Selfishness

Lately there has been a shift in my spirit, a tugging like I have never really grasped before. The tug has become an overpowering desire to shed my current skin and begin anew, just as a snake sheds its skin.

But what is my skin?

Laziness

Gluttony

A few times a year I get a real itch and desire to change. More than just New Year’s resolutions, I make all year resolutions of which rarely ever avail. I want to be a better homemaker but I’m terribly lazy…. I will start on a new path and do well, and then when I fail- I give up. Giving up then leads to feelings of worthlessness, regret, shame, etc. I want to be healthy and fuel my body with the right kinds of foods but after a while I again fail and quit, which I then replace with high amounts of bad things for me because I feel worthless, regretful, shameful, etc.

It’s a vicious cycle with me…. I make a change and a commitment only to give up and quit. I have somehow managed to believe that I am incapable of change and that I am damaged or a perpetual failure…. and when I try and fail it only furthers that idea about me.

Just a little while ago after watching TV instead of doing my morning devotions and opting for no food instead of healthy food because it would have taken too long to make I had a realization about why I am the way that I think I am- SELFISHNESS.

I know I am selfish in many areas, but these 2 big areas of failure for me I never connected to selfishness. As a wife, a mom, a Christian woman I am called to homemaking (Prov 31:27 NLT- She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness). Of course I also work full time outside of the home- but many moms do and still have time to tend to the home where their family lives. They make the time. I do not, or at least not consistently…. I desire and long for the ability to take care of things and stop being lazy but I find myself perched on the couch watching TV instead of getting things done. Sure I know that bathroom is nasty and the kitchen is a mess, but I’d rather watch Netflix. Sure I have a huge pile of clean clothes sitting on the floor needing to be folded that I could easily do while I sit on my butt and watch TV but I’ll do it tomorrow…. seemingly always tomorrow.

Then it comes to health…another blatant area of selfishness. When I put certain foods into my body, my body has negative reactions that affect the people around me; from lethargy to digestion woes and smells I know what to and not to eat in order to be most efficient, but sometimes I would rather just eat crap because 1) I’m lazy 2) it tastes good, but mostly 3) I’m selfish. I know that I am called to keep my health in balance and yet I purposefully ingest things that do harm, I am dishonoring my temple that God has given me (1 Cor 6:19-20-Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body; 1 Cor 10:23-24- You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial. Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others. ; 1 Cor 10:31- So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.).

So after sitting here and writing this out, I am asking the question…how do I banish a life lived selfishly thus far? How do I rid myself of these defects so that I may be the person I deep down want to be? How do I stop believing the lies that I am a failure so that I can succeed? The thing is-I can’t. But He can… John 5:30- By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me. Phil 4:13- I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

I have unknowingly held onto the notion that I can change these parts of myself that I know I cannot. I need spiritual intercession to shed this skin. I need renewal and transformation of the mind. I need a fresh anointing and I have been looking everywhere except towards the giver of life! So as I sit in awe at a realization that is likely blatantly obvious to many, my hope rises. I’m not a failure, I just haven’t allowed the Holy Spirit to give me strength and change me into who I am called to be, at least not in all areas…but I am now willing.

The Message (MSG) version gives me the perfect response on how to give it up and allow the Lord to change me….

Place Your Life Before God

Romans 12:1-2 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Now I am off to some in-depth study and prayer to let go and let God!

-Miranda Embry

Praise Report!

So I briefly mentioned in the last post about the upcoming homeless blessing bag drive we are doing. I just wanted to share how faithful God is….a good friend on mine and sister in Christ has made a generous donation! We already have adult and kid toothbrushes, but now thanks to her we will have floss, toothpaste, razors and combs that are being ordered off Amazon and shipped to us!

Here are the words she used when making the donation: “Well, I know God will take care of us, so if I can help some one else even if it leaves me with a dollar in my account, I know God will provide “

Talk about encouragement!! That is some faithful giving and it will go a long way to share the gospel in the homeless community locally.

If you feel led to give to this cause, Amazon and other sites have tons of items in bulk for inexpensive prices that will be used to minister to the homeless in the name of Jesus.

Here are the items she is donating for this cause as an idea for you to look at:

You can contact us for where to send the items. If you do not wish to give to this, I encourage you to give to SOMETHING! Not just to your local church, give to others.

God Bless!

