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

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

(we do not own the rights to this photo)

Devotional: Have the Attitude of Christ

Philippians 2:1-5 (NLT)

1 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate?

2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.

3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.

4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

The attitude of Christ is simple, to love others, to serve others, and to share the hope and grace that comes from a relationship with God. Jesus Himself said He came to serve: Matthew 20:28 (ESV) “Even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

There are so many people who call themselves Christians but are only concerned with self-serving! God has ignited a fire and desire in my heart to do as much as I can for others while remaining balance in my personal life. If we aren’t sharing the love of Jesus to others how can we consider ourselves Christians? To be a Christian means to follow the examples left by Jesus; to study the Word of God as our instruction manual and to apply the spiritual principles to our lives.

If you are lacking in love, walking in judgment, selfishness, dishonesty, gossip and slander, or any form of racism and arrogance….I want to challenge you to find out what the Word of God tells us about this. Meditate and study- be a Christian, have the attitude of Christ.

Miranda Embry

Bible Study on Psalms 107: The Saving Power of our Lord

David was one cool dude! His love for the Lord is admirable, and he was real. He had a lot of faults and God used him anyway. What a perfect example to show people that God loves us for us- His forgiveness is not contingent on our perfection, and He will use us if we allow Him to!

For this study we are looking at verses 1-32 only. This passage in Psalms is a great parallel to the saving power of the Lord and our calling to share the message. Let’s read it (sections are separated with italics due to formatting issues):

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.

2 Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! others he has redeemed you from your enemies.

3 For he has gathered the exiles from many lands, from east and west, from north and south.

4 Some wandered in the wilderness, lost and homeless.

5 Hungry and thirsty, they nearly died.

6 “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he rescued them from their distress.

7 He led them straight to safety, a city where they could live.

8 Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.

9 For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

10 Some sat in darkness and deepest gloom, imprisoned in iron chains of misery.

11 They rebelled against the words of God, scorning the counsel of the Most High.

12 That is why he broke them with hard labor; they fell, and no one was there to help them.

13 “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.

14 He led them from the darkness and deepest gloom; he snapped their chains.

15 Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.

16 For he broke down their prison gates of bronze; he cut apart their bars of iron.

17 Some were fools; they rebelled and suffered for their sins.

18 They couldn’t stand the thought of food, and they were knocking on death’s door.

19 “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.

20 He sent out his word and healed them, snatching them from the door of death.

21 Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.

22 Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and sing joyfully about his glorious acts.

23 Some went off to sea in ships, plying the trade routes of the world.

24 They, too, observed the Lord’s power in action, his impressive works on the deepest seas.

25 He spoke, and the winds rose, stirring up the waves.

26 Their ships were tossed to the heavens and plunged again to the depths; the sailors cringed in terror.

27 They reeled and staggered like drunkards and were at their wits’ end.

28 “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.

29 He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves.

30 What a blessing was that stillness as he brought them safely into harbor!

31 Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.

32 Let them exalt him publicly before the congregation and before the leaders of the nation.

We are going to look at each section of scripture broken out individually here:

In the first section (verses 1-3) David is asking have we been redeemed. If we have, he is telling us clearly to speak out about it and to give thanks! Is this not what we are called to do; to thank the Lord for our salvation and to share the message to a hurt and dying world? His reference in verse 3 epitomizes the collective ability for all to be saved “For he has gathered the exiles from many lands, from east and west, from north and south.” We can take the word “exiles” here to mean people who were cast out from a society, people who are shunned for their faults or sins; essentially these are the people who are not saved and living a life of sin and death. Yet God has called them, the exiles, He has called us- all of us! He has brought us from the place of exile into the Kingdom of Heaven where we are set free from the life of sin and death.

