Tag Archives: Faith

Faith, Write 31 Days Challenge 2021

31 Days of Bible Affirmations – Day 4 – I Am Gifted

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31 Days of Bible Affirmations - Day 4 - I Am Gifted
31 Days of Bible Affirmations – Day 4 – I Am Gifted
I Am Gifted
In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well.
Romans 12:6 (NLT)

Growing up, I didn’t feel like I was good at anything. I was always striving to achieve the best, but what I had was never recognised. Anything I did, didn’t seem to be good enough. I took part in plenty of activities, but I didn’t feel gifted in any of them.

I compared myself with other people a lot. Their standards were something I could never reach. What I didn’t realise was, I was playing this comparison game. And I was losing. As a result, this game I was playing didn’t help me to reach my full potential.

I needed to let go of this idea that everything had to be perfect. The expectations I have placed on myself, and what others expected too, has to be broken down. (I say has instead of had because I’m still working on this). God has given each of us a special gift. Furthermore, He longs to see us reach the potential we all have.

The good thing about God is the amount of grace He gives us. He doesn’t expect perfection. However, what He does expect is for us to reach our potential in the gifts He has gifted us.

Something to think about…

Why not have a go at personalising Romans 12:6 and re-write in your own words what you feel God is saying to you. You could also use my version and change to your own name.

Lynne, God has given you a gift that is unique to you. With the help of His grace, He wants you to use that gift to do what you are called to do well.

Faith, Write 31 Days Challenge 2021

31 Days of Bible Affirmations- Day 3 – I Am Chosen

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31 Days of Bible Affirmations - Day 3 - I Am Chosen
31 Days of Bible Affirmations – Day 3 – I Am Chosen

I Am Chosen

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
1 Peter 2:9

I knew I had a purpose in life, but I wasn’t sure what God had chosen me for. When I felt God ask me ‘Will you use your past to help others have a future?’ I immediately said yes. I didn’t realise though what would be involved, or how long it would take for God’s dream to come to fruition. This was 5 1/2 years ago.

When I said yes to God’s question, I was hoping God would hand me my ministry on a plate. I expected Him to say, “Here you go. This is what I have chosen you to do and this is how you do it”. However, God doesn’t work like this. If God’s purpose in life is to happen, then guaranteed there will be some work to be done. Oh, and a few hard lessons along the way. 

Being chosen comes with a price

I have learnt that doing God’s work comes with a price. When personal information about ourselves is shared, we have to be careful how our heart is guarded. If we are not rooted deep in God, we become tangled up in the lies that is fed by the enemy. I learnt this the hard way and I couldn’t cope with the thought of people knowing what happened in my past. 

Shame became my closest friend for a while. I had to learn over the years to lean on God and the truth He wanted me to know. I needed to experience His love on a personal level. A love which accepts me for who I am no matter what I have been through. 

This is what I want everyone to know. It’s what I feel God has chosen me to do. To bring hope to people who have been through similar experiences to me. I have experienced dark times throughout my life, but when I cling on to the Truth that is God, he brings me out of the darkness into His marvellous light.

Something to think about…

Why not have a go at personalising 1 Peter 2:9 and re-write in your own words what you feel God is saying to you. You could also use my version and change to your own name.

Lynne, I have chosen you and set you apart from anyone else. I have brought you out of darkness and into my light. Tell everyone of what I have done for you. 

Something to listen to…
Faith, Write 31 Days Challenge 2021

31 Days of Bible Affirmations – Day 2 – God’s Strength

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31 Days of Bible Affirmations - Day 2 - God’s Strength
31 Days of Bible Affirmations – Day 2 – God’s Strength

God’s Strength 

The Lord is my strength and my shield;
My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore my heart greatly rejoices,
And with my song I will praise Him.
Psalm 28:7 (NKJV)

Last night’s sleep was pretty pants! (That means it wasn’t very good, to say the least). Most of my sleeps are not great due to the twins waking up through the night. However, last night was especially hard. I wasn’t feeling too great either, so today I am feeling a little fragile.