-Miranda Embry

A Giving Heart

Recently our church service was regarding having open hands and giving what we can to help others and it inspired me to start a new drive for the local homeless community. Helping those who are in need is something I am very passionate about. For this drive we have decided to collect items to make “Blessing Bags” that will be given out to men, women and children in need. Items in the “bags” will be comprised of basic items that many people in society take for granted. Toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, socks, bandages, etc….the stuff that we use everyday that some only see as a luxury. The more I thought about the service and this drive the more convicted I began to feel in my spirit. I wanted to share with you what God was impressing on my heart about having a giving heart.

As believers we are told that we are to go out and meet needs, we are to clothe and feed those who are naked and hungry, we are to give with open hands and heart- not with expectancy of receiving, but because Christ so freely gave His all for us.

I think about my own life, there are SO many areas in my life where I could do more, give more, love more. I am blessed, truly, I have a house, food, clothes, a car, a job and the list goes on- but what am I doing for those who don’t? Am I only focused on getting that cute new pair of shoes or am I considering those who live near me that have no shoes or actually need new ones?

Do I spend time complaining about wanting to go out to eat and be served somewhere so I don’t have to do the cooking or cleaning without realizing how amazingly blessed I am to have that for a complaint? Do I take a step back and think that instead of spending $50 going out to eat that I could take that $50 and buy enough food to feed a family for a couple days?

After reviewing areas in my life where I can do better to love like Jesus I decided to get into the Word and find some guidance, below are just a few examples what I found today.

Proverbs 19:17

¹⁷ If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord—
    and he will repay you!

Matthew 25:35-40

³⁵ For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. ³⁶ I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

³⁷ “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? ³⁹ When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

⁴⁰ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters,^[a] you were doing it to me!’

1 John 3:17-18

¹⁷ If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister^[a] in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?

¹⁸ Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.

James 2:14-16   Faith without Good Deeds Is Dead

¹⁴ What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? ¹⁵ Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, ¹⁶ and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?

A goal of mine is to be like the woman described in Proverbs 31 and I was amazed to even find a reference there:

Proverbs 31:20

²⁰ She extends a helping hand to the poor
    and opens her arms to the needy.

This short examination into my life, my heart and my spirit has encouraged me to get out and give- give more, do more and be more like my Lord has called me to be.

My question for you today…do you have a giving heart?

Examine your hearts….examine your lives. Are you doing enough? Can you do more? Where can you sacrifice in your life to give to the lives of others? The Word questions how the love of God can be in us if we do not do for others, it tells us that without good deeds our faith is dead, tells us when we give to others we are indeed giving to the Lord, and that God will repay that which we give away…. I want to encourage you to get out and do something to share the love of Jesus. Meet a need. Give a hug. Say a prayer. Share your blessings with those who are less fortunate and let them know the Lord loves them because He has commanded you to go to them in love.

-Miranda Embry

Praying Psalm Passages

I decided to open up to the book of Psalm yesterday and start reading. I began in Psalm 23 and ended at Psalm 30. God never ceases to amaze me with how on time He is. I marked up the below passages and combined them to read together as a prayer. Collectively these passages read like a powerhouse of adoration, dedication and thanksgiving to Him. I hope they speak to you as they have to me!

-Miranda Embry

Psalm 23:6

6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me

all the days of my life,

and I will live in the house of the Lord

forever.

Psalm 25:4-5, 15, 21

4 Show me the right path, O Lord;

point out the road for me to follow.

5 Lead me by your truth and teach me,

for you are the God who saves me.

All day long I put my hope in you.

15 My eyes are always on the Lord,

for he rescues me from the traps of my enemies.

21 May integrity and honesty protect me.

for I put my hope in you.

Psalm 27:1, 4-6, 11, 13-14

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—

so why should I be afraid?

The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger,

so why should I tremble?

4 The one thing I ask of the Lord—

the thing I seek most—

is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,

delighting in the Lord’s perfections

and meditating in his Temple.

5 For he will conceal me there when troubles come;

he will hide me in his sanctuary.

He will place me out of reach on a high rock.

6 Then I will hold my head high

above my enemies who surround me.

At his sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy,

singing and praising the Lord with music.

11 Teach me how to live, O Lord.

Lead me along the right path,

for my enemies are waiting for me.

13 Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness

while I am here in the land of the living.

14 Wait patiently for the Lord.

Be brave and courageous.

Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.

Psalm 28: 6-7

6 Praise the Lord!

For he has heard my cry for mercy.

7 The Lord is my strength and shield.

I trust him with all my heart.

He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy.

I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.

