Category Archives: Body, Soul, Spirit

Less is More

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Abby| 19 Comments

By Lanie Dinecola

“Less is more.” The mantra my Mom has chanted to me for as long as I can remember. But hers was a gentle whisper often crowded out by the shouting masses that easily convinced me that, really, more is more.

Experience has proven that both are true.

The shouting masses were right - more is more. More things means more debt, more work, more stress, more worry, more sleepless nights, more furrowed brows, more tense shoulders.

But the gentle whisper spoke of a greater, deeper truth. Less is more. More time, more energy, more space, more freedom, more laughter, more moments… more Jesus.

Jesus’ call begins and ends with “Follow me”- simple as that and I read through the Gospels and I search out the disciples’ responses to Jesus’ call to discipleship I see a trend that laces through each of their stories – “and he dropped his nets,” “and they left their boats,” “and they followed him.”

These two words “follow me” slip over our tongues and out of our minds as if they hold no significance but they were two words that required an immediate and drastic response.

Many did not respond as enthusiastically as the disciples. There are several instances when the reaction looks a little more like “well let me say goodbye to my parents;” “let me just run home real quick and grab some stuff;” “when I’m finished here.” These are the responses I can relate to a bit better.

Over the past five years I’ve lived in both Wales and England and I have done my fair share of moving from house to house, place to place. Let me tell you - this gets real old, real fast! Over the half a decade I was away I managed to accumulate a lot of stuff. Clothes, jewellery, cameras, books, journals and even furniture! Over that time I became fond of a lot of my things. I had favourite things, precious things. I had sweet cards people had given me, little knick-knacks that maybe didn’t look like much but contained sweet memories. A little over a month ago I finalised my obedient response to God to move back to the place where my life story begins, Louisiana. As I began to pack my things for possibly the last time I felt a strong desire in my heart for less. For less stuff. Less clothes. Less shoes. Less books (well… more books!). Less of me.

It was such a heavy load. Carrying myself around on my journey with Jesus has been heavy. I’ve said, “Sure, I’ll follow you but you should know that I come with four suitcases, seven duffle-bags, five boxes, and that’s not including the emotional baggage!”

My experience of packing up my material things became an eerie illustration of this constant conversation I have with God. He whispered to me some pretty sweet somethings about the spontaneity and adventure of leaving it all behind and following him with reckless passion.

This letting go, this unpacking, this weeding out, this demolition of my life is not easy. But I believe that it is imperative that I emulate simplicity as a key design of discipleship and a journey with Jesus will find its expression first in how I choose to flesh out my discipleship. Will I allow myself to carry into new life all of the baggage of my old life? Or will I drop my proverbial nets and run hard after Jesus – barefoot, bag-less, with faith wild and hope untamed?

 

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Contentment of the Soul

Posted on September 14, 2011 by Abby| 8 Comments

By Abi Burton

This summer I was able to attend a women’s conference in Cambridge, UK, all about The Undivided Heart; we heard from a whole host of fantastic speakers but two that really connected for me were a talk by Baroness Cox on ‘The Privilege of Making a Difference’ and a seminar led by Faith Rawley about ‘Soaking in God’s Love’. Baroness Cox had spoken about the particular difficulties faced by the people of Burma, how they had been forced from their homes and villages by the thousands and were now wandering aimlessly; trekking through the jungles and wading through rivers with their few possessions on their backs. They were refugees, fleeing their home countries without a destination to aim for, without hope of finding rest in the near future.

 

  

Later in Faith’s seminar, we were encouraged to take time and reflect on God’s Word from Psalm 91:1-4:

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

One word instantly stood out to me: refuge. I began to understand what that really meant, seeing it that day in the context of the Burmese refugees who were walking and walking, without hope or destination. God began to speak to me about what it meant to take my refuge in Him; slowly seeing that is it more than I had ever imagined! Not only should I see my relationship with Him as a place of shelter, protection and safety but knowing God as my refuge means the opposite to being a refugee.

