Tag: prayer

Showing God’s Love – A Chain Blog Post

Thanks big brother Matt @ Jesusluvsall for coming up with this idea and tagging me in, “Showing God’s Love – A Chain Blog Post”. I hope also along with you, that we would all continue to encourage one another to show God’s love through these posts. ❤️

Link to Matt’s post:

Showing God’s Love-A Chain Blog Post

To participate:

1. Link the original post of Matt, the creator of this chain blog post.

2. Write a post on love.

3. Tag another blogger.

From my own personal experiences, I can definitely say that the closer I have gotten to Christ, the more I have learned about receiving and showing God’s love. When our hearts are open to receiving His love, His Holy Spirit works in us to heal us from any brokenness and pain we have. He completes us and makes our hearts whole. It is a process, but as God heals us, we will have a desire to share His love and healing with others, because of what He has done for us.

1 John 3:18 GNT, “My children, our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action.”

At a church I attended in the past, there was a ministry called, “The Prison Letter Ministry”. You could volunteer to write letters of encouragement to inmates. The commitment was for one year. So I decided to sign up, and shortly after, I was assigned an inmate. Her name was Sherry. You could use the church address and any name you wanted while writing, but I just stuck with my name Dawn.

We were told from the beginning that we may not receive return letters depending on the inmates situation. So although I wasn’t getting any responses from Sherry, I looked forward to sending her letters and cards of encouragement. I wrote her for six months, before being told she had been released from prison.

Shortly after Sherry’s release, I was excited to receive a card at the church from her. She thanked me for diligently sending her letters and cards and said she was really encouraged by them. She apologized for not being able to write back while in prison, and told me she had been incarcerated for seven years.

I don’t know where Sherry is today, but I pray God is continuing to work in her life. When we are willing to be vessels for Jesus, we never know how He will use us to show love to others. I’m thankful I had the chance to help Sherry understand how much God loves her. I always realized that I could have been the one locked in the cell instead of her. But by God’s grace, I was one of the people who had the privilege of offering her support.

I still have the card Sherry sent me. Through her card, God also showed His love to me. Please say a prayer for Sherry, that God will continue to work in her life and bring her healing. Please also pray that God will bring the right opportunities her way. It’s very difficult for people who have been in prison once they are released.

1 John 4:7 NLT, “Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.”

I’m tagging…

Jacquie at Joy Cottage

Our Motives Matter To God

Proverbs 16:2 NLT, “People may be pure in their own eyes, but the LORD examines their motives.”

Outwardly someone can look and sound like they are trying to please God and help others, but God can see their heart. He can see the motives behind each and every action. Praying and asking God to help us to be aware of the motives behind our actions is beneficial. Every act of kindness should be guided by His love. Having an ungodly desire for attention and credit can do harm to ourselves and others.

Unfortunately I’ve seen people manipulate situations just so they can get all the glory. We don’t have to drive ourselves crazy worrying about rewards. When we operate with pure hearts, God will bless us by making sure we receive the rewards we deserve.

Even in our prayer life, God wants our motives to be pure…

James 4:3 NIV, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”

The will of God should be our primary concern. When we ask, we should ask according to His will. When we delight ourselves in Him, He promised to give us the desires of our hearts (Psalm 37:4).

Love should always be the motivation behind the things we do, because love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8).

Stand Firm in Your Faith

1 Peter 5:8-9 NIV, “8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”

As believers in the body of Christ, we will all endure test, trials, and tribulations. There is no way around it. However it brings strength, encouragement and comfort to know that as believers we are never alone. Not only is the Holy Spirit with us, we also have one another. We all share a common goal of fulfilling God’s purpose here on Earth. We all share a common hope of spending eternity in heaven with Jesus once our work on Earth is done.

As we go through the pages of God’s Word, we also can read the many stories of triumph and perseverance of those who came before us. Their faith in God helped pave the way for us today and set an example for us to follow.

There may be times in your walk with God where you do feel isolated. Unfortunately it’s possible to have these feelings of isolation even with other Christians around, because different Christians are in different stages in their walk with God. Plus everyone has different challenges they are facing.

I pray that if you do feel alone, that God will send the right fellow believers your way that you can connect with. I also pray that you would be refreshed and find endless hope, joy, and satisfaction in our Lord Jesus.