Psalm 29:1-2, 11

1 Honor the Lord, you heavenly beings;

honor the Lord for his glory and strength.

2 Honor the Lord for the glory of his name.

Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.

11 The Lord gives his people strength.

The Lord blesses them with peace.

Psalm 30: 10-12

10 Hear me, Lord, and have mercy on me.

Help me, O Lord.

11 You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing.

You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy,

12 that I might sing praises to you and not be silent.

O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!

(All verses are in the NLT)

Prayer for use Before Reading God’s Word

Heavenly Father, I want to come to You now before I read Your Word and ask that as I read You would impart Your spiritual wisdom and understanding in me so that I may grow to know You more.

Lord I pray that Your Holy Spirit would bring revelation to the things that You desire from me that I may be a constant vessel for You.

As I read and study Your Word, may I remember that it is through Your Word that I know what it means to follow Jesus and to live a life that glorifies You.

Help me to gain insight into teaching and instruction that all my steps would be guided by You.

Father, I pray that everything I do would be done to Your glory.

I know that it is only through the reading and studying of Your Word that I am able to focus on the pure and lovely things of heaven and am able to truly live.

Let Your Word be a light to my path and let it be a convicting force in my daily walk.

I pray that You would open my eyes to see the glory that is in Your Holy Scriptures so that I may have the endurance to remain steadfast.

I pray that the gift of discernment and revelation would be imparted in me as I study the Scripture so that I may know Your perfect will for my life.

In the might name of Jesus I pray, AMEN!

Derived from: Col. 3:17, Col. 1:9-14, 2 Tim.3:15-17, Psalms 119:105, Matthew 4:4, Romans 15:4, Heb. 4:12, John 1:1, Job 23:12

Miranda Embry

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Devotional: Focus on the Good!

One of the simplest things we can do as Christians to be overcomers in this life is to fix our thoughts on good, positive things; and one of the worst is to fixate on the negative.

Have you ever noticed how when you are in a bad mood, or feeling down- the more negative and depressing thoughts you think the worse you feel? Or if you become angry and keep thinking about whatever it is, it seems to grow more and more? The reason is because the enemy wants us to stay in that bad negative space and we allow him to keep us there by choosing to focus on the bad instead of the good. He cannot attack us with physical weapons, he can only badger our minds with spiritual malady (remember: Ephesians 6:12).

One of my favorite quotes: when I change the way I look at things, the things I look at change.

This is SO true! We can even see this in a scriptural example:

Romans 12:2 (GW) “Don’t become like the people of this world. Instead, change the way you think. Then you will always be able to determine what God really wants—what is good, pleasing, and perfect.”

When we dedicate our live to Christ we are to change. Our minds also need to change.

If you want to stop being depressed, angry, ungrateful- stop thinking about negative things! You can choose what you want to think about! Just because a thought comes into your mind doesn’t mean that you have to allow it to stay there. If you focus on the good- you can’t dwell on the bad.

Angry with someone? Pray for them, then write out (or seriously think) what good there is in the situation or in them as a person

Depressed? Write a gratitude list, pray and thank God for what He has given you and all the good in your life (I promise it’s there), and get over it

Philippians 4:8 (NLT) says “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”

No matter what situation has landed upon you, tragedy or minor glitches in your plans; if you choose to focus on the good and not the bad your views will change; your heart will change, and most of all- you will be living the way we as Christians are called to live. Changed.

Proverbs 17:22 (ESV) “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”

Miranda Embry

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Devotional: The POWER He Provides

Ephesians 1:19 (GW) “You will also know the unlimited greatness of his power as it works with might and strength for us, the believers.”

If this isn’t an encouraging, and promissory verse about the believers of Christ, I don’t know what is!

As a Christian, from time to time we take for granted the power we have in Jesus and sometimes we ignore it altogether. We all know the miracles and signs that Jesus performed while He was living on this earth, and we have all marveled at His power- but lest we forget that through the death, burial, resurrection- we were given that same power when He sent us the Holy Spirit!

In John 14:12 (HCSB), Jesus- and I repeat- JESUS says to US: “I assure you: The one who believes in Me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.”

So what is holding us back to true power in the Lord, the very same power that was given to Him by God and was delivered to us through the Holy Spirit; US! In our day and age and in our humanness to reason and doubt we are the ones holding ourselves back from the power we have in Jesus. Whether it be fear, doubt, negative self-feelings, or simply ignorance to this biblical promise; the acceptance and utilization of this power depends on our willingness to believe that we have it. Jesus didn’t die for nothing… He died for our weakness, for our sin, for the freedom that only comes from God and we are to be stewards of this salvation by going forth and doing/living like Jesus!

