@She_Flourishes
Hey guys, I was just wondering if anyone had good recommendations for a study Bible? Mostly, I just want a Bible with margins and decent space for taking notes. The ones I have now aren't really great for taking notes.
I'm trying to get better about studying on my own, so if anyone has any tips or resources, those would also be appreciated.
Merry Chrismas Eve!! XD
What are your plans for chrismas tomorrow? And what's your favorite chrismas tradition?
(BTW, for those of you who don't know, we have a blog, Instagram, and pinterest account @sheflourishesministries for the blog and Instagram and sheflourishes_ for pinterest. See you there :)
@She_Flourishes Merry Christmas Eve! Even though Jesus wasn't born tomorrow, I will be reflecting on how he still came to offer and spread God's grace, and through his sacrificial death and resurrection, we can be saved. After reading my Bible and reflection, I'm hoping to spend time with my family.
God bless you ❤️
@EbyNamani amen. Thank you so much sis . God bless you. Is there any way we can pray for you?
Jesus was fully God and fully man. Despite His perfectness, His holiness and blamelessness, He was not in sin despite Him having the weakness of the flesh. He still faced the same temptations we go through. He still went through wilderness seasons, moments of persecution, attacks, people seeking to trap Him. He had the attacks of the enemy and the flesh but the difference with Jesus was that He won every battle against His flesh.
Our flesh can have battles with us. It can make us want to envy, when we ignore that voice of envy and chose selflessness we have a victory in Christ but our Christian life is filled also times we fall short. We aren't perfect and won't be, we can fall, we can make a mistake and we could disobey. We are no Jesus where we are perfect but despite our weakness and imperfection we have Jesus Christ who won every battle, overcame every temptation and always triumphed, who now lives in us. He defeated the battles we could never fully win so we can walk in this victory, so we can have His life. It's not us who lives but Christ who lives in us (Galatians 2:20) it means like Christ we have victory over our flesh and we don't need to be under the oppression of the enemy or sin to conquer us. We can have authority and victory in Christ. Jesus was tempted just like us and He knows we will too.
(MORE BELOW)
Whenever you feel your spirit is willing but your flesh is weak, call on Christ to strengthen you, help you and support you. Often when we fall into sin we try to run from God or help ourselves but rather we need to abide to become more like Christ and cling to His help, knowing we can't do anything without Him. Whenever you feel your flesh is winning that's when I challenge you to pray "Holy Spirit come and take over. I invite you. I need your strength to resist. I need your patience for I have none. I need your love. I need your peace" and continue praying this cry out to God over and over. Continually repeat what you need from Him. Trust His there and will help you.
And by the power of the one who had victory over every battle of His flesh even to the time where our Saviour surrender His will for God's will (Luke 22:42), we can trust He will help us overcome.
-etty
Meditate on this scripture and the whole chapter for context.
Hebrews 2:17-18
NKJV
17 Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.
We are promised never to be tempted beyond what we can handle (1 Corinthians 10:13). So when we fall into temptation it's not that the temptation was so powerful or it was beyond what we could handle but in fact, we are promised to have a way of escape and the one who leads us to that escape is the Holy Spirit who strengthens and gives us the grace to resist the devil and flee from temptation (James 4:7, 1 Corinthians 10:13). He guides us to look away, to not speak and convicts us when something is going too far but we need to lean on Him.
For those having trouble with your flesh. You desire or do good but you find yourself doing evil. You want to be patient but you can't help but deal with a short temper. You want to be filled with love but jealousy keeps coming up. You want to be selfless but struggle with selfishness. You want to be helpful but find yourself doing the opposite. You want to walk in purity but find it difficult to control your thoughts.
Don't fight your battles alone forgetting you have the Holy Spirit. When you confess your sins, repent, and accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and saviour you no longer are chained but are delivered. You have the Holy Spirit living in you that the Bible describes as our Helper (John 14:26) don't try to be like Christ without Christ but lean on His Spirit. To bear the fruit of the Spirit you need to abide with The Spirit and there you'll bear much fruit (John 15:4) but the key is to remember you have to abide. You have to decide to go to God, spend time with Him and abide in Him. You have to surrender yourself and cry out for God's help. You need to remember you can't walk this walk alone and live according to His will by yourself.
(MORE BELOW)
Desiring sexual intimacy or sex within itself isn't wrong. It's the way our bodies were created. Sex within itself is a God-given gift, but even though our sexual desires can be there, it shouldn't be our main focus when we are single and not married.
Desiring sex can lead you to rush into a relationship and make unwise decisions. It can even lead you to sin if you're not careful to guard your heart and surrender those desires to God.