A refugee is someone who is being driven on without any idea true of where they are going; with God as my refuge, I am aiming straight for Him. A refugee lacks hope of ever coming to rest; my hope is rooted in God and his plan for me: “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure” (Hebrews 6:19).

Instead, we can say to our souls; “Be content.” Just as the Psalmist declared of the Lord in Psalm 46,“[He] is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging” (v1-3).

No matter what the circumstances we are in, whether the world is falling apart around us or it just feels as though it is, “The Lord Almighty is with us; [God] is our fortress” (Psalm 46:7).

This, I believe, is contentment in its truest sense. Not happiness necessarily, which is only one way in which we use the word. The definition of ‘content’ is:

Being satisfied with what one is or has; not wanting more or anything else.

This is exactly the attitude that we adopt when we can look at the circumstance around us and still say “My hope is in the Lord and his plan for me is unswerving.” I am not saying that is the magic cure for the circumstances to change, but I do believe that by looking to God rather than outwardly to the world, or from within ourselves, we will know what it is to trust in God and be at peace. As is God’s command to us:

Be still, and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10).

The beautiful truth about knowing God is that he can be trusted to take on our hopes and fears, whatever it is that we hold dear or that might cause us to run to Him. King David understood what it meant to be content; he did not pretend to have all the answers but he certainly knew and declared the Truth:

My heart is not proud, LORD, my eyes are not haughty; 
I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content. Israel, put your hope in the LORD both now and forevermore. Psalm 131:1-3

 

 

 

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Posted in Abi Burton, Body, Soul, Spirit, Heart for the Nations, Peace, Soul

The Temple of God

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Abby| 6 Comments

By Mary Bea Miller

Do you not know that your body is the temple, the very sanctuary, of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received as a Gift from God? You are not your own, you were bought with a price purchased with a preciousness and paid for, made His own. So then, honor God and bring glory to Him in your body.   

1 Corinthians 6:19-20  The Amplified Bible

I was expecting a very different topic when I volunteered for the post with this Scripture verse. But after I got into it a bit, I realized it wasn’t at all saying what I thought I was going to write about.  So, I had to start with a completely blank slate.  Not a bad thing when you’re studying the Bible.  Here’s what I learned:

SIX ARGUMENTS: Verse 19 begins the sixth of 6 arguments in this chapter which all start with the words, “Do you not know”.  This one goes right to the core of the defense of moral purity.

OWNERSHIP:  The stated reason that we are required by God to abstain from sex outside of marriage has to do with ownership.  “You are not your own.”

Americans don’t swallow this one very easily.  Anyone with a sin nature would have trouble with it, I guess.  But this verse is worded so plainly and put so simply, it leaves precious little room to wiggle out of it.  I really love the comprehensive lists used to illustrate Whose we are, whose we are NOT and how we got there, found in Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible:

“the saints, who are neither their own, nor other men’s, nor satan’s, but God’s; not only by creation, but by choice and covenant; and Christ’s by gift, by purchase, and powerful grace.”

PURPOSE BUILT:  When we were traveling in Ireland once, we met the owners of the very nice B&B where we were staying.  They explained to us that they built it themselves, and designed it specifically to be used as a B&B.  Now if you have stayed in a few B&B’s you might have noticed that some are easier to stay in than others.  That is because most of them started out as homes, not enterprises.  They were built for families, not paying guests.  But this place in Lisdoonvarna was “purpose built”.  And it was noticeably easier to stay in than most of the others.  This verse in 1 Corinthians says the same thing about us.  We were ‘purpose built’ by God, for Him to live in.  He built it with His occupancy in mind, just the way He likes it.  Then paid for it AGAIN, with His own Son, because we had let in an enemy who had acquired squatters’ rights, and had to be forcibly evicted.

Clarkes’ Commentary on the Bible has this to say:

Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost – What an astonishing saying is this! As truly as the living God dwelt in the Mosaic tabernacle, and in the temple of Solomon, so truly does the Holy Ghost dwell in the souls of genuine Christians; and as the temple and all its utensils were holy, separated from all common and profane uses, and dedicated alone to the service of God, so the bodies of genuine Christians are holy….And ye are not your own? – Ye have no right over yourselves, to dispose either of your body, or any of its members, as you may think proper or lawful; you are bound to God, and to Him you are accountable.

