by Izabelle Acheson | Dec 3, 2019 | Uncategorized
We are all different ages, work unique jobs, are married or single, have children or have no children, and still despite all of our differences, we all have one necessity in common. We all need quiet time with God.
To sit in the presence of God to just be with Him and worship Him on our own instead of only in church on a Sunday morning, I believe is vital to our well-being and relationship with God. If we never take time to put aside distractions and get quiet in His presence, we will have a weaker level of peace and an underdeveloped relationship with our heavenly Father.
The time we spend in God’s presence, praying, reading, and worshipping, is the foundation for how productive and prosperous every other area of our lives will be.
Everything in our lives stems from our relationship with our God, therefore, if we aren’t experiencing His love from reading the Word and spending time with Him, we won’t share it with others.
If we are overwhelmed and lacking peace because we’ve been too busy to seek God, we’ll get worn out and become unfruitful.
If we are unsure of our future because we haven’t spent time in prayer for God’s direction, we’ll grow stagnant and confused about what we are meant to do.
Not only does God desire personal set apart time with us, our spirit craves it. To grow with God, we must put getting quiet in His presence as a top priority no matter what season of life we are in. When we do this, we will flourish in our relationship with Him and be prosperous, lacking nothing in our lives.
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” ~ Matthew 6:33 NKJV
by Izabelle Acheson | Nov 26, 2019 | Uncategorized
With Thanksgiving being only a few days away I began to think, how many days do we go throughout the year never taking a moment to recognize the blessings in our lives? How many days do we let pass without saying “thank you” to our heavenly Father?
God has given us an innumerable amount of things to be thankful for, such as:
Mercy – “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. 1 Chronicles 16:34
Abundant life – “..I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10
Healing – “Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.” 1 Peter 2:24
Love and everlasting life – “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
Jesus’ intercession for us – “Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.” Romans 8:34
Provision – “And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19
God’s blessings are all around us, don’t overlook them! Every single day we should wake up with thankfulness in our hearts because our heavenly Father has redeemed, healed, and provided for us beyond anything we could earn or deserve.
Let us all make it our aim to never let a day go by without expressing our gratitude to our heavenly Father!
by Izabelle Acheson | Nov 19, 2019 | Uncategorized
Have you ever tried speaking to someone about Christ but the result was not what you were hoping for? When it comes to salvation, it oftentimes takes several different situations and several different people speaking into someone’s life for them to come to Christ. But don’t let that discourage you!
In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church he shares a terrific example of working together to save the lost, “I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow.” (1 Corinthians 3:6-7 NLT) It doesn’t matter who leads a sinner into salvation, we all have an equal part to play and after all, it is the Holy Spirit who is working through us to reach that person anyway.
Paul shows here that the most important thing as believers in the Body of Christ is that we work together as vessels for the Holy Spirit to plant, water, and harvest seeds in people’s lives. If you witness to someone about Christ and they don’t decide at that moment to make Jesus their Lord, you may walk away from that situation upset, feeling like a failure, or wondering what you did wrong, but you aren’t a failure – you simply planted a seed.
You gave another minister something to build off of when they come across that man or woman and talk to them about Jesus. They may continue to build on that seed by watering it or they may be able to harvest it and lead that person into salvation. Either way, we are working together to bring the lost of this world into the Kingdom of God.
As Paul said, it isn’t important who does what, as long as people get saved and God gets the glory.
by Izabelle Acheson | Nov 12, 2019 | Uncategorized
Last week I began a two-part series on influence because I believe who we allow to influence us and who we are influencing can greatly impact our lives, both positively and negatively. We discussed last week how what we see in someone else’s life can affect our relationship with God if we let it. Today I am going to share the responsibility we hold as Christians in a world where all eyes are on us.
As believers we have an enormous impact on the world, people are watching us when we don’t even realize it. Matthew 5:13-16 says we are meant to be salt and light to this world. Specifically, verse 16 (NKJV) says, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Your actions as a believer should be in line with the Bible and glorify God!
Has anyone ever told you the reason they don’t go to church is because everyone in church is a hypocrite? We know that all churches are not overflowing with hypocrites so why do people think that way? Because somewhere, at some time, they were influenced negatively by a Christian. So much so that they now won’t go to church! Situations like this are why it is incredibly important that we follow the Word and walk in love.
