I don’t know why the other folks showed up at church Sunday, the teacher and minister were obviously preaching to me…..and today I don’t know why others got Gloria Copeland’s devotional in their email…because again, it was tailored for me…
Mar 18 – Nothing to Be Afraid Of
“He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”
(Hebrews 13:5-6)
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Dear Sweetie,
Self-consciousness is a major problem in the Body of Christ today. It keeps us from doing the things God tells us to do. Instead of simply obeying Him, it makes us start to wonder, “Now what will people think of me if I do that? What if I command that person to get out of the wheelchair and he doesn’t get up? What if I start believing for prosperity and go broke? What about that, God? I won’t look too good, will I?”
If you’ve ever been through that, let me tell you something: It doesn’t matter how you look! It’s obeying God that counts. When it comes to obeying God, your own reputation doesn’t count; and the sooner you forget it, the better off you’ll be.
But you know what’s ironic? Once you do that, your reputation gets better. It’s a funny thing. When you lose that desire to protect your image, your image will improve. Why? Because then when people look at you, instead of seeing that puny little image you have of yourself, they’ll see the image of the Lord Jesus coming through.
So put aside that old self-consciousness and develop God-consciousness instead. Stop being dominated by the fear of man and start being motivated by faith in what Jesus can do.
After all, He has promised He will never leave you or forsake you. Grab hold of that. Believe it. Act on it. Once you do, you’ll realize there’s really nothing to be afraid of anymore!________________________________________
Scripture Study: Romans 8:29-39
And so the lesson is learned as I board a plane to go to Dallas,Texas this morning to attend Christian Book Expo 09, to learn about how to publish our ministry materials, sit at the feet of Max Lucado and 43 other authors in specific workshops for 4 long days, share our ministry to Step and Blended families on a national forum, and begin the new path that God has put us on. Six weeks ago, I was only thinking “how fun would that be to go see all the Christian authors and learn!” never imagining what God would bring forth in my life in the meanwhile. Earlier this year I had so asked God to meet Lori aka Lori’s Reflections in real life,because we so share the same beliefs and have children the same ages and visit over email…and now she is my roommate, I pick her up at the airport! Can you believe it? Then there is the unimageinable thing that Rachel Anne of Home Sanctuary and her sister Katherine of Raising Five, are taking Lori and I to dinner in Dallas tonight (we won’t even talk about how I squealed when the email arrived)….my mind can simply not comprehend all that God is giving me…from ministry help to doors being opened in ways we never could have imagined! He even helped me stay on task with laundry yesterday so I have clean clothes already packed and all of Dh’s put away! (its even already in the suitcase and its 5:43 a.m.!…now that’s a miracle for today!
God is good….and I’m heading to Texas because He’s sending me!
Sweetie