In the second section (verses 4-9) Davi is referring to the wilderness. We know that there are many biblical references to the “wilderness.” Here are some secular definitions of wilderness: an uncultivated, uninhabited, and inhospitable region; a neglected or abandoned area; a position of disfavor. Can you tell based on these examples that wilderness can mean a variety of things, but that the essential point is a state of separation; especially separation from God? This wilderness biblically has also been referred to as a place of testing (Jesus wet through this form of wilderness during the 40 days of testing). In almost all of the stories involving wilderness it seems that the common theme is a place of growth, loneliness, testing, and a point of separation- for a time. In verses 4-6 here we see David is addressing the lost, the hungry and the thirsty. They are nearly to the point of death before they cry out to the Lord for help. How many times have we felt lost, separated from God, or confused…how many times have we struggled in trials and tribulations and suffered spiritual distress? In these times what helps us to overcome is asking God for help and thanking Him for His redemption!

The third section is comprised of verses 10-16. David is calling out the depressed and the ones who are filled with misery and self-pity. Many of us struggle with depression, gloom, doom, and misery from time to time. Some struggle with it more and some less. When we get to the point where we would rather wallow in the sadness and allow ourselves to go further and further into the black hole without doing something about it, we become a slave to it. We are trapped and shackled against the walls in our mind and the traps of the devil. But there are things we can do and in this section one of them, and the most powerful thing, is to cry out to the Lord for help giving thanks for His power. And when we do, He will set us free.

Section four speaks to the rebels; the ones who deliberately go against God and seek after their flesh rather than His Spirit. “They couldn’t stand the thought of food…” I do not believe David was referencing physical food here but rather the Spiritual Manna that comes from the Lord (People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God –Matthew 4:4). If we are in a state of rebellion naturally we do not want to take in the bread of life. Whether it is from guilt and shame, selfish desire; no matter what the reason, without this food we will suffer! And the wonderful theme reiterated here is they cried out to the Lord for help and were grateful He saved them; and He set them free.

The final section, section 5 (verses 23-32) speaks to me about our times of stormy weather; the times where we are battling and fighting to keep our heads above water, the times where it feels like we will be swallowed whole and overcome by the sea of difficulty. However, even though the storms were great they cried out to the Lord for help. He calmed the storms, and set them free. They were instructed to bring praises for the wonder of the saving power of the Lord, and as was directed in the first section, the final section closes telling them to share the message.

What can we derive from this story as a whole? No matter what is going on in our lives, whether we have been condemned by others, lost in a time of testing, suffering with depression and despair, rebelling against God’s will and word, or battling a raging storm; the common theme for being set free is to ask the Lord for help, to thank Him and praise Him for His power and redemption, and to share the message with others. Is this not a simplistic way to look at our purpose as a Christian? What do you think?

Miranda Embry

(we do not own the rights to this photo)

Devotional: I can do it, I think?

One of my favorite powerhouse verses: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” Philippians 4:13.

To me this verse opens up a world of possibility; but with that world of possibility comes the need to use good old common sense. Am I taking this verse to say “when I jump off this roof I can fly” because Phil. 4:13 says I can, or “I can swim underwater without the need for oxygen because Jesus will strengthen me?” No, that would be ridiculous. Now granted, if jumping off of a roof and swimming underwater with no oxygen could in some way bring God glory, then perhaps this would be an applicable assumption.

The point I am making with this verse is we can absolutely do all things through Christ who gives us the strength as long as what we are doing is for His glory. This may seem like a “duh” kind of statement, but think about it. How many people have an idea of something they want to do and clinch onto this verse and it doesn’t pan out the way they had envisioned? Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever wanted something so bad and said “I can do it because this verse tells me I can” only to realize that you can’t? I have been in this situation many times…

Once I took the time to study and pray on God’s word (not merely picking and choosing certain verses) and began asking for God to grant me wisdom to understand the spiritual principles in them, I was able to see this scripture with new eyes. Indeed Christ will give me the strength to do as long as it is in His will and for the good of His kingdom. He isn’t going to strengthen us to do something that would not be in line with what He has planned. It goes along with a statement on prayer I have heard many times: God answers prayers with “no,” “not now,” and “yes.”

We need to take it back to the reference Paul was making here in Philippians, he was speaking to the strength that comes from Jesus to continue sharing the gospel; whether with no food, plenty of food, jail, etc. His true contentment regardless of circumstance came because he was doing what Jesus commanded him to do. Further on down in verse 19 it says: “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.”

