Tag: Faith

So Thankful, Year 7!

In May, I celebrated 7 years of blogging on Drawing Closer to Christ! Thank you for choosing to be part of Drawing Closer to Christ. I appreciate you taking time to read what I write and share your thoughts.

Each time you like, comment or share my posts it encourages me to keep going and growing. And it is my prayer that when you visit this blog, you are encouraged too.

Photo by:
cottonbro studio

We all know trusting Jesus and walking by faith is a learning process. But His love and faithfulness are never ending. He has promised to supply our needs. And He is pleased when we wake up every morning and still choose Him.

As the hymn says, “Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus.” Keep choosing to trust Him, even when it’s hard. Your perseverance in commitment to Jesus is not in vain. Remember, He rewards those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).

Well, it’s that time of year, where I take a blogging break. I plan to return sometime in September. But before I break, I wanted to leave you with these words from Ecclesiastes chapter 3, reminding us to trust God with the seasons of our lives.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 NIV

A Time for Everything

1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

9 What do workers gain from their toil?

10 I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race.

11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

Friends, God makes everything beautiful in its time. Although some seasons are more difficult than others, God remains the same. He understands your struggles. May He be your anchor no matter what you are facing. Remember that He always sees you and hears you. He has a perfect timing for everything in your life.

Blessings, and Happy July!

Photo by:
cottonbro studio

Do You Have An Answer?

1 Peter 3:15-16 NIV, “15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. 16 But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.”

Photo by:
August de Richelieu

Recently while attending a small Bible study group, the speaker asked the question, “What keeps you committed to Christ?” For me, it was a very timely question because I had been thinking about this just a few days earlier.

These verses in 1 Peter tell us to be prepared to answer this question. We never know when we will be given the opportunity to share with someone the reason we have chosen to put our hope in Jesus Christ.

When it was my turn to answer the question, and share about something that keeps me committed to Christ, I said, “He always sees and He always hears.”

I love that Jesus is the God who always sees me. He is always aware of me and what I am going through. Although I am blessed to have people who care about me, people cannot always see what He can. I am never out of His sight. He understands me and my circumstances completely.

Secondly, I love that Jesus is the God who always hears me. I can pray at anytime and He will hear me. No appointment needed. He is always available. He does not slumber or sleep.

Psalm 121:3-5 NLT, “3 He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. 4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps. 5 The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.”

Photo by: Mental Health America 🇺🇸

I was glad the Bible study leader asked us this question. I was reminded to always be ready to give others an answer for the hope Jesus gives me and why I choose to stay committed to Him. It could be a non-Christian asking us about our faith in Christ or even another Christian who needs encouragement. Whatever the case, we should be ready.

I could use some encouragement and I am sure others can too, so I am asking you to please share in the comments, “What keeps you committed to Christ?”

Love and Trust

Psalm 143:8: Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.

As we start each new day, we can look to God and His unfailing love. He knows what is ahead and He is aware of every moment and every detail of our lives. We can trust Him completely. He desires to lead us into what is best for us.

Photo by: Irina Iriser of Kazakhstan🇰🇿

Doubt and fear will sometimes hinder us from casting our cares on the Lord but as we learn to trust Him, we can experience the peace that He wants to give us, regardless of our circumstances. Peace that surpasses all understanding and His peace is only a prayer away. (Phil 4:7). No problem is too big or too small. So don’t hesitate to pray. Then trust God to answer your prayer and supply your needs.

May the joy of the Lord be your strength today as your rest in His unfailing love.

No Need to Worry

Philippians 4:6-7 NLT, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

These are verses that are familiar to many of us. And they’ve been on my mind quite a bit over the last week. As we all know, life can be tough and give us many reasons to worry. However, God is giving us another option. He invites us to choose to be thankful, and present our worries to Him in exchange for His peace.

Photo by: Oleksandr P of the Ukraine 🇺🇦

I am convinced that choosing not to worry takes some intentional effort. Because even though we may not want to worry, worry often consumes us and we find ourselves struggling to trust God. Trusting God can be especially hard when we do not see immediate answers to our prayers. But nevertheless, we have a choice. Even when we do not see the immediate answers we hoped to see, we can still open our hearts to receive God’s peace.