The power that our influence holds motivates me to be more genuine with people. There are many lost men and women in the world who have passed up the opportunity of coming to Christ because they think it’s impossible to meet the standards of Christianity. When in reality, none of us are perfect.
We all go through difficulties in life and if we always hide that then we will portray a false image of perfection to the people around us. This portrayal of our lives does not glorify God. Instead of never talking about the difficulties you face, talk about how God brought you through them to encourage someone else!
On the contrary, if all you talk about are the hard times you face and you don’t ever mention God’s goodness and ability to bring you through those situations, then people will wonder what the point is in becoming a Christian because your life looks just like theirs.
I believe our influence is vitally important. Ask the Holy Spirit this week for ways you can improve the influence you have on your job, in your family, or at your church. Don’t allow people to influence you in a way that takes away from your God-given purpose, be genuine with people, and glorify God.
by Izabelle Acheson | Nov 5, 2019 | Uncategorized
Influence plays a significant role in our lives when it comes to living out our God-given calling. If we allow family members, friends, or even people on social media to influence us to a greater degree than the Word of God then we will get off track. We may not notice it at first, it may not even be a big step off track, but still we will not be walking in God’s perfect will.
A substantial amount of damage can be done to our relationship with God and the plan He has ordained for us through what we allow into our minds and life. Influence is powerful, it has the ability to raise people up as well as bring people down. One way we can be positively impacted by other men and women is if we are motivated by the good qualities and accomplishments we see in them. On the contrary, looking at other people’s lives can bring us down if instead of using what we see to motivate us in our own walk and relationship with God, we become envious.
God has a divine purpose and a good plan for every single one
of us, those in the five fold ministry, as well as those who are not. He has
gifted us differently, called us to do different things, and graced us
personally to do them. If we see someone else walking in what God has called
them to do, become envious, then try to walk down that path as well, we’ll be
out of line. Ultimately this will sway us to be disobedient to the Lord’s plan,
even inadvertently.
You have to intentionally guard your own mind and heart; be aware
of who you are letting influence you. Influence itself is not bad, but becoming
envious and insecure because of who you are letting impact you, is.
I pray that this week you look at who and what guides your
life the most. If the instructions and promises of God are not at the top of
your list, take a look at how much time you spend scrolling through social
media, what music you listen to, what movies you watch, what news articles you
read, or what friends you spend the most time with. We often don’t realize
these areas of our day-to-day lives affect us on such a great degree.
Set your focus instead on Jesus’ actions and words. His life
is an extraordinary example of how to commune with the Father, treat those
around us, and be obedient to walk out our callings no matter what.
by Izabelle Acheson | Oct 29, 2019 | Uncategorized
As I was reading Matthew’s Gospel recently this verse stood out to me, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (Matthew 7:11 NKJV). As the Christmas season approaches I’m sure you’ve recently thought about a gift you could get for your spouse, your best friend, your children, or even a neighbor. How did you know that was a gift the recipient would like? Most likely because they either specifically asked you for it and expressed it was something they would like.
God is the same way. He knows things that we would like, for example a better running car, wisdom at our jobs, or a more peaceful life, but if we never go to Him and ask then we are sadly missing out on His promises. Early in Matthew chapter 7 it says, “For everyone who asks receives..” (v.8 NKJV)
God is a loving, generous, liberal giver, so when we ask Him for anything that aligns with His word, He will give it to us. But the key is that we must ask. I once knew a man who said he never asked God for anything, he would only pray and thank God for whatever he already had.
While that may be nice, the Word clearly shows us that God wants to bless us, and that we need to ask for it! God already knows our desires and our needs, but when we come to Him and ask for something that shows our trust in Him and proves that we know not only can He fulfill our desires but that He wants to.
Remember though, there is always a waiting period. It may be an hour, two days, or 6 months. Having to wait for whatever you have prayed to God about does not mean He’s not answering you! Just like a child may ask their parents for a certain Christmas gift in September, even if the parents purchase it, the child still won’t receive it until the end of December.
This week, determine to ask God for one thing – a need, a desire, something for someone else – whatever it may be, put your trust in the fact that our heavenly Father wants to give good things to those who ask of Him.
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