We may not always get what we want, but we will get what we need. The Word promises those who are in relationship with Jesus that He will meet our needs. The Word also promises us that He will be our strength. Over and over again throughout the bible we are taught that our strength comes from above. If something doesn’t pan out the way you wanted or you don’t feel like you received the strength you prayed for and assumed you were promised, stop and ask yourself if it would be for His glory. It may be as simple as “no” or “not now.”

Miranda Embry

Created by: Miranda Embry

Devotional on Seeking Him

I love the bible…

When the storm hits hard I am reminded about the disciples in the boat and Jesus asking where there faith is. Such a powerful story to help when things are seemingly overpowering.

Today in the midst of my very painful struggle I am seeking Him, not for what He will do for me, but for what I can do for Him. This is trust in Him to me. To keep going no matter how things impact me in the walk that I have been called to walk.

I truly believe that ALL things work together for His good. I truly believe that as long as I keep Jesus first in my life and seek Him for Him and not of selfish ambition then He will always be gloried. It is important to me to praise, worship, seek, and follow Him out of the desire to do it for Him and not for what I will get out of it.

I want to encourage you…belief in Him in the midst of storms and focus on Him first and foremost in life is the way to true joy and peace.
Love in Christ

Miranda Embry

Devotional on Showing Love to Others:

As I was getting my boys ready for school this morning my oldest son reminded me that we needed to pray. We pray every morning before the boys get on the school bus.

One of the things we always ask for is for others to see Jesus in us. My younger son asked me today why I always pray for that.   And I thought for a brief moment “God give me the words to explain this.” The bible commands us to live a godly life.

I quickly grabbed my bible and read Matthew 5:16 “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

I explained to my boys that for them, that could mean simply being nice to fellow student that is not in the “in” crowd, helping out a teacher or peer, or just simply just letting someone know that you care about what’s going on in their life. As the boys were leaving I gave them a challenge. Start a conversation with someone that you have never spoken to… and let them know you care.

Let that be our challenge not only today, but every day.   Go speak to that co- worker that is typically rude and seems always in a bad mood.   Let them know you care. You may be the only bright light in their life.   Love others that seem unlovable.   Jesus loves everyone… even though we don’t deserve His love.

My prayer for you today is let others see Jesus in everything you do.   You never know whose life you just might change.

Celena Keel

Bible Study: Shine Bright

I found this awesome site yesterday when I did not have my paper bible handy, that every time you refresh the page it gives you a random bible verse; the techy “pray and flip” method (dailyverses.net/random-bible-verse)! Today my verse was Luke 8:16- No one lights a lamp and then covers it with a bowl or hides it under a bed. A lamp is placed on a stand, where its light can be seen by all who enter the house; what an awesome way to start the day!

As soon as I read this verse I was inspired by it as a topic for today. That precious light of God that comes from having a relationship with Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit is in each of us on the day of salvation. It is our duty as Christians to let that light shine bright! Matthew 5:16 says-“ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven”; these words were spoken by Jesus Himself!

So just what does it mean to let your light shine bright? This light we are referencing is Jesus and Jesus is life. John 8:12- Then spoke Jesus again to them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. Walking in the light is walking in the life that Jesus died for us to have, it is the shining of our faith to a hurt and dying world, and it is our witness to righteousness. Our light is the new life of a Christian. Ephesians 5:8-10 is the perfect example of what it means to have the light of Christ: “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light— for the fruit of the light results in all goodness, righteousness, and truth—discerning what is pleasing to the Lord.” You will know when your light is shining bright because the fruits of a life lived in the Spirit will be evident in your life. Refer back to verse 9 of Ephesians 5: “goodness, righteousness and truth”; these are a product of being children of light. To take it further let’s read Galatians 5:22-23- “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!”

Our understanding of spiritual truth comes from continued perseverance in our faith and the more we grow the more will be revealed. We will all struggle (Romans 8:23- For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard) but our struggles do not hide this light. Our light is hidden when we are not seeking the Lord, growing in our faith, reading-praying-praising. If we are actively seeking Him there is no way that our light can be hidden!

