Browsing Tag

repentance

Blog, Faith, Homeschooling, Marriage, prayer, Writing

Only God can fix the wreckage of our lives

wreckage

I saw this picture on Pinterest today, saved it, and posted it on Facebook saying, “Then I must have fodder for lots of stories!”

Wreckage. The word sounds dangerously close to “carnage.” Let’s look at the definition of both.

wrecked car

Wreckage:

The remains of something that has been badly damaged or destroyed.

Carnage:

The killing of a large number of people (slaughter, massacre, butchery, bloodbath).

Both mean ruination, obliteration, annihilation.

heart of ice
Source: http://timoelliott.com/photos/2013/01/17/a-heart-of-ice/

Recently someone I love very much deeply hurt me and I felt very rejected in the situation. My heart felt broken into a million pieces. Shattered. I’ve cried each night going to sleep, and then often awake in the middle of the night with insomnia.

In looking at the situation, I’ve realized my life is in wreckage. And that I have often caused the lives of those I love to be wrecked.

And that the only One who can fix me is God.

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” (Psalms 147:3)

Debbie McDaniel writes in her article, Finding Beauty in Brokenness: Christ Came to Heal and Redeem:

“We have a Healer. One who repairs. Who can fit the broken pieces that no longer seem to fit right into a perfect design. He works, often behind the scenes, mending, fitting together, creating a better work of art, more than we ever dreamed possible. He makes all things beautiful. Especially in the broken. All from His grace. It is real life. Jagged edges and all. They have such meaning.”

hurting woman

God can take the brokenness of our lives and turn it into something beautiful. We’re all broken.

Image source: http://www.brewingcoffeewithcathy.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/broken-coffee-mug-FINAL.jpg

Broken hearts. Broken lives. Broken marriages. Broken children. Broken families. Broken churches. We all desperately need Jesus.

Hurting people hurt others. We have to come to the foot of the Cross with our hurts and give them to Him.

Only God can heal us and make us whole. Only God can fix the wreckage of our lives.

He is Jehovah Rapha, the God that heals.

“Then Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the LORD made a decree and a law for them, and there he tested them. He said, ‘If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you.”’ (Exodus 15:22-26, NIV)

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The Power of Names
Copyright 2017

I’m writing a new book now , which is the third and final book in The Cinderella Story series, called The Power of Names. It’s about the importance of your name and the many different names of God in the Bible, including Jehovah Rapha, the God that heals. Stay tuned for more details coming soon.

You can find my other books at my Amazon Author Page by clicking here.

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April 21, 2017 by Beth Jones

Blog, Faith, prayer, Spiritual Gifts

Refreshing Rain: Repent of your sin

cherry tree after rain

Yesterday we had a sudden thunderstorm here: heavy rain, loud thunder, and lightning. It stopped as suddenly as it started, and reminded me of the thunderstorms in the south where I grew up.

Afterward, everything looked so fresh: the emerald-green grass, the tree’s leaves, and the beautiful flowers like our neighbor’s cherry tree, pictured above. This reminded me of Acts 3:19-21, NIV:

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus.

The word “sin” isn’t very popular today. We like to call it by other names: mistake, weakness, or “I just screwed up.” (If we even admit it; sometimes we blame others, hide, justify, or make excuses for our sin.)

But God, who is holy, calls a spade a spade: it’s sin! And He knows that sin will destroy our lives and hinder your purpose and mine.

Thunder and lightning

God is not an angry Deity ready to just zap you with lightning and send you to hell every time you mess up a little! Hell was created for the devil and his demons, not man. God loves you and has a good plan for your life. (Jeremiah 29:11) God wants you to repent of your sin, so that nothing will stand between you and Him. He wants to be as close to you as possible.

daisies

When we repent of our sins, we are refreshed. We feel relieved. We don’t carry around that guilt, and worse, condemnation for our sins. Jesus died on the Cross over 2,000 years ago for you and me, as a sacrifice to God and a substitute for our sins, so we wouldn’t have to carry the burden of them. His death and resurrection sets us free. When we repent, we are in right relationship with God and others. We are forgiven–forever.

Today, ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart for any sin. Confess it to God. Ask His forgiveness. Let nothing stand in your way of intimacy with God. and fulfilling your purpose.

woman in rain

Receive the refreshing rain and the beauty, like the flowers after the rain, of His forgiveness, love, and power in your life.