Jeremiah 31:25 NIV, “I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.”

Above all else, stand firm in the faith. Don’t give up the fight. As believers, we are all headed home to eternity. But until that blessed day arrives, may our lives be an example of God’s love to those around us. May we share the message of hope and restoration that has been made available through Jesus Christ.

Have a wonderful day!

Faith Defeats Our Giants

1 Samuel 17:26, 32 NLT

26 “David asked the soldiers standing nearby, “What will a man get for killing this Philistine and ending his defiance of Israel? Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?”

32 “Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!”

David, the young shepherd boy, is a great example of what will happen when we act in faith and leave our fears behind. David understood His true identity. He knew that He was a child of God. He was confident in God’s ability to protect him. He understood that with God’s help, he would be victorious over Goliath, the Philistine giant that he was going to fight. David also remembered that God had given him victory in the past, when he had to fight lions and bears to protect his sheep.

Although David was a shepherd, and Goliath was a warrior who had been fighting all his life, David didn’t let that discourage him. He wasn’t the least bit concerned about Goliath’s qualifications. He knew that all he needed was the power of God to operate on his behalf. Because of David’s faith in God, he was able to defeat the giant Goliath with a simple stone.

1 Samuel 17:45 NIV, “David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.”

David’s story reminds us that no matter what “giants” we must face, when we put our faith in God, He will equip us with all we need to win the fight. David never let fear hinder him, and neither should we. The same God who empowered David, will empower us. No “giants” we face are too big for our God.

The Barnabas Award – 1

I thank you to my sister in Christ Lisa for nominating me for The Barnabas Award!! This is my first time receiving this award and I’m super excited! 🎉🎉🎉🎉.

Lisa, I always enjoy reading your posts because they motivate and encourage me to not give up on my quest to know Jesus better. You help me to keep growing in my faith through your writings.

It’s amazing that you’re an ordained minister! Thanks for the work you and your husband do in the body of Christ. May God continue to bless you, and your family with more of Himself and His many abundant blessings. 💕

Check out Lisa’s Blog at:

WordPress13730Faith2Faith

This award is meant to encourage those who receive it.

You have been chosen for this recognition because of the encouragement and inspiration you bring to your readers.

The way this works:

😊Thank the person who nominated you, and share their blog.

😊Think of five bloggers that encourage and inspire you and nominate them.

😊List five things about yourself.

😊Lastly, ask your nominees five questions. Why five? Because it is the number that signifies grace.

5 Things About Dawn ❤️

1. I visited South Korea on a military assignment.

2. I’ve lived in Florida for almost 4 years.

3. My dream job is to work in counseling.

4. My favorite vegetable is brussel sprouts.

5. I got to see Mars and Jupiter in the night sky with help from NASA (they told me when and where to look in an email lol.)

🙏🏼 These are the questions to me:

1. What do you do when trials come your way? I pray, read the Bible, listen to online sermons and talk to those closest to me.

2. Who is your favorite author? Joyce Meyer

3. In what or where do you find joy? True lasting joy is a gift from God. He’s the One that allows me to have joy regardless of my circumstances. So my greatest joy is found in knowing Him. One of the ways He blesses me to experience joy is through writing.

4. Where is your favorite place to write? I don’t have a favorite place. I write in many different places. Whenever inspiration comes to me, I start writing things down.

5. What is your favorite writing genre?Christianity

There is no pressure to participate, but I’m looking forward to reading your answers if you choose too. Thanks for the inspiration I receive from your blogs. 😊

I nominate the following:

Gleanings from the Master

Laura Bon

Bukola Orry

Trophy of Grace

HHHigh

Questions for nominees:

1. What is something you are most thankful for?

2. What is an important lesson you have learned in life?

3. What is your favorite place to write?

4. What do you do when trials come your way?

5. What do you like most about writing?

Ask God for Wisdom

James 1:5 NIV, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

It’s important to ask the Lord wisdom. As we navigate through life, we need Him to give us knowledge, instruction, and understanding. We are constantly being presented with choices, and we need Him to show us what is best for our lives. He can see all of our days, from beginning to end.

It’s a blessing that He doesn’t leave us alone to just try and figure it all out. Instead He has given us His Holy Spirit to guide us and teach us. Ask the Lord for wisdom, and trust Him to direct your paths daily.

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.