With everything I have been through over the last month, nights like last night are especially hard on my mental health. Thoughts of not being good enough plague me throughout the day as I struggle to find the strength to get through it.

With this in mind, and knowing I have committed to writing for the next few weeks about Bible affirmations, it only feels right to start with what I really need. God’s strength. This is not going to be an easy journey, as I need to be intentional in what I am doing. I need to push through the barriers that are in place to stop me from achieving what God wants me to hear. I need His strength in order for me to do this.

When David wrote Psalm 28, he was pleading with God for help to deliver him from the hands of his enemies. He was tired and weary and wanted no more. Yet, in the middle of his distress, his mind shifted. He took hold of his thoughts and remembered who God is. God wants us to take our thoughts captive too.

Something to think about…

Why not have a go at personalising Psalm 28:7 and re-write in your own words what you feel God is saying to you. You could also use my version and change to your own name.

Lynne? Lean on me? I can be the strength you need when you feel you have nothing left.
Lynne? Take hold of me? I can be your shield and protect you from those thoughts you have.
Lynne? Trust me? Give me your heart and I will help you.
You will find that once you take hold of what I have to offer, your heart will be light again. You will once more be able to sing my praises.

Something to listen to…

This is a little cheesy and may make you cringe a little, but by the end I was smiling.

Faith, Write 31 Days Challenge 2021

31 Days of Bible Affirmations

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31 Days of Bible Affirmations
31 Days of Bible Affirmations

I have been working through a mentoring course this year, which is run by Jo Naughton. It is designed to find out what God’s purposes are for us, to grow in our gifts and to develop a character that would help us to carry out our calling. Each week we focus on a certain aspect to help towards this.

I can honestly say that this has helped me tremendously in being able to move forward in what I feel God is calling me to do. I have noticed a big change as I have been working through some hard topics. As a result, it is a change that has been a massive step forward in my faith and my healing.

Continue reading 31 Days of Bible Affirmations →
Faith, Five Minute Friday

City on a Hill

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City on a Hill

We live in a mixed up world where light and darkness exists at the same time. All around us we have both good and bad things going on. Picture the homeless man sitting on the sidewalk because he was evicted from his home. This coexists with a stranger offering him some food as he walks by him. The darkness alongside the light.

God wants to use us so much. He wants us to be a light so we will shine into the darkness of people’s lives. He wants us to be like a city on a hill for all to see. 

God wants to use us so much. He wants us to be a light so we will shine into the darkness of people’s lives. Share on X
City on a Hill
But what happens if we feel we are not bright enough to shine because we have hidden dark areas in our own life?

For a while I use to think I was unfit to represent a light from God. I always thought I had to be perfect. After all, who wants to receive hope from someone who doesn’t have all their shit together? 

I use to look at other people in ministry and see how perfect and together they were. I thought I had to be like them in order to minister to other people. It felt like I came up short compared to everyone else. 

It’s taken me a while, but I have realised that I don’t need to be perfect to show others what the light can look like in the darkness. God isn’t calling us to have all our shit figured out before we can serve Him. The people in this world are not daft. They can see when Christianity looks fake and they won’t want any part of it. 

What the people of the world needs to see when they are in their deepest, darkest places are people who show courageous vulnerability. They need people who are honest with what they show in their lives. When the world sees this, they see the light of God within us. 

So, here I am, with the rough edges I have and the darkness I carry. I’m ready to be the city on a hill for all to see. 

Suggested listening 

City on a Hill by Nick & Becky Drake

This post was written for the Five Minute Friday Community. A number of writers gather for a weekly writing challenge around a single word prompt and write to our hearts content, but only for five minutes (or there abouts).

This weeks word prompt is ‘city’. Click here if you want to see what other people wrote. You can also have a go yourself. What do you think of when you hear the word ‘city ’?