GLORIFYING GOD:  As much as we love using the verses saying things like “God sees my heart” as a defense for a behavior of which someone might disapprove, this verse makes a strong case for the point that our outward actions have a real capacity to bring God glory…..or not (implied). And just in case we try to spiritualize it, Paul adds the prepositional phrase “in your body”.  Sound of another door slamming shut.  But it’s not just Paul.  Matthew and Peter seem to agree.

Matt 5:16: Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. …

1 Pet 2:12:  Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. …

So here I am at the end of a pretty hard-nosed chapter of Scripture.  Exits have been blocked, every way of escape is closed.  Unlike many churches over the centuries, I refuse to draw conclusions as to what this means to your life, besides what it says explicitly regarding fornication, but each of us is left to ask the Holy Spirit ourselves.  It truly is the only honest response to 1 Corinthians chapter 6.  What do I do that might be inappropriate for a house of His?  In what ways do I act as if I have retained ownership?

Because I long for my temple to be a place that glorifies Him everyday, all the time, I will be asking these hard questions, and listening hard for His loving response.

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Posted in Body, Body, Soul, Spirit, Mary Bea Miller, Mercy, Power to change

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Deeper Goes the Dying

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Abby| 13 Comments

By Julia Hare

This is a letter that I wrote to some friends when I was living in Zambia in 2007/2008.  I pulled it out recently and felt these words piercing my heart:

“…any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:33

I am learning valuable lessons here, some that I have learned before, but the cost is greater now and so the revelation is going deeper. In the past, these lessons have mostly come to me through circumstances out of my control – hardships, losses. Now it is a choosing.  A choice to let everything go; not in theory, but in reality, to give it all up. It’s so easy to talk about these things, much more difficult when you are actually faced with the choice to live comfortably or to walk on a path of sacrifice. I assure you that no matter how well prepared you think you are, no matter how willing you think you are it is a challenge and a test. Even those of us who are inclined to a simple lifestyle, who live minimally, are challenged to resign to having nothing. I don’t just mean in terms of material possessions, but independence, friendship, identity. There is a choice to be made. We can prop ourselves up with things and people that will make life easier, or we can give in to the opportunity to die.

“Christ has already given us everything by giving us Himself. He asks for everything in return – there must be no reserved corners, no secret disclaimers, no insistence on individual rights, no escape clauses. The bride, in the old ceremony, promises not only to have, hold, love, and cherish, but also to obey. Obedience is a part of love’s burden – for the disciple as for the wife.” Elisabeth Elliot

“Deeper and deeper must be the dying, for wider and fuller is the lifetide that it is to liberate – no longer limited by the narrow range of our own being, but with endless powers of multiplying in other souls. Death must reach the very springs of our nature to set it free; it is not this thing or that thing that must go now: it is blindly, helplessly, recklessly, our very selves. A dying must come upon all that would hinder God’s working through us – all interests, all impulses, all energies that are ‘born of the flesh’ – all that is merely human and apart from His Spirit.” Lilias Trotter

It is easy to say that He is everything to us and all we need until He actually is all that we have.  When there is literally no other option. When He, in all reality, is the only one and the only thing you’ve got, then you know if you are committed. What most of us really mean is that He is everything to us, as long as we have certain possessions, freedoms, people, position. Imagine a life where all of that is stripped from you. Now in that stripped down state, without anything to lean on other than Him, imagine whether you would still choose the way of the cross.

“Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” – Luke 14:27

 

 

Each Wednesday we consider ways of being Completely Devoted to Jesus, body, soul and spirit.

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A Different Spirit

Posted on August 3, 2011 by Abby| 7 Comments

By Angie King

I have been reading from Numbers lately and the story of the Israelite spies sent out into the land of Canaan stood out for me.

