Cast Your Cares

1 Peter 5:7 NLT, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.“

We have to remember that God tells us to give Him our worries . We must choose to hand all of our worries over to Him. When we don’t, then we will end up being weighed down as we try to carry our heavy burdens on our own.

Giving our worries to the Lord means we will have to trust Him. We learn to trust Him through the situations we go through in life, that allow us to see His faithfulness to us. We must pray and ask God to help us to give Him our worries and trust Him.

We don’t just need to trust God when bad things happen. We also need to trust Him with the good things that are going on in our lives. Even in good times, we need Him to sustain us and direct us. He must always be our focus.

Whenever I find myself worrying, I know my focus is no longer on God. Instead I have taken my eyes off of Him, and have mentally started trying to figure out how “I” will work things out. God wants us to turn our worries into prayers and trust “Him” to work things out, not ourselves or other people.

God does use people to help us, but even when He does, we must remember that He is our True Source. He is our Provider, not people. People are vessels He uses. Every good and perfect gift comes from our Father in heaven (James 1:17).

Psalm 55:22 NIV, “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.

Choose to cast your cares on the Lord. Allow Him to carry your burdens because He cares for you.

A Clean Heart

Psalm 51:10 ESV, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”

When we give our hearts to Jesus, the Bible says that we become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”). The Lord takes away our heart of stone and gives us a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). He also gives us His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes to live in us. He is our Helper who convicts us of sin and empowers us to live for Jesus.

Conviction is what brings us to repentance, and repentance will keep our hearts clean before God. I ask God often to show me any sinful ways that I have, so that I can repent and turn from my sin. Sin separates us from God. But repentance draws us closer to Him. The cleaner our heart is, the more we can become like Jesus. A clean heart keeps us in a place of humility and submission before God.

This is why, I love the Holy Spirit so much. He is the third Person of the Trinity who works in us to keep our hearts clean, and lead us into a deeper relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the One who reveals truth to us so that we are not deceived by the enemy’s lies.

About 10 years ago, I read a really good book called, The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit by R.A. Torrey. He was an evangelist, pastor, educator, and writer who lived from 1856-1928. His book is one of the best books I have ever read. I developed a deeper understanding of who the Holy Spirit is and what He does for us.

John 14:16-17 NIV, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever–the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”

May God’s Spirit continue to work in you to bring you into a deeper relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. Have a blessed weekend. ❤️

Awesome Blogger Award – 2

Thank you Brother Matt at Jesusluvsall for this Awesome Blogger Award nomination. I think it’s really cool that you’re fluent in 3 languages (English, Spanish and Portuguese)!! I believe you said you can greet people in about 30 different languages…Wow!

Also the work you do in ministry to share the love of Christ with immigrants from around the world and others while persevering through your own trials with chronic illness is inspiring.

Please visit Matt’s blog at:

Jesusluvsall Blog

Rules:

– Thank the blogger who nominated you.

– Tag your post with #awesomebloggeraward.

– Answer the questions given to you.

– Nominate and inform at least 5 bloggers.

– Give them 10 new questions to answer.

Questions for me:

1- What is your blog about?

Encouraging others in their walk with Christ.

2- What inspired you to start writing a blog?

I thought it would be a great way to share what I have learned with others.

3. If I were blessed to visit you in your city, what would we do?

We would visit Vizcaya Museum and Gardens (my favorite place in Miami lol). It’s an old mansion that was owned by a wealthy businessman from Europe. When he died his family donated it to the city and it is now a museum.

4- What is your favorite holiday and how do you celebrate it?

Christmas. It’s nice to remember the Savior’s birth. It’s also very pretty with all the decor everywhere. I spend it with family. We have dinner.

5- What are your favorite songs?

I have many but Nobody But Jesus is my favorite gospel song. At the Cross is my favorite hymn. For You is an R&B love song I like. I like Today is the Day, a praise and worship song.

6- What is a book you have enjoyed?

So Long Insecurity by Beth Moore.

7- What is your favorite snack food?

Chips, Popcorn, and gummy bears.

8- What is your favorite color?

For the last few years I have fallen in love with Green.

9- What is your favorite movie?

Private Benjamin with Goldie Hawn

10- Who would you want to have dinner with and why?

Deborah Smith Pugues. She is an author, tv host, motivational speaker, financial consultant and business women. I have been inspired by her writings and would like to meet her.

