{your negativity is killin' me}

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. 

{Ephesians 4:31-32}

 a few things that i feel God has helped me realize to help me move on from grudges are:

1. i am not one to judge- God is the ultimate Judge
2. i do not know their heart- God knows their heart (and mine) and STILL wants best for that person
3. i want others to forgive me, so i need to forgive them
4. holding a grudge KILLS my joy!
5. not moving on shows signs of immaturity

holding a grudge is feeding a monster of destruction and resentment. if we love Jesus, then we need to understand that because of Jesus' great love, and because of the cross, who are we NOT to forgive?  because of who Jesus is, and because He so easily forgives us, we can bite our tongues and choose JOY and moving on.

how many grudges are you holding? 

{called to 'come'}

some things i have been studying the past few weeks are:
1. predistination
2. freedom in Christ (new covenant & Jesus)
3. battle of the mind

lets just say. its been a unique few weeks. could these subjects be any more larger and include any more detail?? when God calls us to grow, we better be ready, and we better know our stuff. im really being challenged this week only because i believe what i believe because i was told what to believe, and now, i'm learning it needs to be MY personal belief.

 my devos this week:
 in Hebrews 12 Moses sees a burning bush. (this is a very simplified version :) ). Moses was warned by God "do not come closer". God restrained Moses for a good reason! God knew an unholy man would face death in the presence of a holy God. His words of rejection were actually words of love and words of compassion. In this story we see a contrast between Gods LAW and Gods GRACE.

Law: do not come any closer because you are NOT worthy
Grace: i have made you worthy through Jesus!

Because of the new covenant, and Gods grace through Jesus, we are commanded and called to "COME".

isaiah 55 "come"
matthew 11:28 "come to me"
hebrews author states, "you have come to God!"
james 4 "come near to God"
revelation even wraps up the whole bible with mentioning "come" several times

His law warns us, yet is grace welcomes us. Jesus came to the earth so that we can come to God!!