Author: seekproverbs31

Life Application Study Bible

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Hello friends! I’m excited to have the opportunity through Bible Gateway and as a Gateway Blog member to share with you a resource that will enhance your study experience and aid in bringing you closer to understanding how the past (before Christ) leads you straight to now (after Christ).

Right at the very beginning of this study bible it has a section on Application. Why is application so important? We can read and memorize the scriptures all we want but if we do not apply it to our life and change our ways so we align with who God would want us to be, then we’ve missed the boat.

Of course then comes each book of the Old & New Testament. I love at the beginning of each book it gives you the Vital stats of that book. The “low down” if you will. That way you know who they are talking about and why this book is important to us.

I get excited about this next feature. Each book gives you a description of some of the most important characters that played a role in that book. Why is this so exciting? Because I can get to know them a bit better. I might see characteristics in them that I see in myself and be able to learn from them. The bible gives such information as: strengths/accomplishments, weakness/mistakes, lessons they learned, a few vital stats and key verses pertaining to that character. Makes it a little more personal for me and therefore a bit easier to APPLY it to my life.

I’m attaching a picture of another section of each book called the Blue Print. This information is simply a snap shot of what you’re gonna find in that particular book.

See the link below to be able to order this great study bible. There are many places where you can find this bible for purchase. This is just 1 suggested resource.

https://www.amazon.com/Application-Study-Bible-Leathersoft-Letter/dp/0310452821/ref=sr_1_6?crid=3M1HERNX8VYO1&keywords=life+application+study+bible+niv&qid=1573844700&sprefix=life+application%2Caps%2C167&sr=8-6

Well speaking of resources. The bible has in the back of the book just boo-coos of resources for you to pull from. These are a few that I found helpful! * How to become a Christian , * How to follow up with a new believer and *Hard questions with scripture references. These are just a few of the wonderful resources built right into this one Bible.

I also want to encourage you to use a very handy tool @ https://www.biblegateway.com/

Through this resource, you can have reading plans, daily scriptures and the full bible in many difference versions so that you are able to compare with each other to make sure you understand what God is trying to say to you specifically through scripture. All at your finger tips, 24/7. Hope you find it to be a useful tool.

I hope that you will take advantage of all the tools you have to seek a closer walk with Jesus and grow so that you become all who God created you to be. So tomorrow when you wake, you’ll be ready to make disciples that make disciples.

Thanks for taking the time to read.

Lord thank you for providing me with avenues to bring you the glory!

Join me at http://www.rhondagouldonline or https://www.facebook.com/rhondagouldcoaching/?modal=admin_todo_tour

Settle

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What do you think of when you hear the word Settle?

Me……… my immediate thought is negative.

What does that say about me? Mainly, what does that say about my past?

If you look at the picture of the brick cracking. It is doing that because it’s foundation has started to settle. When it’s footing and the firm ground underneath it gives way, the seams that held it together also give way.

There has been many times that I have felt my life giving way because what I had built my home, my life on, the firm ground, was giving way. My footing was slipping out from under me and my home, my life, was crumbling before me.

We don’t always have control of the atmosphere around us, the rain, the cold, the heat effects our ground just as the people around us do. I had settled for something and someone that I believed was firm and sure footed. But it wasn’t!

I had settled into a routine, building my own dream home, until one day, I finally heard him say clearly, “Behold, I am doing a new thing”.

Isaiah 43:18-19 “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

The things that I had settled so comfortably in did not have a firm foundation. Did not have solid ground. The atmosphere was unstable and the cracks became clear all around me.

I do not have to settle. God has given me everything I need. Jesus gave up everything for me. He is my firm footing. His word holds strong under the pressures of the greatest storms. As long as I stand straight on His truths, the people and atmosphere that wants to surround me can not make the ground underneath me give way. The seams of my soul will stay in tact and I will make a way in the wilderness and there will be rivers in the desert.

Do not settle because Jesus made a way to move forward.

Why?

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#fmf

If you have never asked God, Why?. Then you are probably one of the very few people on this earth, who have at least a small belief in God, who hasn’t. I know I have many times but not lately.

How could there be a God and allow a child to die or suffer? Why?

That person was so good and did so much for others, why would God allow them to suffer in that way?

I’ve tried so hard to train my child up knowing you Lord, how could you have taken him away from me through drugs?

Why would you allow such a bad person to live Lord, yet take the life of one of your workers?

So many questions.

I too have had experience in my life that I wonder why God would have allowed that to happen. Childhood experiences, divorce, sick child just to name a few. Yes, I would ask, why?

Then I realized, those questions are only questions because the thing that God allowed to happen effected me or someone I loved. So then I had to ask myself, why not me? I’m no one special, so why should my pain be spared and someone else be riddled with it?

I may not understand everything that happens to me in my life. I may think it was unfair, painful and sometimes hard to forgive. But those things in my life, in your life, have a purpose. Can be used to bring glory to God and show others how His mercy and grace works. If we allow it!