At the Lord’s direction twelve men are chosen from the twelve tribes, sent out on a secret reconnaissance mission for six weeks and asked to bring back some of the fruit of the land. When they return their report was mixed. Ten men saw a land that was fruitful but populated by powerful people who seemed like giants, living in fortified cities. One man saw a land flowing with milk and honey and spoke up “We should go up and take possession of the land for we can certainly do it” (Numbers 13:30)

Ten men grumbled and spread fear and doubt among all the Israelites which led to a rebellion and ultimately the death of a generation who never inherited the Promised Land.

Of one man the Lord said “But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to and his descendents will inherit it”(Numbers 14:24)

Ladies, never has the Caleb spirit been more needed than in our generation. The world systems that humanity has put its faith in are crumbling; governments, economies, media. Another humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Africa and Norway is grieving its dead.

That ‘different spirit’ which caused Caleb to rise above fear and doubt and trust in God’s word is crucial to our time. We, the church, the body and bride of Christ bought by His precious blood and indwelt by His Holy Spirit, need to rise up and declare the words of life so desperately needed in our nations.

Let us not be found grumbling about the singer on the worship team hitting a wrong note, or the mess the children’s workers left or the mistakes in the church bulletin.

Ladies, let us rise above the inconsequential. Let us become a whole tribe of women ‘Calebs’, women with a different spirit, women who are bold , courageous and generous; completely devoted in the service of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

 

Every Wednesday we’ll be considering a practice related to our body, soul or spirit to help us completely devote ourselves to Jesus.

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Protection for Your Vulnerable Areas…

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Abby| 7 Comments

By Abby King

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5

Every thought? Every thought?! I know we’re supposed to take our negative thoughts captive and replace them with God’s truth, but sometimes it just seems overwhelming! I have SO MANY thoughts! Where do I even begin to keep track of them?!

Niki’s recent post about using the armour of God (see Ephesians 6:11-17) reminded me of a flash of revelation I had a while ago. The letter to the Ephesians was written during the Roman occupation, and so it’s quite likely that the Apostle Paul had a Roman soldier in mind when he was using this metaphor for how we are equipped for spiritual battles.

His belt, as you can see, is very long. More like a skirt than a belt really. And it protects his… well, most vulnerable area, shall we say?!

So when we are told to put on the belt of truth, it’s a picture of wrapping God’s truth around our most sensitive and vulnerable parts.

If you’re not sure where to start with taking all those unruly thoughts captive start with identifying where your most vulnerable areas might be. Then  do some digging in the bible to find out what truth your particular ‘belt’ needs to be made of. Wrap it round yourself and find His strength and protection right where you need it most.

 

Each Wednesday we consider practices which will help us be completely devoted to Jesus, body, soul and spirit.

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Pure Amazement

Posted on July 20, 2011 by Abby| 6 Comments

By Abi Burton

“Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? Those with clean hands and a pure heart.”

I’ve got good news ladies… That’s already us!

By what he has done for us, We ARE pure, not ‘on the road’ to purity. Just as our salvation is secure when we accept a relationship with Jesus, our purity is restored when we choose to know Him. The set backs in our lives are not the defining moments but the exception to the rule. I am not pretending I’ve always got it right, absolutely not! Many times I have taken wrong choices and allowed impurity into the life God has entrusted to me and yet I am not defined by the times I have fallen short of God’s plan.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” Matt 5v8

As it describes for us in Matthew, our purity comes from our relationship with Jesus in order to deepen our relationship with Jesus; it’s an upward spiral! It all comes from understanding what he’s done for us – once for all time. We were born sinners and destined for a life of sin and dirtiness, unholy and hopeless. Yet when Jesus took our sin upon himself we were born again into a new life of purity; blameless and holy before him!

My heart’s cry echoes that of David when he prayed “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Psalm 51v10

His is a wonderful picture of the closeness between a pure heart and a purposed heart - the true beauty of a pure heart is one that is pure in intention and unwavering from the path set before it. And it all begins with relationship with our Awesome God. What other response is there than to simply stand in awe of Him?