This light, this life that is pleasing to the Lord and reflects His ways are critically important as a Christian. We may be the only bible some people see and our lives are to reflect Jesus. We are called to be Christ-like. We are called to a Great Commission (Matthew 28:19a- Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations…) and part of this process is allowing the light of Jesus shine bright.

Miranda Embry

This Little Light Of Mine Hymn

This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.

This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Won’t let Satan blow it out.

I’m gonna let it shine.

Won’t let Satan blow it out.

I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Let it shine til Jesus comes.

I’m gonna let it shine.

Let it shine til Jesus comes.

I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Hide it under a bushel – NO!

I’m gonna let it shine.

Hide it under a bushel – NO!

I’m gonna let it shine, Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Let it shine over the whole wide world,

I’m gonna let it shine.

Let it shine over the whole wide world,

I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

NOTE: This is a mini-study on basic principles, more in-depth studies geared to mature Christians are available upon request

Devotional: I AM BEAUTIFUL!

As a woman in our society there is seemingly endless push to look a certain way, dress a certain way, fit into a certain mold. It is sometimes hard to feel beautiful when our looks don’t line up with that of the world’s standards. I have suffered from this as I know MANY women do as well.

What I have come to realize is that as my relationship with the Lord has deepens I seem to care less and less about what the world thinks about me, and more and more about what God thinks about me. Has this been easy? No! I have battled with self-image, self-worth, self-esteem, self-love and all of the other selfisms for most of my life. Today, I don’t feel that way anymore.

Think about those words… self-image, self-worth, self-esteem, self-love etc. What do they all have in common? SELF! Our society pushes self-love on us constantly as the means to being happy with who we are and it won’t work! Our happiness, our joy, our identity is found in our relationship with Jesus Christ. Allow what God says about our beauty to overcome what the world says about it, combat the lies of the enemy with the word of truth; simply put…get over yourself. That statement is not meant to be harsh, but to be direct. When we focus less on us, we grow more in Him.

Here are some excellent scriptures about how beautiful YOU REALLY ARE:

Psalms 34:5 Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.

1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”

1 Peter 3:3-4 …but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.

Proverbs 3:15   She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.

Psalm 139:14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Miranda Embry

Amidst the Storm

The battle is strong; yet the battle is just that, a battle. The word of God promises us that our battles have already been won! We must however take the steps to overcome…

Sometimes it is so easy for me to allow the winds and the rains and the decline into the valley affect my relationship with the Lord. Does it mean that I love God any less, or that I am not a “good Christian?” ABSOLUTELY NOT! It means that I am human and have a flesh that will continually cause issues as long as I am on this earth. In these times of battles, the enemy uses my flesh, which is weakness, to instigate doubt, fear, worry, self-pity and an overall sense of failure. My flesh coupled with the lies of the devil tell me “I’m too tired to pray, I don’t feel like reading my bible, no one would understand so I will keep it all to myself” and sadly, when I am weak these lies cause impact. I start to believe them. Why? Because I stopped doing the things I need to do in order to maintain the strength of the Holy Spirit which are reading the word, praying, reaching out to others, etc.

It can be hard to see that the influence of the enemy is on us and to see that our faith is being tempted in the midst of the storm, but it is important to focus on what God says. God can also talk to us through other people. That was the case for me that got me over the hump. In addition to the couple verses that popped into my head, the sermon on Sunday spoke directly to my situation! HOW WONDERFUL IS OUR GOD!

Here are some verses (all in NLT) that helped me overcome this recent time of war:

John 16:33 – I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.

James 5:16 – Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

Psalms 30:5b – Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.

I am writing you this as an encouragement to say- the struggle is real. We will suffer, we will hit valleys, we will feel separated from God; but we are not in this alone. We have the word, we have a direct line to God through prayer, we have fellow brothers and sisters that we can (and should according to James 5:16) turn to for help. Don’t give in to the lies of the enemy; you are worth more than that. Learn from the valley then move on.

Miranda Embry