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: Being Strong & Having Power in the Lord

Ephesians 6:10 (NIV) “Finally be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.”

This truly hit me today. His mighty power is sometimes taken for granted or not even recognized by a lot of Christians. There are so many examples of the power Jesus had while He was here with us on the earth, and even after His physical death we were given the Holy Spirit to continue our ability to grow and move in His mighty power!

Have you ever stopped to think about the authority that was given from Jesus to us as His followers? He (Jesus) said in John 14: 13-14 (NLT) “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. 13 You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. 14 Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!” I would also encourage you to read the entire chapter of John 14 as the words of Jesus in this chapter are regarding power and the promises of the Holy Spirit.

Let’s look at another verse of power, Philippians 4:13 (GNB) “I have the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gives me.” Of course we understand that this power from the Lord comes for things that will go according to His will and for things that are to the benefit of His Kingdom. I have written specifically about this before so I won’t be going back into the detail (you can look it up in the site)

The point I am making with today’s devotional is that through the salvation and relationship that comes through Jesus Christ we HAVE POWER! We have the power to overcome any obstacle in life, we just have to search the Word and apply the power, we have to go boldly to God in prayer!

Hebrews 4:16 [AMP] “16 Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it].”

Please, please- if you take nothing else from this devotional, take that in Christ you do have power. His promise is to guide us by example and to strengthen us through the Holy Spirit.

I don’t usually add this to my devotionals, but if you would like to discuss this more in private and learn more about what it means to truly have power; email me at trwm4him@gmail.com and in subject please put “Miranda”

Miranda Embry

(we do not own the rights to this photo)

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

The Awakening

I wanted to share an essay I wrote a while back that is soon to be published in a quarterly journal through Thought Collection Publishing. A combination of testimony and philosophy, growth and encouragement; this is a portion of my story. I am sharing this in hopes to reach someone that may be going through what I went through and to show them that there is nothing impossible with God! I hope you enjoy it. 

Introduction

How could I ever begin to describe the wonder of all that has transpired? How would it be possible to put into words the intensity of revelation that took the fragments of a worshiper turned junkie turned seeker into a whole? In short, the catalyst of true living can be summed up in one word, God; who took my brokenness and transformed it into a peace that is like no other.

The Loss

My Christian faith began when I was 15 years old and was very intense. I witnessed, I taught, I led a music ministry that had Christian hardcore bands play shows and reach the world; I was happy. Then tragedy hit. My faith was shaken, more so, my faith was demolished. I was shattered. I was broken and my once revered foundation was nowhere to be found. I turned to heavy drug use and promiscuity in an attempt to fill the void left from the refusal of allowing God to remain in my heart. I grew dark and detached. For years I tried to kill myself with more and more drugs only to grow a stronger and stronger tolerance… I was a thief and I was a pathetic excuse of a human being. After finally giving up the fight I sought help and gained sobriety in November of 2005. This is this is the result of circumstance where I began to seek.

The Search

For the past 9 years I have been on a mission of self-discovery. I have asked question upon question in attempt to find answers to the meaning of existence, to find out who I was and what I am here for, to find out what life is about and why it is worth living. All of my questions have been in vain. None of the answers I have discovered have resulted in anything but more questions and more detachment. I have studied various religions, many philosophies, scientific hypotheses…always looking for the real answer…yet the answer was never found. Underlying this search was always the internal tug for my heart to return back to my roots in Christianity and every time I began to entertain the faith I ran like hell. With each notion of entertainment there was a call to responsibility that I was unwilling to accept. This tug never left, through all of my searching and amidst all of my questions, the internal current of what once was continually beckoned my return. As a final act of attempted disillusion I once more made a bold declaration of my refusal to believe in Christ and again tried separating myself from the God of my youth. “I DON’T BELIEVE IN YOU!” This attempt was the end of the seeker.

The Awakening

The tugs grew stronger and stronger after my outright verbal denial and aggression towards God. Was this due to my decision of denial? It was as if my soul screamed even louder after my refusal to believe. I found myself unconsciously praying “God please, God help, God what should I do…” I decided my kids needed to be in church to benefit them, even if I don’t believe, it would be good for them; so we began going to church. I found myself less and less reading the words of my favorite philosophers, and instead opening a bible. All of these events were happening and I was unaware at the time that they were all connected. I would open the Word in an attempt to scoff or fuel my choice of unbelief, but instead it made me question whether or not I actually did believe.