Since choosing not to worry takes effort, then prayer is an essential first step. No matter where we are or what we are doing we can whisper a prayer to God. We can repent for not giving God our worries in the specific situation (repentance refreshes us, Acts 3:19-21) and then we can ask Him for His help not to worry. It is such a blessing that He is always willing to help us do the things He instructs us to do. We can also pray for discernment and wisdom in our situation and God will show us what He wants us to know or do. And through all of this, we get to receive His peace as He guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Photo by: M Venter of South Africa 🇿🇦

Through these verses in Philippians, God is inviting us to relinquish control of people and situations and trust Him. Trust his goodness, trust His justice, trust His mercy, trust His provision, trust His faithfulness and trust His love.

God is a good Father, who wants the best for us. His desire is for us to walk in His perfect peace. I pray that we would quickly pray and learn to receive His peace, no matter what we are facing.

Isaiah 26:3-4, ”You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.”

Guest Post by Dawn Ivey – Spring Forward Into New Things

I want to say Thank You to Desiree from Hope, Faith & a Smile for giving me the chance to prepare a guest post for her blog. Please click on the link below to read my post and also check out her blog too. She has many writings that will inspire and encourage you. Blessings and thanks for reading!

Guest Post by Dawn Ivey – Spring Forward Into New Things

Jesus Got Up!

1 Peter 1:3-5 NIV, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.”

Photo by: yoldakocayanlaar of the UK 🇬🇧

I love these verses from 1 Peter. And I love that death was not the final answer. But our Savior got up! Because He got up from the grave, so can we. Plus we can get up each day and go forward in His love, mercy and goodness. We can get up and proclaim the living hope we have in Jesus Christ, right in the midst of life’s ups and downs.

I pray that the resurrection of Jesus Christ will lead you to live a life of surrender, obedience and perseverance. And I hope that even in the smallest things, His love would be evident to you, as you live freely in His resurrection power.

Romans 4:25 NLT, “He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God.”

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Have a blessed Easter! 🕊️

Keep Being Available and Aware

Matthew 5:16 NASB, “Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

A coworker was sharing last week about an encounter she had with a lady while coming out of the doctor’s office. She said the lady was crying, so she stopped to ask her if she was ok. Once they began talking, she found out the lady was upset because she had received several diagnoses from her doctor and the prognosis wasn’t good.

During the conversation, the lady also revealed that she had become angry with the Lord over the years and therefore had turned away from him, especially after the death of her husband. She said she knew that she really needed to get back in touch with the Lord. My coworker had the opportunity to encourage the lady, offer her some comfort, and pray with her.

Photo by: Kaique Rocha of the Netherlands 🇳🇱

I was thankful to hear my coworkers testimony. It was an encouragement to remain available and aware because we never know who God will bring across our path that needs to know about His love.

I heard a minister say recently, “it’s not about our ability, it’s about our availability.” The Holy Spirit will give us the ability we need. He will give us the words and power to help others.

God may not always bring a stranger your way, it could be someone you already know who needs your love and attention. It could be a family member, a friend, a coworker, a neighbor or someone you see sitting alone during the service at your church, who could use a word of encouragement. We just need to remain available and aware.

Photo by: TimaMiroshnichenko of Poland 🇵🇱

As we seek the Lord and grow in intimacy with Him, our desire and concern for others will also grow. Part of being available and aware, means we must go beyond our own ideas of what our faith should look like, and instead open our hearts and our lives to what God wants us to do. He wants to stretch our faith in ways we may not have yet considered. Of course this may interrupt our plans or lead us out of our comfort zones. However, God is pleased when we walk by faith and has promised to reward us when we diligently seek Him.

Hebrews 11:6 NLT,“And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.”

I love that God doesn’t leave us alone to complete anything He calls us to do. He is with us through the presence of His Holy Spirit and we can pray continuously as we go through our day (1 Thessalonians 1:17). We serve a God who loves us and will supply our every need (Philippians 4:19).

Heavenly Father,

Help us to make you a priority each day. Create in us a clean heart. A heart that is available to you and aware of the ways you are working in our lives. Help us to be willing and ready to share your love with those around us. Give us the courage to embrace the opportunities you bring our way to be a light in a dark world. Thank you for the love you give us that makes a difference in our lives each day.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.