Every Wednesday we’ll be considering a practice related to our body, soul or spirit to help us completely devote ourselves to Jesus.

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Direct Line.com!

Posted on July 13, 2011 by Abby| 1 Comment

By Carole Rawley

I was sitting in my dining room the other day and my attention was caught by a beautiful spider’s web. What was so captivating was that it was glistening with dew. It sparkled in the early morning sun. I immediately started to talk to God about how wonderfully it was made and how clever spiders must be and what was in His mind when He made them……….. I was praying!

Prayer is all about a relationship! A relationship with God who is alive and can speak to us as clearly as we speak with a friend.

The other week we held an all night prayer event with our youth group. It was an amazing time of talking to and hearing from God. One of the most significant times during the night for me was when we encouraged them all to listen to God’s voice for themselves. Taking time out helped us focus on hearing, and one by one they were all able to say what the whisper of the Spirit told them.

But what about hearing God in the ordinary, everyday moments of our lives? The times when we are rushed off our feet at work with deadlines looming! The times when we are utterly exhausted with caring for young children!

The times when our heart is breaking with the death of a dear parent!

I’ve faced all these and many more, just as you have.

So what might help us along this journey of getting to know our most dear Savior and Lord?

Here are some of the things that have worked for me. I hope they might help.

Tips for praying:

 

  • 5 minutes of thanks – write down a list of all the things you’re thankful for

 

  • Journal – record our prayers and write down the answers. Sometimes I’ve used my journal as letters to God.

 

  • Use each line of the Lord’s Prayer as a model for praying– I recommend a book called ‘Learning the Joy of Prayer’ by Larry Lea.

 

  • Use aids such as today’s newspaper or daily Bible reading notes.

 

  • Listen to worship music – focus on the lyrics

 

  • Speaking in tongues – I use the gift of tongues in my prayer life on a regular basis. As the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 14:4, speaking in tongues edifies our spirits. I have also used the interpretation to inform my praying.

 

  • Regular fasting and prayer days – even missing one meal to pray is beneficial. Longer fasts need to be planned and prepared for. I also like to fast with others and then get together to pray throughout the fast. I have found these to be powerful times of engaging with God.

 

  • Prayer walk – especially useful when you have young children and you can push them in the buggy (stroller).

 

  • Use Bible verses as a basis for praying for people, eg. I have particular verses that I pray for my children and their spouses, friends and family. I also ask God for fresh ones as they face different seasons in their lives.

 

Philippians 1:9–11

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

Every Wednesday we’ll be considering a practice related to our body, soul or spirit to help us completely devote ourselves to Jesus.

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Solitude: a difficult discipline

Posted on July 6, 2011 by Abby| 2 Comments

By Beth Hamstra

Have you ever wondered about how difficult it is to quiet our hearts and minds?  Even as I sat down to write this post something witty popped in my mind that I had to quickly type into Facebook as my status.  And then I had to keep checking back to see if anyone commented on how cute and funny I am.  And then I got a text message from one of the girls in my home group since I’m coordinating food for our cookout this week.  After I got all that figured out my husband called to let me know his softball game got cancelled due to weather and that he was on his way home.  So much for my quiet evening of solitude!

I was challenged by a point in a teaching I listened to recently by Darrin Patrick on Mistakes in Church Planting.  He discussed the need for a taking a time-out from the busyness and really truly resting and connecting with God.  The picture he used has really stuck with me:  Apparently in the world of botany there is a condition called dormancy in which certain seeds do not respond even in favorable environmental conditions.  The seed follows its own “internal clock” rather than germinating prematurely.

Developing a disciple of solitude is similar to seed dormancy.  When we shut off the noise and distraction to meet with our God, he develops in us a resiliency to outside pressures and cultural cues.  We no longer feel the need to play the hero for everyone and to volunteer for everything.  Just like Jesus we can “do only what [we see the] Father doing” (John 5:19).