I want to encourage you today…you DO NOT have to live a pseudo victorious life as a Christian- you CAN have a POWERFUL life! Dig into the Word, believe in what He says, not just some of it but ALL OF IT! Only then can you know the amazing power that you have to live this life victoriously and to share the message thoroughly with the world!!!

THE MORE JESUS YOU GOT, THE MORE JESUS YOU GIVE!!!!

Miranda Embry

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Devotional on Sanctification

Psalm 139:23-24New Living Translation (NLT)

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.

24 Point out anything in me that offends you,

and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

What is sanctification? Simply put, it is a separation from sin and to be set apart for a purpose. When we are born into the kingdom of heaven, we are sanctified by the separation of a life of sin and death through the salvation that comes from Jesus Christ; however I do not believe that sanctification stops there. To me, this passage from Psalms is a prayer for sanctification at its finest. Yes we are sanctified at the point of salvation, but our walk in the Lord is a constant progression. We are to keep growing in Him!

We will all fall short and remain with sin in our life, but the asking for the removal of such things is a continual process of sanctification. This is a process and prayer I do very often. I do not want to have anything in me that is not of God or that grieves the Holy Spirit. I want my mind to be renewed, my temple to be clean, my heart to overflow with the abundance of the Word, and my life to reflect the life of Jesus and the love I am commanded to give.

I would encourage you today, read and re-read this passage. Turn it into a prayer and ask the Lord to reveal and remove anything that is hindering your walk today. Call on the Holy Spirit to give you the strength to overcome!

Miranda Embry

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Devotional: Worthlessness

How many times have you felt worthless? How many times have you felt that you have failed God so much that He could never truly love you and that you truly don’t deserve His love?

I have experienced this a lot in my life. The biggest hurdle to get over has been to realize that He loves me no matter what. The Word of God teaches us that He loved us before we loved Him (1 John 4:19 “We love because he first loved us.”)

Jesus died for our sins, for our worthlessness, for our humanness, for our struggles and our shortcomings. Nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:38 “I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love which Christ Jesus our Lord shows us.”)

The next time you are feeling worthless, remember that we all fall short of the glory of God, no one is perfect and we never will be, but the point is to not wallow in condemnation (which is not of God), but to heed conviction (which is from God) and keep going. Our walk with the Lord is something we have to daily work at. Every new day is a new opportunity to shine the light of Christ in our lives. No matter what may be going on, we have a choice today! We can be victims, or victors. The choice is yours.

Worthless feelings are not of God but of the devil- the Word says that only good things come from above, so the next time depression, fear, worthlessness, worry, and on and on and on, set in-try REBUKING the devil out loud and declaring your spiritual life is for the Lord no matter what he tries to bind you up in.

Always remember what is said in Psalms 139:14 “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous–how well I know it.” You matter no matter how many times you fall- get up and get going!

Miranda Embry

Prayer for Rededication

Introduction: Even when we get saved it does not mean that we always change immediately, sometimes we barely change at all- or get fired up for the Lord then one day just start slipping away. Whatever your circumstance, remember that our God is a forgiving God. He longs for us to be in right relationship with Him and will meet us wherever we are no matter what.

Romans 3:22-24 (NLT) “We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has fallen short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God freely and graciously declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed is from the penalty for our sins.”

Please take this into consideration as you read this prayer and remember that God loves you no matter what. When you have accepted Jesus into your heart you have the redemptive blood covering your sins. When you read this prayer, make the commitment to change and to work at living your life to follow the example left by Jesus. All it takes is reading the Word, prayer, and doing the next right thing to get started on a pathway of righteousness.

Lord Jesus I come to you now in a state of repentance.
I know that I have not been living my life the way that I should be as a Christian.
I am so grateful for the grace that You have given me as Your child.
Lord, grant me the strength to overcome the ways of this world and to turn to You in all situations.
Help me to know You more and to desire to walk with You.
I choose today to re-commit to living my life as a follower of Jesus and to turn away from the ways of the world.
I pray that you will honor my prayer and that you Holy Spirit will grant me the strength to overcome in my day to day life.
I thank you for saving me and I offer myself now to You as a living sacrifice.
In the mighty name of Jesus I pray, AMEN!

Miranda Embry

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