On an average ordinary day, a day of no importance while I was lying in bed waiting to go to sleep, it happened. I had a spiritual experience with the living, breathing, invisible God and essentially a “come to Jesus” moment. This overwhelming, unavoidable presence of power enveloped me where I laid and while I was curled up in the fetal position I wept. I wept tears of sorrow, of shame and guilt; I wept tears of joy, of laughter, of peace and comfort. It was as if 15 years of pent up regression was released in that moment and I could finally breathe again. This is a moment in my life that I will never forget, that I will never shake, that I can never deny or write off as anything other than a flagrant move of the Holy Spirit capturing my heart into the love and relationship of Jesus Christ. It was then that I realized that it was no coincidence that I could not die from the enormous amounts of drugs I ingested. It was my testimony.

The Present

There are still many questions that I have regarding biblical issues that once warranted my excuses to deny my faith, however I have made the decision to take my focus off of them and onto the relationship and love that comes through walking with God. I focus on the real life experience and applications that the Word of God has imparted into my heart and on the radical changes that are taking place in my life and are evident in reality. I am a renewed person, I am a whole person, I am a child of the most high God and will never look back other than to share the testimony of how the Lord broke me and molded me into the spiritual warrior I am today. I am changed. I am happy. I have learned that my happiness is not found in philosophical concepts or a scientific hypotheses, but true happiness comes from faith and trust in a savior that will never leave nor forsake me, no matter how many times I turned my back on Him in the past. The words in this writing are nowhere close to defining the awakening that took this worshiper turned junkie turned seeker into a whole, but it’s my best attempt at it.

Miranda Embry

Bible Study on Adultery

Are you committing adultery? Your first response will likely be: “of course not, I have never been unfaithful to my spouse,” or if you are single perhaps “nope not me I am not married.” Either way, whatever your response it doesn’t really matter. I am speaking on a different kind of adultery- spiritual adultery.

We are considered the bride of Christ. He is to be first and foremost in our lives; above our spouse, above our kids, above our jobs and our worries…is He first in your life or are you putting something else first? Whatever we put before God is an idol; it becomes in essence a God. The first and foremost in our lives is what we cling to, rely on, and pursue most intently. If this is not God, then you are not being faithful.

What does the Word say?

Exodus 20:3 (NLT) “You must not have any other god but me.”

Exodus 34:14 (GWT) “Never worship any other god, because the LORD is a God who does not tolerate rivals. In fact, he is known for not tolerating rivals.”

Matthew 22:37 (NLT) “Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.”

Think about what Jesus said in Matthew for a moment. If there are people or things that you have placed before God, then you cannot adhere to the most important command we are given. It is impossible! To love God first in our lives means we have to rely on Him, we have to die to ourselves daily, we have to crucify our cares and our sin to follow Jesus. What is the predominance of your thought? You can quickly tell if God is first based on this alone. Do you think more about your spouse, your kids, yourself…or do you think more about your relationship with Jesus and ministering to others?

No one is perfect, we all know that. But the point of being a Christian is to try daily to be Christlike. Jesus is our example. If we are avidly seeking His will above all else, and we are faithful in our marriage to Him, the rest of our lives will fall into place!

Proverbs 3:5-6 (HCSB) “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding;
⁶ think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths.”

Search your hearts today, as I have to do every day. Who or what is first in your life? If it isn’t God then repent, ask for help, and commit to living for Him. He will guide you and take care of the rest of your life, put your trust in Him and experience freedom. He must be our first love!

Miranda Embry

Sneak Peek into eBook in the works!

I am in the process of writing my first book and thought I would share a sneak peek on this page. It is a 31 day reading plan based on Proverbs that will cover a chapter, a key scripture study, an action item, and a prayer each day.

I am hoping to have this released by Christmas!

Here is a tiny piece of the work in progress. This has not been edited and is still raw but I wanted to share with you all regardless!

