The post Barren first appeared on CHRISTIAN REP.

Should we be angry and refuse to trust those people again?

What if our car breaks down, causing us great frustration and inconvenience? Do we not take the proper steps to fix it so we can drive it again? If we can’t get it fixed…..do we never drive a car again because it might break down? Will our anger from that instance of failure  continue to cause us frustration by keeping us from wanting to have another car? Will that anger make us feel any better as we walk everywhere?

We may be justified in not trusting a car again, but does that really solve the issue at hand or just make us feel more justified in our anger?

Could it be possible that the person who let us down is really a good person, but made a mistake unintentionally? If so, wouldn’t we be hurting ourselves if we refused to trust that someone again? After all, we must have thought they were good people before they made a mistake, so isn’t there a chance that they are still a good person?

It would seem that the best way to solve an issue, would be to first let the anger and disappointment of that situation go….

We need to ask ourselves.……is the reason we are having a difficult time forgiving someone the result of not being able to come to terms with the issue at hand? It seems that if we are able to free ourselves of these negative emotions and first solve the situation, then it really wouldn’t be that hard to forgive the person or persons involved….

If we refuse to forgive and never trust a person again, are we possibly robbing ourselves of real growth? Could it be that the solution to solving a particular issue lies with the very person we refuse to forgive?

If you made a mistake, would you want your friends to give up on you?

Seems that is what forgiveness is all about….

God forgave you didn’t he?

The post Forgiveness first appeared on CHRISTIAN REP.

We often feel alone when:

• The pain in the night is unbearable
• The silence is deafening
• Friends should rejoice with us but are envious
• Family squabbles become bitter feuds
• The darkness engulfs us
• The well deserved promotion is shot down by assumptions
• No one understands
• Everyone says they understand but act as if they could care less
• We’ve tried a million times but continue to feel like a failure
• We’ve asked for forgiveness but there is no hope of receiving it
• Good news is overshadowed by great hurt

You’ve probably been there and felt as if your prayers were going no further than the ceiling.  Let me remind you that not only does your Heavenly Father hear those cries, they matter to Him.  He hears you and cares about what your heart is feeling.

The time you feel completely alone is when you typically withdraw and close your heart off to the world.  Worse than that, you close your Bible and think; I don’t even know what to pray, so why bother and you let isolation MOVE YOU from your Father’s side.

God never moves from us.  We move from Him.  But, even when we stray, move or completely ignore Him…we are never alone.

What verses do you wrap yourself in when you feel completely alone?

Please leave them below and encourage those that are feeling completely alone.

I Know You’re There

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98nG3xH02wo&feature=related

2 Chronicles 13:12
And, behold, God himself is with us 

2 Chronicles 32:8
With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles.

You’re Not alone

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKj4Fcp5S1o

Deut 31:6  Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

Isaiah 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

God With Us

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N_s6nfdxew

Lamentations 3:24-25 

I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him. The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;

The post Never Alone first appeared on CHRISTIAN REP.

What does this look like in real life?  Does it mean we never sin, never get angry, never say the wrong thing or stumble in our walk?  What does it mean when the Lord talks of looking for hearts fully committed to him?

I read this verse and am convinced he can’t be talking about me.  The desire is there to be fully committed, but my life tells a different story.  My life is messy, smelly at times with sin, I get frustrated, say the wrong things….frankly this verse can’t be talking about someone like me….but then I realize that he’s looking at the heart.

If God just looked at my life he would pass by without a second glance.  I’m a mess.  There is nothing of the material saints are made of in my life, nothing that would tell you  I’m a godly man, very little of a holy life for others to see and evaluate.

In fact, if I were under close scrutiny to evaluate my life and determine if I were a Christian I think I would fail the test.  Fruit rejected.  Life a waste.  Failure.

But then I reread these words…God is looking for hearts fully committed.  I so want to be that person, that fully committed one.  Can my heart be fully committed and my life an utter mess?  If God is looking for fruit, I fail.  If he’s looking for a heart that wants to please him no one wants that more than I.

How do I reconcile this paradox?  How do I bring together a heart that wants God with all that is in me and a life that wanders, choices that are messy, a life that doesn’t look much different than the world around me at times?

I don’t know.  I only know this…when his eyes pass my way he will see a messy life, but a heart that truly wants to be fully committed to him.  In the mess of all of this all I can do is trust him to help me follow my heart’s passion for him.

The post A Messy Life And A Heart For God first appeared on CHRISTIAN REP.

As a Child of the King, we don’t have to face fears, failures and an uncertain future alone.  Sometimes we get so overwhelmed with the day to day living that we forget to look to our All Knowing, Always Caring Heavenly Father.  When we come to sit at HIS feet and simply adore Him, may I ask that we place some things at His feet and leave them there.

We can leave these things at the feet of our Lord and KNOW that “it’s” going to be okay.

• Fear, finances, failure, an uncertain future, despair.

• Our Children, parents, lost loved ones, and those closest to us that have yet to trust in Christ

• Dreams, desires, hopes, employment (or lack thereof) health and other issues

The Bible asks us: Is anything too hard for the Lord?  Genesis 18:14  Jeremiah 32:27  Jeremiah 32:17

Come praise the hurt away.

My hope is in YOU Lord.   httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5hd4bB5gfo

We dream big dreams, and hope that God will bless.  We reach rock bottom and hope that God will carry us the rest of the way.  We HOPE in the Lord…the One that hung the moon and sun in place, the One that created all that we know simply by speaking.

Where is your hope?

There are 53 verses on Hope in God available at Biblegateway.com.

Lord, I’m amazed by you! httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tBXRFqVMfI

Everyday God is amazing.  Everyday HIS mercies are renewed. Every single day I have to say, Lord…I’m amazed by YOU.

The post My Hope Is In The LORD! first appeared on CHRISTIAN REP.