***

Promises In The Dark: One Woman's Search for Authentic Love

Get your copy at:
https://goo.gl/rRQhIC

Do you feel that you have sinned too much and that God can’t and won’t possibly forgive you?

He will forgive if you repent. God is faithful, even when we are not!

Read my encouraging life story about my childhood abuse, adulterous affairs, and three abortions, Promises In The Dark: One Woman’s Search for Authentic Love, and how God forgave and delivered me by clicking here.

March 25, 2017 by Beth Jones

Bible Studies, Blog, Ebooks, Faith, prayer, Writing

Lessons from an ice storm

There has been an ice storm here in Kansas City, Missouri. Not as bad as the epic Central Plains one in 2002, which left up to over 2 inches of ice over affected areas and knocked out electrical power to more than 650,000 residents and trees shattered under hundreds of pounds of ice. Still not fun, though. I miss my hot coffee.

coffee and Bible

As I write this in my journal, I’m sitting here on our loveseat in the front entry room in my comfy blue hoodie, pj pants, purple Hello Kitty slippers, and huddled under a soft blanket and colorful quilt that Ray’s grandmother hand-made to stay warm, since the electrical power went off about 8 AM today.

Red chair and loveseat in front entry room

After I read my Bible and prayed for safety for our family and all affected by the storm, I crawled under the blankets and went to sleep. Just as I was dozing off, the power came on. When I woke up, it was off again. I joked with our daughter Heather that maybe I should just stay asleep.

Ray’s grandmother’s hand-made quilt

It’s really no joke, though. Our daughter Heather has to drive to Overland Park, Kansas, for work today and our daughter Leah has to work in town, too. My husband Ray is working at the ER and he says the electrical power is on and off all over town, and they are very busy. It makes me think of Third World nations like Haiti, which has frequent power outages and only 25% of the population has energy supply.

2017 ice storm

While the leaves encased in ice on trees look beautiful, like Narnia’s winter Wonderland, the ice is wicked, especially to drive on. Our neighbors’ plant looks dead. The ice instantly kills.

our neighbors’ plant

However, one thing situations like this do is create absolute dependence on God. There’s nothing I can do but wait (and I’m such a control freak sometimes, so it’s hard!). I can’t fix the power. Ray can’t fix the power.

branches with ice

Are you plugged into God’s power?

It makes me muse, how much power of God do I have in my life? How much do you?

Are you and I “plugged in” to the power of the Holy Spirit each day?

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“…but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”–Acts 1:8

Do we read and meditate on the Bible, God’s living word?

Do we spend time with God in prayer and worship?

Asian woman praying

Do we lean on God and trust Him when storms come?

heart of ice
Source: http://timoelliott.com/photos/2013/01/17/a-heart-of-ice/

Are our hearts filled with the warmth and holy fire of God’s love, or are they cold, distant, and unresponsive to Him and others, encased in ice like the trees’ leaves?

leaves encased in ice

Today I pray for my family’s safety and all those affected by this ice storm. I pray electrical power is quickly restored and protection from car wrecks. And I pray that you and I will be plugged into and empowered by the Spirit of God in 2017.

Lessons from an ice storm.

trees with ice

While I believe in preparation, I love this quote I found:

“It is a lifelong failing; she has never been prepared. But how can you have a sense of wonder if you’re prepared for everything? Prepared for the sunset. Prepared for the moonrise. Prepared for the ice storm. What a flat existence that would be.“–Margaret Atwood

The power just came back on. Making my coffee now.

***

Me with my first book, Walking With God

Do you need to get plugged into God? Read my book on prayer Walking With God, available at Amazon as an eBook. Click here to learn more or buy now.

January 15, 2017 by Beth Jones

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I'm an International Speaker, Author of 30 books (and still writing!), traveler, wife to fire chief/paramedic Ray, and a blessed mom of 3 beautiful daughters, Heather, Eden, and Leah. I encourage women to use their gifts for God's glory, fulfilling their great purpose, and living a life they love. I help aspiring Christian speakers & writers to share their hearts' unique, powerful messages. The ocean is my happy place and place of peace and refilling. I love Jesus, my family, my cats Natalya and Nichodemus, traveling, chips & salsa, coffee, chocolate, nature, music, and art. My husband Ray calls me an enigma: I love to laugh and cry a lot. What about you? I'd love to connect more with you and hear how you desire to make more of an impact here for God's glory. Thanks for stopping by here. I pray you will find the hope, inspiration, and motivation you need to become all God created you to be. Dream big because we serve a big God!