Daily Study

Proverbs 1:7 (NLT) “Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.”

What does it mean to fear the Lord? Aren’t we taught as Christians not to have fear but instead to have faith in the Lord? Yes we are; but this is a different type of fear. This fear is not one of terror but of love, respect, appreciation and reverence towards God. It is absolutely necessary to have this fear if we are going to grow in wisdom and understanding. This reverent fear of our Lord is the very foundation of the ability to understand spiritual principles and divine revelation. A spiritual principle may be something as simple as understanding how a parable that Jesus taught relates to us as a Christian. For instance, when Jesus is sharing about the parable of the sower in Matthew 13, to the unsaved this would seem foolish and they would likely miss the point or derive from it something other than what Jesus intended. The word of God tells us that unless you have the Spirit of God in you it is not possible to understand the truths that are revealed through the word of God (1 Cor. 2:14). These truths are necessary to move from knowledge to wisdom.

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

Devontional on the Mind of Christ

In 1 Corinthians 2:16 we are told that we have the mind of Christ, so what does it mean for us?

In the passage 1 Corinthians chapter 2, the reference is the ability to translate and apply spiritual principles as a spiritual being, which is what we are upon salvation. We are given the Holy Spirit to guide us in this life and to help us live the way that Jesus has called us to. So how do we know we have the mind of Christ? More and more as we read the word and pray principles and truths will be revealed to us. We will be able to take a parable of the farmer who sows and reaps and reference this in our daily living to situations; we can gain insight into what running the race from scripture means in our own life and what race this is really speaking about. Our eyes are opened and we can see…

As we go about our day-to-day we will begin to respond to situations differently, view circumstances in a different light, essentially we will begin thinking like Jesus. I am reminded of the phrase “WWJD” when I think about what it means to have the mind of Christ. To me that is it in a nutshell; what would Jesus do? Marital problems- let me turn to the mind of Christ in me and ask what would Jesus do. Financial problems- what would Jesus do? The more I grow in my walk with Him, the easier it is for me to answer that question and more often than not I don’t even have to ask, since the mind of Christ is being used on a daily basis my actions line up with His ways automatically.

So my challenge to you today: in each situation you may face ask yourself “what would Jesus do?” Think about your responses, actions, words, reactions and ask if they line up with the mind of Christ. The Holy Spirit will guide and direct us if we will allow Him to.

Miranda Embry

A Devotional on THE ATTACK!

It is an amazing thing when I am drowning…

Problem after problem, emotion after emotion, day after day; the more junk I have on my shoulders the closer I am to actualizing a vision that God has purposed in my life! Of course, I do not see it as such in the midst. I see my depression, my failures, and my flaws. I see my weakness and my struggles; I see every area that I am lacking in. When these areas are the forefront it is because I have stopped seeing what God is doing, has done, and what He wants to do.

I have been overwhelmed with I-SELF-MEisms lately. Walking in the viewpoint of my lack has been the focal point of my day to day. Why? Because I am not doing enough of what God is calling me to do in order to keep my viewpoint on what He wants to do. Are you struggling? Are you battling depression or emotional turmoil? Have worry, stress, and apathy set in where joy and zealousness used to be? The answer is so simple to clear away the wreckage- pray, read, do.

The word of God tells us that all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13). Call to Him, tell Him what battles are raging, acknowledge that you have fallen short, and turn away. We are told that the devil comes to steal, kill and destroy, but that with Jesus we have abundant life (John 10:10). When dealing with this junk, is this the abundant life Jesus came to give us? NO! So what do we do? Submit to God, rebuke the devil and he must flee (James 4:7)! Submit through prayer, submit through praise, submit through the study of His word- in doing these simple things, he will flee.

It has to be an intentional choice to submit to God and to, in essence, get over ourselves… It’s not all about me, it’s about Him. When I can get honest enough to ask forgiveness for letting it become about me to the point of going off track into the I-SELF-MEisms I can then learn from it and move on to where God wants me to be.

Don’t get stuck in a rut today, chances are if you feel like life is dumping on you there is a greater purpose in the works and we just have to stand firm in the word of God to see us through it as victors versus victims.

Miranda Embry