I nominate the following and my questions are below if you choose to participate. 🤗❤️

WordPress13730Faith2Faith

Social Impactor

Quiet Moments With God

The Vine Christian Blog

Everything is Hack!

My Questions to you:

1. Who would you want to have dinner with and why?

2. What inspired you to start writing a blog?

3. How would you describe yourself in one sentence?

4. What is one thing you learned in childhood that totally changed your life?

5. What is your most memorable vacation?

6. Are you married or single?

7. Do you have kids, if so how old?

8. What do you want to be remembered for?

9. What is your favorite color?

10. Do you have a favorite blog post you want to share?

In Jesus Christ We Gain

1 Timothy 6:6 NIV, “But godliness with contentment is great gain.”

I have come to realize that I am most content when I choose to simply trust God. Trusting in Him, brings me to a peaceful place that is free from anxiety and fear. Both anxiety and fear cause us to take our eyes off of Christ, and instead put them on the things or people that we cannot control.

Jesus definitely set the ultimate example of contentment for us. He chose to walk in the purpose God had for him. He didn’t allow himself to be distracted by what was going on around him. As a matter of fact, when his parents became anxious because they could not find him, he said…

Why were you searching for me?”….“Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49)

He definitely knew how to keep his eyes on God and not get sidetracked. We must do the same. The truth of God’s Word will keep us growing in godliness. Godliness will lead us to contentment because our hearts will become more and more thankful for who God is and all that He has done. We will see things from His perspective, instead of the worlds.

In Christ we gain, because nothing can compare to the privilege of knowing Him…

Philippians 3:8 NIV, “What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.”

Jesus Christ Never Changes

Hebrews 13:8 NIV, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

I’m very thankful that our Savior remains the same. His unchanging nature gives us a solid foundation. We can rely completely on Him to be who He says He is, and do what He has promised to do.

The world is ever changing. We can look back and easily see how much the world has changed over the years. We never know what to expect from day to day. But God and His Word are constant. We can rest knowing He will never forsake us and that He will faithfully take care of us. In Jesus Christ our future is secure. His love remains the same.

Nothing we encounter takes our Lord by surprise. He will walk with us and hold our hand through all things. We can put our complete confidence in Him. Regardless of what you are facing, may the peace of God guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus as you start this new week (Philippians 4:6-7 NLT).

I Will Exalt You My God

Psalm 145:1 NLT, “I will exalt you, my God and King, and praise your name forever and ever.”

No matter what is going on in our lives we can look up to our God and give Him praise. He is our Strong Rock, He will never fail us. He is our Great Hope, He will never disappoint us. He is our Faithful Father, He will never abandon us.

His love for us will endure forever.

He is our Peace when we are anxious. He is our Strength when we are weak. He is our Joy when we are discouraged. He is our Fullness when we feel empty…

In His presence is fullness of joy, and eternal pleasures forever more. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Let us praise His name forever and ever.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

God Forgets Our Sins

Hebrews 8:12 NIV, “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

In our human nature, forgetting our past sins can sometimes seem impossible. We remember. Since we remember, we must overcome shame, guilt, and all other feelings of inadequacy. Even knowing that God has promised to forget our sins, it can still be a struggle for us to let go.

There have been many times I have been so angry and disappointed at myself for falling into sin. Even after repenting before God, the anger would continue. I knew I was forgiven by God, but my mind kept going around in circles, rehashing my sin and trying to figure out how I could have allowed myself to fail.

I remember one day I was praying, and the Holy Spirit begin to give me a fresh revelation of the Cross. I understood with complete clarity that the work Jesus Christ did was enough. No amount of guilt or shame that I had, could ever add to His finished work on the Cross. We as humans can know something in our minds, but it takes the power of The Holy Spirit to help us understand it in our hearts, and fully accept it as truth.

Understanding God’s forgiveness with our hearts, is what will bring us freedom. Freedom to enjoy the present and embrace the future. Freedom to be all He created us to be, and freedom to receive His unconditional love everyday. Holding on to our past, is part of the enemy’s attempt to steal from us. But greater is He who is in us than He who is in the world (1 John 4:4).

In Christ, we are free to repent of our sins and receive His forgiveness. He will empower us to live for Him shame free and guilt free. Once we repent, He remembers our sins no more.