Hurting

We've all been through pain in this life and if you have lost a loved one, you'll know that the pain is almost unbearable. We hurt, we cry and most of us get mad at God. Maybe you're going through that right now. Maybe you have lost a loved one or maybe you are going through what I call the storms of life. Those seasons in the desert where you can't see an end to your pain or a way out of your situation.

 Well, if this is you; I just want to remind you that God says "NEVER will I leave you; NEVER will I forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5). He will ride the storm with you. So I encourage you to hope in Him because those who hope in Him will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. And sometimes in those storms of life, we must remember that God is teaching us something, making us stronger and making us more like Him.

  So, when you're in the storm, allow God's peace to flood your heart and have faith that He will bring you through. I know that this is easier said than done but it would save us so much pain if we trusted God more and had more faith. Jesus says in John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid". He goes on further to say in verse 33, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." So I say to you, stand in the midst of your storm with the peace of God in your heart and faith in Jesus to see you through it. Things may be bad now, but they will get better. Someone told me today "when God doesn't calm the storm, He calms His child". So do not allow grief, pain, fear and anxiety to cloud the power and promises of Almighty God. You will make it through this storm by God's grace and He will ensure that it is to His honour and glory!!

The song below really spoke to me and I hope it encourages you and helps you through your tough time.

~ This is SetApartGirl signing out :)

Wounded

Hi again folks, this Set Apart Girl. Tell me, have you ever fallen and gotten a bruise? For most of us the answer would be yes. Well, did you notice how the pain got worse before it got better? You fall and the pain is bad but it is nothing compared to what you feel a day later or even a couple of hours later.

Well, falling in this Christian journey is much like that. We fall, we ask for forgiveness and we get back up but the pain doesn't go away as quickly just like wounds don't heal overnight. I'm afraid that it takes a lot more to climb back up to where we have fallen from than it does to fall to the temptation. But friends, the main thing is that we get back up. Yes,our actions have consequences but "if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse of from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

So I encourage you to press on past the pain, past the hurt because God has said in (Isaiah 57:16),"I will not accuse forever, nor will I always be angry, for then the spirit of man would grow faint before me--the breath of man that I have created." God punishes us but His mercy is great, His loves reaches to the heavens and His faithfulness to the skies (ref. Psalm 36:5) and He will always welcome us back with open arms (this is not an excuse for sin. God cannot be mocked and anyone who knows Him cannot continue willfully sinning) but if we are repentant, if we are truly sorry then we can boldly approach His throne of grace where we can obtain mercy and find grace in our time of need. (ref. Hebrews 4:13)

For now the pain might seem unbearable but you must believe that God will finish the work He has started in you as He has promised. (Philippians 1:6) says "Being confident of this very thing that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ". Hang on, hang in there and don't give up. Continue to walk in the light of His presence.

These are the lyrics to a song by Donnie McClurkin. I hope you are encouraged to keep fighting. Stand on God's Word.

WE FALL DOWN

We fall down but we get up

We fall down but we get up

A saint is just a sinner who fell down

And got up

~Donnie McClurkin

"For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to your goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love...for if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:5-7 & 10-11)

     ~ This is Set Apart Girl signing out...until next time :)

Words Are not Enough

You are beautiful beyond description, 

Too marvelous for words

Too wonderful for comprehension

Like nothing ever seen or heard

Who can grasp your infinite wisdom?

Who can fathom the depths of your love?

You are beautiful beyond description

Majesty enthroned above

I stand, I stand in awe of You

Holy God to whom all praise is due

I stand in awe of You

These are the words to a song that I adore. The words truly express the way I feel about Jesus Christ. His beauty is beyond description, too wonderful for comprehension, He is like nothing ever seen or heard, His wisdom is infinite, the depths of His love no one can fathom. He is Majesty enthroned above. I say without shame, without reservation that I STAND IN AWE OF JESUS CHRIST. Yesterday, I went to a weekly Christian fellowship meeting at my university and we were just having an awesome time in the presence of the Lord, His Spirit was truly moving in our midst and I couldn't contain my joy, my gratefulness, I could do nothing else but say the name of Jesus over and over. I wanted to tell Him, explain to Him what He means to me but words were not enough and I just started to weep before Him. He is indeed too marvelous for words. Suddenly, as I wept, words started to pour from my mouth, I was speaking a language I had never heard before, praising God in another language. 

(Exodus 15:11) says "Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you--majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?

God demands our worship, everything that we are, surrendered to Him. So praise Him, glorify the name of Jesus. Pour your love on Him like oil. "Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD" (Psalm 150:6)

Dear Jesus,

Like oil upon Your feet,

Like wine for You to drink,

Like water from my heart,

I pour my love on You

If praise was like perfume,

I'd lavish mine on You,

Till every drop is gone,

I pour my love on You.

(words of the song Pour my love on You by Juanita Bynum)

I hope that those words would also be your prayer. I urge you to pour your love on Jesus like perfume, give Him everything. Worship Him as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!!!

~Set Apart Girl

Daddy Dearest

Hi, again ladies:) This is Set Apart Girl signing in. I hope you are doing well and I pray that God will continue to bless and keep you.

Yesterday, a friend of mine said something very interesting: she said that we, as women, tend to expect our husbands or future husbands to be just like our fathers. She said that it might not be intentional but that we sub-conciously categorise their similarities and differences and "rate" our spouses based on what our fathers were like.

On the other hand, I was thinking about what she said later that day and I realised that the analogy could also be related to God. I think that we expect God to be like our fathers. For instance, when I first gave my life to Christ, I was very fearful that I would do something to make God leave me, so I felt that I had to do everything perfectly. Because my earthly father deserted me, I thought that I had to "perform" in order for God to love me. We expect God to have all of the faults and shortcomings of our fathers. But ladies, the TRUTH is that our heavenly Father is faultless. He is the perfect Father. So don't look for His shortcomings because there are none. Don't try to catalogue His faults because He doesn't have any. When I realised that I was doing this, I had to surrender it to Him and allow Him to show me Who He was and as I learned His character, I found out that He is the perfect Father. So, I challenge you, if you are doing the same thing, surrender it to God and let Him teach you Who He truly is, through His Word and through His work in your life.

1 John 3:1(NLT)  "See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for He allows us to be called His children, and we really are!"


John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him, should not perish but have everlasting life" Can you imagine that??? God, the creator of this universe, allowed His son to die so that He could adopt us and call us His own. So the next time you feel tempted to allow who your heavenly Father is to be shadowed by who your earthly father is, just offer it in prayer to Daddy Dearest and He will show you who He really is :) ~This is SetApartGirl signing out.

Losing Weight

An acquaintance of mine recently said that the Christian journey is like racing across a bed of hot coals and the more weight we have on us the slower we are and the more we get burned. This is so true...the weight of hatred, fear, pain and sin, keep us back and when we hold on to these things, when we allow them to weigh us down, we will always be burned. Sin is by far the heaviest weight to carry and I'm talking from experience...the consequences of sin are never easy to bear. We spend a lot longer on each hot coal than we really should and we end up with charred feet, definitely looking worse for the wear. When I first gave my life to Christ, I made the mistake of thinking that I was going to heaven and nothing else mattered. How wrong I was!!! If sin remains in our lives we will never move forward in Christ. So, we should not remain on one coal for the rest of our lives, being burned because of some sin that we refuse to let go of.

As Hebrews 12:1 says "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside very weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us"


So guys, let's start shedding those pounds. Let us lay aside every weight and start to run, keeping our eyes fixed on Christ, "knowing that our present sufferings are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18)