Tag: Life

True Freedom

Author, Nicole L. RossLeave a comment

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As a military wife, I’ve come to really appreciate what it means to have freedom.  So many people take the freedom that we have for granted, especially in America.  Having the ability to speak, act or think like we want without hindrance or restraint is a privilege that others in many parts of the world do not have. Individual liberties include things such as freedom of speech or the right to wear whatever clothes you want to wear.  Though simple enough, there are some places where people are killed for speaking out of order or where women are only allowed to wear a specific type of clothing.

Are there other ways one can be bound and not realize it?  What about being bound in a state of fear?  For instance, someone might be in a relationship where they are afraid for their life. Instead of leave the relationship and get help, they live in a constant state of fear.  Or another example may be someone who is afraid to get on an airplane and fly.  They will never be able to experience certain parts of the world because of their fear of flying.  Instead of just getting on the plane, they would rather not go and be bound by the confines of their current living environment for the rest of their life.  Freedom and liberty can both come in so many forms of life that we do not even recognize.

The ability to enjoy the freedom that you have should be embraced.  As with all things, true freedom and liberty does have God-given boundaries.  You must be mindful of and stay within those boundaries.  Although you are in the world, you are not to be of the world, so you should always keep the commandments of God and consider those boundaries.  On the flip side however, as the Bride of Christ, we are free and our freedom allows us to follow Him joyfully.  There is no fear in following Christ because perfect love casts out fear and God’s love for us is perfect. Walking in freedom with Christ gives you so much peace about life.  Your worries are transformed into boundless opportunities and you begin to truly have the ability to be all that God has called you to be.

Bondage is a terrible thing, whether it is spiritual, physical or emotional.  So I challenge you today to live a life of freedom.  Freedom is never really free, but thank God for sending His son Jesus to pay the price for you.  Allow Jesus Christ to have full rule and reign over your life because He has already set you free.  Trust God to give you true freedom that comes only from Him. #iDeclare #TrueFreedom

 

Scripture Reference:

Galatians 5:1 KJV “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”

1 Peter 2:16 NLT “For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil.”

Galatians 5:13 NLT “For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love”

Choose To Show Mercy

Author, Nicole L. RossLeave a comment

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Choose To Show Mercy

Compassionate treatment toward someone who you really could be mean and nasty to is what it means to show mercy.  Often times, we get so angry with people and fly off the deep end.  They made me mad, so I am going to give them a piece of my mind.  I’m not going to do this for them or I’m not going to do that.  Bottom line is this, we all make mistakes.  You make mistakes, I make mistakes, we all do.  That’s just a part of life and we expect people to have mercy on us.  We expect people to forgive us when we wrong them, sometimes whether we ask for that forgiveness or not.  Yet, find it virtually impossible to show that same mercy towards someone else.  Why is that?  To me, this goes back to the simple principle of the golden rule.  Aren’t we suppose to treat people the same way we want to be treated?

Taking this a little bit deeper, God shows us mercy each and every day.  Nobody is perfect and He knows that we have all fallen short of His Glory.  He continues to love on us, bless us, protect us, provide for us in spite of our shortcomings because He is just that kind of God.  When I think about mercy, I’m always reminded of John 8, where the lady is caught in adultery and the people are ready to stone her to death.  Jesus steps in and tells them, “he without sin, let him throw the first stone”.  I love that story because as I said earlier is just seems like everyone is quick to point the finger at others and throw stones, when truth be told you should have a few bricks thrown right back at you.  We hand folks over to God’s mercy, yet show none ourselves and that is just not right.

Think about that the next time you are ready to call somebody out and start pointing fingers.  We all have our faults.  Your fault may be different from mine, but it does not make one any worse than the other.  A sin is a sin, but God’s love supersedes all.  Do not beat yourself up over your mistakes and do not beat anyone else up over theirs.  Instead choose to show mercy.  This day and every day I want you to remember that you are clothed with God’s tenderhearted mercy.  How greatly God has blessed you!  How greatly God truly loves you! #iDeclare #ChooseToShowMercy

Scripture Reference:

Psalms 86:5 KJV “For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.”

Ephesians 2:4 ESV “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us”

Titus 3:5 NLT “He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.”

It’s Time To Empower Your Self

Author, Nicole L. RossLeave a comment

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It’s time for us to start empowering our self.  Stop sitting around looking for other people do stuff for you.  As the song says, get up, get out, and get something.  There was a time in my life where I wanted to take the easy way out.  If there was a shortcut or alternative way to accomplishing something that was easier for me, I took it.  Why? Because truth be told I was just trying to get what I wanted quickly and not really put in the work.  If I could let someone else do the work for me and I still get what I want, then so be it.  This may still be the work ethic of some, but by doing this you will never fully learn how to appreciate what you have when you get it.

What does it mean to empower your self?  It means putting in the work.  Work could mean studying, doing research or it could mean simply coming up with a strategy to accomplish a goal and doing it.  To put in the work however, you must have goals.  There has to be an objective that you are trying to reach.  So the first step to becoming empowered is figuring out what your objective is.  What are your goals? Long term? Short term? Immediate?  A lot of times we get so caught up in the day-to-day activities of life that we don’t really think about goals.  We should have family goals, financial goals, career goals, personal goals and the list could go on and on depending on your individual activities.  Set goals for every area of your life.  Anything that you commit your time to should have a goal.  For instance, if you work out three times a week, set a goal that you are trying to achieve while working out.

When you set goals, you empower yourself because now you are looking to no one other than yourself to accomplish these goals.  When you have a goal, it should help you stay focused.  When life happens, as it so often does, you can so easily be distracted.  When you have goals, it helps brings things back into perspective for you and helps you get your mind right.  When you get your mind right, you are then able to operate in the power that God has placed on the inside of you, which will push you to work hard to accomplish your goal, even when you don’t feel like it.

As Christians, we can apply the principle of being empowered spiritually by knowing your word.  The word of God is what gives us the focus and discipline we need to live a life that is pleasing and acceptable in the sight of God.  A life that is righteous and holy.  The word is what gives us not only power, but strength to overcome the enemy.  Having the word of God inside of you gives you confidence; it is the blueprint for life.  It will revolutionize your entire perspective on life.

Empower yourself.  Use the tools given to you and do something with them.  As children of the Most High God, defeat is not an option.  Get up, get out, and get something.  Go get what God has for you! #iDeclare #EmpowerYourSelf

 

 

Scripture Reference:

2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

Deuteronomy 31:6 NLT “So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”