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Recommended Resource: The Names of God by Ken Hemphill

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“Pride is spiritual cancer: it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense.”

— C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

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We are found.

#foundmusicfestival

#found2020

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Simple truths to repeat when you’re in a spiritual battle:

God’s got this

The Lord fights for me

Jesus loves me

Not today satan

I am a child of God

He is able

It is finished

His Grace is sufficient

Joy comes in the morning

I am not alone

I am fearfully & wonderfully made

Fear has no grip on me

Christ is enough for me

He has overcome the world

I am a new creation in Christ

Jesus conquered the grave

Sin doesn’t define me, Christ does

Be still & know

God is good

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“We forget that God’s primary goal is not changing our situations or relationships so that we can be happy, but changing us through our situations and relationships so that we will be holy.”

— Paul David Tripp

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“May the only reason you look back at your past be to thank God for the miracle of life and healing He has been doing in you all the way until this day. Your past in God’s hand is a powerful tool to show others that God can create something beautiful out of a mess.”

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Appearances can be deceptive. The fact that we cannot see what God is doing does not mean that He is doing nothing. The Lord has His own timetable. It is we who must learn to adjust to it, not vice versa. When God’s time comes nothing will stand in His way. We can therefore wait for Him with this happy confidence: “As for God, His way is perfect” (2 Samuel 22:31).

Sinclair B Ferguson

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“When I wake up in the morning and feel guilty and defiled because of yesterday’s ugliness, and hopeless because of yesterday’s failure, my heart needs to be strengthened by two kinds of grace, not just one. I need the grace of forgiveness based on a great past substitutionary sacrifice on the cross, that covers all my sins. O, how precious! And I need the grace of promised help from Jesus today and tomorrow. If I can have forgiveness, and if I can have the promise of omnipotent help from Jesus who is the same yesterday today and forever, my heart will be strong, and I will be able to carry on another day. Such is the glory of grace in the Christian life.”

— John Piper (via set-apartgirl)

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Can you give me tips and activities to get closer to God?

Oh boy, I’m certain everybody and their mama has asked this question and there’s a lot of answers floating around the internet hahahaClassic Bible story of being closer/coming back to God is in Luke 15:11-24, definitely read it!

1. Meet with God before anyone elseAs soon as you wake up, pray and thank God for today or read a devotion. Anything, just make Him first in your day.

2. Get into the Bible every day / Do a Bible studyIf you want to know God better there’s no better way then to read the Bible!You can do Book studies, Topical studies, Character studies, Saturation study (where you think about one piece of scripture over and over in your mind) or Word studies (when you take a specific word in the Bible and discover every single way that it is used throughout the Old and/or New Testaments.)

3. Have a prayer journal / Prayer wallWrite out your prayer requests and record the answers as they come. By writing out these types of things, you will not only be more keenly aware of how God is working in and around your life, but you will become a person who is able to give thanks in all circumstances. And during hard times you’ll be able to remember where God has worked in your life.

4. Get your eyes off yourselfWhen we are focused on our own self—our problems, our issues, our worries, our fears—we forget to look at God. We need to keep the eyes of our heart on God. His abundance. His presence. ame His attributes and look up verses that remind us of who He is. Speak them aloud. Write them down. Declare their truth over yourself, etc. (Psalm 91:1-4) 

5. Repent regularly / Self-examine yourself regularly Ask Him to show you how your heart is struggling. Be specific. Don’t hold back. God loves us the way we are but He loves us too much to stay that way, He wants to be more like Jesus.“Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don’t drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay, that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you fail the test, do something about it.“ - 2 Corinthians 13:5 (MSG)

“Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts, and see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” - Psalm 139: 23-24

6. Listen to worship musicWhen we are stuck—when our mind knows that God is close, but our heart struggles to believe it and move toward Him, it can help to listen to music that opens up our heart to Him. I have a link to my Spotify on my blog with playlists for different occasions which I find to really help.They are songs that help my heart be receptive to the Holy Spirit.

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“Without God it is impossible to love. So remove your expectations off of your neighbor, the guy or girl you like, your wife or husband, your brother or sister, your mother or father, your son or daughter. God is our source and Christ has come.”

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If the sin in your life doesn’t completely break you and turn you to Christ.. and you continue willingly sinning because ‘Jesus still loves me.’ You need to re-evaluate what Scripture says. ‬‬

“This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.”

-I John‬ ‭1:5-6‬ ‭NKJV

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“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”-Proverbs‬ ‭15:1‬

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“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,” Titus 2:11-12 NIV