV)
Do you know that the word “work” is mentioned more times in the Bible than “love?” We are to be at work. To work is to labor, to move, to act, and to do. It is so much more than a job. To me to work is to walk out this life by faith in whatever we do. And if work is to do, we can do all things through Christ who gives us the strength to do it, right?
I keep hearing the Lord say, “Be at work. Be moving. Be doing. Take action.“
“For [in] six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.” (Exo 31:17 NKJV)
The Lord made it ALL in six days, surely, we can DO what He calls us to in the six days we are given each week and maybe, even a little more. Sometimes, it definitely feels like we need more hours in the day to accomplish. However, over, and over, I have seen the Lord multiply my time when my focus is on Him and when I start the day by surrendering it to Him. (Try it. I guarantee you will accomplish more with Him leading the way.)
According to Genesis 1:28 and Jeremiah 29:11, we all have a plan, a purpose, and work to do. The Lord is our example. When He created, He worked for six days and then he rested. Jesus is our example. At twelve He slipped away from his parents for three days in an out-of-town city, He sat in the Temple listening and answering questions. When his frantic parents finally found him, Mary said, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.” (Luke 2:48 NKJV). His response was, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49 NKJV)
We are to be about our Father’s business. We are to be at work, “whatever” we are called to do. As a Christian, we ARE the Lord’s representative in the “whatever,” whether it be Mom, Dad, community leader, businessman, salesman, baseball player, nurse, doctor, lawyer, writer, or evangelist.
“Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God…and whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men…” (1Co 10:31;Col 3:23 NKJV)
As manager of the Phillips home, shopping for groceries, preparing meals, washing clothes, doing dishes, and paying bills, can seem mundane. Just like sitting through multiple meetings in a day, answering countless phone calls, emails, and texts can seem monotonous. I am sure making dirt was not the most joyful thing God created, but it was a necessary part of His plan. We all have “dirty” work to do as part of His design of maintaining and progressing. So…
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” (1Co 15:58 NKJV)
Our work is not in vain because Jesus said, “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward [is] with Me, to give to everyone according to his work.” (Rev 22:12 NKJV). Our work is not without reward when done unto the Lord. Jesus alone is more than enough reward, but He promises more.
Along with the Colossians, Paul , encourages us to “walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing [Him], being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God…” (Col 1:10 NKJV)
Again, “whatever” we do, we should be fruitful in every good work.
The good news is “whatever” we do and wherever we are at work, we are not alone. God is with us. He is the One who makes things happen to “whatever” we put our hands to. God promises…
The LORD will perfect, complete, workout, finish, His plans for my life and [that which] concerns me; Your mercy, O LORD, [endures] forever; Do not forsake the works of Your hands. (Psalm 138:8) We are to be at work, but it is the Lord who completes the work!
I enCOURAGE you again with the words of my favorite brother, Paul, “Now may the God of peace …make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom [be] glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Heb 13:20,21 NKJV) What has the Lord called you to do? Are you doing it? It is time to be at work.
But the people who know their God shall be strong, and do…work, make , produce. carry out [great exploits]. (Dan 11:32 NKJV)
“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain.” (1 Cor. 15:10NKJV)
My husband was working in our bedroom. He stopped, walked down the hall, kissed me on the forehead and stated, “You are enough.” He returned to his task saying, “I just thought I needed to tell you.”
I was not feeling less than. I meditated. Had I listened to the lies again? The answer was a definitive, “Yes.”
I have been on a rollercoaster, weight loss ride most of my life. I could name every extra pound on my luscious body. Most names begin or end with “not enough.” I have heard…“You are not a good enough wife, mother, friend, or daughter. You are not pretty, skinny, young, smart, strong, successful, or rich enough. Nothing you ever say, do, draw, write, or make is good enough.” Sound familiar?
I learned to tune out my accusers, but the liars were back, “You are not enough!”