A friend of mine and I recently got creative and started what we like to call a “kid swap.”  We both recognized that it is difficult with young children to get that coveted “alone time” so we decided to babysit for each other once a week.  This gives me three hours in my week (outside of nap time) when I am free to do whatever I want.  And it doesn’t cost me anything!  I usually go to Starbucks with my bible and journal or a good book that I’ve been itching to read.  The trick here is to not waste this time.  Ephesians 5:15-16 (ESV) says “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”

I encourage you to build some moments of solitude into your week. Maybe you could try some of these ideas:

  • Turn off the radio while you’re driving and just connect with the Father
  • Take a walk and pray
  • Get up earlier or stay up late (even 15 minutes to start!)
  • Ask your husband to invite some guys over to watch the game (and the kids) and escape to your favorite coffee shop
  • If you usually give yourself an hour to clean the house, set a timer and race to complete your household duties in 30 minutes.  Then use the remaining 30 minutes to get into the word

I promise you this is a discipline worth mastering!  Let’s walk like the wise and make the most of time.  Shut out the noises that are clamoring for your attention and find a place of solitude.

{Please comment on this post with additional ideas on how you find time to visit that secret place!}

 

Every Wednesday we’ll be considering a practice related to our body, soul or spirit to help us completely devote ourselves to Jesus.

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Debts Owed!

Posted on June 29, 2011 by Abby| 1 Comment

By Carole Rawley

The stone bench was hard and cold. As he looked up all he could see were walls closing him in. He hung his head in despair. He had this sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that he was never going to see daylight again. Never….

As he sat there, he tried to recall the sequence of events that brought him here. For months he had been weighed down by guilt and shame. He owed his master so much money that he never any chance of repaying it. When it had been calculated it worked out at about 20 years wages! It was impossible! His master had ordered that he and his family to be sold into slavery so his debt could be paid.

In the prison cell, at this moment, his shame overwhelmed him and he felt physically sick.

How could he have let this amount build up? He knew the answer even as he was asking the question – he had been indulgent and wasteful. He had been greedy and manipulative. He only had one way out  – he had begged his master for mercy.

And he miraculously gave it!

He couldn’t describe the sense of relief and emotion at that moment when he realized his family were saved and that he would be given a second chance. The weight lifted off his shoulders at that moment and he walked out of the room with such joy in his heart, he thought he would burst.

And then he rounded the corner!

He had bumped into that little squirt who owed him money. Why hadn’t he kept his mouth shut? But as usual, his arrogant self ploughed in and demanded that he was paid. He tried to blot out what happened next but the memories were as vivid as when it happened.  There was a struggle which ended up with his hands around his neck. He hadn’t wanted to hurt him; just frighten him. Everything escalated out of control and he had grown so angry that he’d used his power to have him thrown in jail.

Now the tables were turned. And he was sitting here locked up……

Why hadn’t he joined the dots?

‘I am forgiven and released from the debt I could not pay, only to demand payment of a debt owed to me.’

Why hadn’t he connected the two?

The look on his Master’s face when he found out what he’d done was one he would never forget.

Just then, he heard heavy footsteps outside his cell, the key turning in the lock. The door was flung open and two guards stood there. They did not look friendly………

(Matthew 18: 21-35)

God has forgiven us ALL our sin; past, present and future.

What right do we have not to forgive others who have caused us pain, anguish, lack of peace, heartache, fear…..?

We might not physically try to beat them up, but we do in our minds! It might give us short term relief but our hearts will remain bitter.

Bitter roots remain in hearts where minds sustain and feed them.  When my parents divorced, I was very bitter and angry towards them. I saw them with eyes of pain and deep hurt. I knew I needed to forgive them but had no strength to do so.  One day, as I was praying, I asked God to let me see them through His eyes, not mine.

And everything started to change!

He showed me their own pain, their challenges, their insecurities – and also His overwhelming love for them. I started to let go of the bitter thoughts and receive God’s healing in my wounded heart.

I am forever grateful that God’s power is at hand to help us forgive those who have offended us and release them from the debt they owe. In doing this, we are truly free.

Every Wednesday we’ll be considering a practice related to our body, soul or spirit to help us completely devote ourselves to Jesus.

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