God is your father. You can speak to Him openly about anything. You can express these desires and trust that at the right time, if it is His will, then you'll get to experience this gift. As a little kid, you could desire to have your car one day and drive through the streets, but no matter how much you wanted a car as a child, you wouldn't be getting in many years to come. Looking at cars and wanting one would make you feel impatient and not appreciate your blissful youth if you are not careful.
You'll have to wait till you're of age (in some countries 16 and others 18) to drive and then get your license, pass your test, and then buy a car. Similarly, to experience sexual intimacy, there are certain boundaries in place, such as marriage, which is the only legal ground for it. You'll have to be patient to grow in your own walk with God, meet someone who is growing in theirs, start a relationship, get engaged, and get married the right way in order to experience it.
-etty
Can I Go To Others?
Question
Can you ask other people for advice or go to therapy or is that showing dependence on people? Can you share your problems with people?
Answer
There is nothing wrong with that and the Bible encourages us to help one another.
The only problem comes when you go to people first before God. That means your first reaction whenever there is a problem or issue is to talk to your best friends and mentors and that can be wrong. We should always seek God for ourselves, pray to God for ourselves, and seek to understand and build our relationship with God. That's how you'll be so dependent on people that your relationship with God is weak. A relationship grows by the effort you make to communicate. Whenever you have a problem you first go to God, seek Him, and if He can direct you and lead you to a YouTube video, a sermon, a mentor, and a friend to talk to who can help you. That will be God helping you and speaking to you through someone else.
If you're sad and need a friend, talk to your friend. That's good but remember this friend is a human being. They'll get busy. They can't 100 % be there for you all of the time so don't get so attached to them that you start idolising them.
(MORE BELOW)
Attacks On Self-Esteem
Not too long ago I started feeling the enemy attack my security. I would hear his lies telling me I'm not pretty. That I'm not valuable. He would compare me to others and try to make me envy, feel insecure, and be upset. During those times I would go to God in prayer, often crying, and each and everytime God reminded me of truth. He would encourage me and comfort me reminding me the power of my beauty is my heart and character that's rooted in my love for Him. Our bodies change. We get acne. We gain weight. We get sick. Insecurity seeks to fight us to believe we aren't good enough. The others are better. That God made a mistake. That our value is based on looks
But God always will remind us that what He looks at is the heart. A woman with the character of God is the most beautiful woman there is. The world recognizes this kind of beauty. This fleeting world only focuses on fleeting beauty. They don't esteem it like the kingdom of heaven does. But though to the world you might not be seen as gorgeous with that love for God you're nothing short of beautiful.
Proverbs 31:30
ESV
30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
-etty
Fasting is known as a temporary abstinence from food so saying 'Fasting but Eating' seems to be a contradiction, I'm sure. But when I say Fasting, I don't mean the 40 days and Night fast that Jesus did. I mean 'the practice of restraining oneself from indulging in something.'
And that's the challenge for today.
Since I'm going all dictionary today, I'd like to draw your attention to two words: addiction and idolatry. They go very hand in hand to be honest. An addiction is 'an abnormally strong craving' and idolatry is 'the worship of physical objects or images as gods'.
And we all know what the Bible has to say about idolatry.
"Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry."
1 Corinthians 10:14
"Dear children, keep yourself from idols."
1 John 5:21
And to further reiterate, "Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God's love for them."
Jonah 2:8
Safe to say that the Bible confirms it as a no-no.
But it still manages to find its way to people's lives. You may not be carving out cows from wood or snakes from gold to worship, but truthfully, you my be as addicted to your phone, to someone (maybe a celebrity or a friend) or anything just as much as people who make those statues. Does that make us any better than them if we're doing the same thing?
Which is why the challenge for today requires both evaluation and action.
I urge you to look into yourself and identify that one, two or five million things you can't live without. Except God of course ;) You have to be honest with yourself and let the Holy Spirit convict you because this isn't something someone can admit for you. They can tell you but they can never accept it for you.
(MORE BELOW)
@She_Flourishes Wow! This is an eye-opener. I will be deleting my WhatsApp for a few days to focus more on the Lord because that is one of my biggest distractions.
Caring about people's opinions will be the most challenging for me.
In your opinion, what feels like the most challenging part about being a Christian?
@staceReads that's beautiful. I can personally testify it works. That's how I started growing in my faith too ❤️
@She_Flourishes Well, I have been working on focusing on the things I can control for example the things I can consume. Music, books, podcasts, videos, social media. I've been curating it so that it is all focused on healthy and Christ like content. Small changes like that make such a difference. As well as writing a letter to God once a week to talk about all this and ask questions. It really does help me sort out where I am in the world and on this path as God's child