BUT GOD! We have a choice to the voice we listen. He gave us His Word that tells a different story. I have heard the Lord say in five different ways in the last week, FIVE, “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares…” (Heb. 12:1 NKJV)
We must turn up His voice to drown out the thief who tries to steal our soul: mind, will, and emotions.
When we hear and believe we are enough, adequate, competent, fit, able, complete, and sufficient for our purpose , we become our own encourager. We come to understand our value is not about our size, appearance, nor any number.
How do we go from a mind set to a mind shift? We exchange the lies for the truths of God. We boldly declare: “I am a child of God, created in His image. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I am loved, brave, and strong. I am important and sufficient for my purpose, here and now. I am enough because He is more than enough.”Even in our failures we are enough. Our victories lie in having the mind of Christ and saying what God says. Would we ever say to anyone else, “You are not good enough?” We must change our narrative to speak kind, loving words to ourselves. Faith comes by hearing. Faith about who we are comes by affirming who we are in Him. By confession we lay aside the weighty words which hinder us. By God’s favor I am what I am, and His grace toward me is not in vain, empty, devoid of truth or of no purpose. I am what I am because of the “I AM.” Our worth is not who we are but Whose we are.
There will always be a Goliath taunting, “You are not enough.” We must slay the enemy with our sword , the word of God. Tune out the lies and turn on the voice of Truth. The lies will try to return but God’s word is always more powerful.
“Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as [being] from ourselves, but our sufficiency [is] from God…”(2Co 3:5 NKJV)
Truth is not about the “I am that I am.” It is all about the “I AM.” It is about who He is and who we are am in Him. He is all sufficient. When we hear we are not pretty enough, hear God speak louder, “ You are am the apple of My eye and made in My image. You are King’s daughter all glorious within! You are enough.”x
I enCOURAGE you to stop listening to the roaring giant and tune into Jesus. Look into his adoring eyes. See how very much He loves you just the way you are right where you are. Truth, you will never be good enough nor do anything bad enough that El Shaddai, God who is More than enough, cannot overcome. Jesus finished the work at the cross. You are enough because is more than enough.
Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me. – Acts 27:25 KJV
Be of good cheer means to be of good courage. Saying “be of good cheer” in the New Testament is just like saying “be courageous” in the Old Testament. Courage is a choice. Courage is “doing it afraid.” Look up the verses below for yourself. In each case instructions are given to cheer up, to be courageous, with supporting reasons why. Read these passages out loud to yourself and be encouraged. Faith comes by hearing. Hear yourself tell yourself why you should be of good cheer and watch your faith grow.
BE OF GOOD CHEER (Acts 27:25 KJV) Be encouraged. I believe God. His word is true. It will be just as it was told you.
BE OF GOOD CHEER (Matthew 9:2 NKJV) Be of good courage. Jesus sees your faith. Your sins are forgiven.
BE OF GOOD CHEER (Mark:50 NKJV) BE OF GOOD COURAGE. It is Me, Jesus. I am here. I am with you. Do not be afraid.
BE OF GOOD CHEER (Mark 10:49 NKJV) Be of good courage. Jesus hears your cries. Jesus stops for you. Jesus calls you. Jesus says: “Rise”
BE OF GOOD CHEER (Luke 8:48 NKJV) Be of good courage. Jesus recognizes you. Jesus does not care if you are woman, child, red, yellow, black or white. Your faith has made you whole. Go in peace.
BE OF GOOD CHEER (John 16:33 NKJV) Be of good courage. Jesus speaks to you. You will have tribulation and trouble. You will have anguish and afflictions. You will be persecuted and pressed. You have peace in Jesus. Jesus has overcome the world.
I enCOURAGE you to be of good cheer! Be of good cheer. Be of good cheer. Choose to overcome every obstacle, every fear and every trial, courageously, in Him and through Him. He was, is, and always will be our Savior.
P.S. David was greatly distressed because people spoke of stoning him, but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God. (1Sa 30:6 NKJV) Many mornings, we need to encourage ourselves because we are distressed but, have we ever faced a trial like stoning? Come on!
Complete in Him 