John 9:3  “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.

And if I’m gonna ask Why on every painful and hard thing, then I need to ask Why on the joyous and blessed too.

Free will and choice are the true culprits in the tragedies of our lives but God can and will make good out of them if we ask Him to. And that good will bring multitudes of joy to us.

So don’t ask Why, ask Why not, and seek to find what you can learn from that experience, who you can bless through it and how you can bring glory to Him in it.

Thank you Lord for loving me enough to walk through it all with me! Amen

Help Others out of the Pit

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Sherri Clem: She’s a beauty. Holds herself up strong and if you look deep, you see that she understands the strength only comes from God. She is very aware of the grace that Jesus gave her and is willing to share that understanding with any one who will listen. Although she holds herself strong, she also is weak in need of love. Weary from past and holding on to future. Sherri is finding that love in the people that God has placed in her life. Some recent and some have been there all along but she is just now grabbing hold. She will love you, extend grace to you and feel deep compassion for you from the first minute of your interaction with her. Take some time to learn a little more about her.


My name is Sherri Clem I am a grateful believer in Jesus Christ who is celebrating my sobriety in chemical dependency since April 20th, 2006. I knew right away that I wanted to help others out of the same pit that the Lord pulled me out of when I gave my life to Jesus Christ and He set me free and broke me from the bondage of shame and guilt, that kept me in addiction for so many years. Celebrate Recovery was a wonderful faith based program that gave me the tools to be able to live a Christ like life and walk through my hurts, habits and hangs ups. As I got better I learned the power of forgiveness of myself, God and others. I realized my addiction had taken me down a road I never wanted to go and kept me a lot longer than I wanted to stay. I was addicted to stadol nasal spray for 7 years and almost took my life because I wasn’t in my right mind one night. From that night I never took it again but I picked up 7 more demons, a drug called fentanyl and the next 5 1/2 years along with about 40 pills a day my stomach began to shut down and I no longer could eat anything without it coming straight back up. I had what they called gastroparesis. My stomach became paralyzed. Not even that stopped me from doing drugs. My bottom came when I drove around Tennessee for 6 hours trying to get to my sons baseball tournament and could not remember where I was, who I was, I mean nothing my mind was blank. It was only Gods Grace that kept me from hitting someone or me wrecking. I found out when I got admitted to the hospital I had a T. I. A. It was a pre stroke plus I was having right lower temporal seizures. That was my bottom. My husband asked me at the hospital “Did I want To Die?”. Or Was I trying to kill myself? And I said no to both. I was scared. I was not ready to die, I was ready to live and I didn’t want to loose my son. My son was what inspired me to get clean. My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ healed me when I turned my life over to Him and took my last drug in April 20, 2006. From that time the Lord has restored me, my marriage and my children.

I went to College and got my degree in Cosmetology and soon there after bought a Salon, and named it Amazing Grace Hair Salon because it was only God’s Grace that all this was possible. My husband and I have a ministry truck called the Gospel Train where we go out and feed others who were just like us. We share with them the Gospel of Jesus Christ and let them know He loves them and there is another way. I am a Recovery Pastor, a Peer Support Specialists and a Leader at Celebrate Recovery. I love the gift of life the Lord has given to me and I don’t ever want to take it for granted. I also love that I can share with others there is way out of there struggles also. His name is Jesus. #WITHGODALLTHINGSAREPOSSIBLE #WEDORECOVER #A. R. T. #DREAMSDOCOMETRUE

Thank you Lord for the grace that you showered on Sherry. Thank you for protecting her family and restoring her marriage. Please allow her to have many more opportunities to bring others to you. Amen!

The Invitation

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As I start my new journey, a journey that I’ve been on for some time now, but yet moving it forward even more. At 57 (almost 58), I’m embarking on a dream that I’ve had since childhood. The avenue of getting there has been long and at times hard but experiences are what can define who we are if we allow them to. They can define us in a negative manner, as Satan would have it, or they can instill in us a passion for the positive, creative and compassionate life. That is the definition that I chose.

As I embark on this journey, I will find truths that tell my story and I will find me in the process. This is one of the truths that tell my story and help to explain who I am becoming.

The Invitation
by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon.
I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life’s betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain!
I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it, or fix it.I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human.It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me is true.
I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul; if you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.I want to know if you can see beauty even when it’s not pretty, every day, and if you can source your own life from its presence.I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, “Yes!”It doesn’t interest me to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to feed the children.It doesn’t interest me who you know or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you, from the inside, when all else falls away.I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.
by Oriah Mountain Dreamer
copyright © 1999 by Oriah Mountain Dreamer.

I hope through the journey that I am taking that I will be prepared to take others on that journey for themselves. Finding who they are as they define their experiences & success while also finding Joy. I will continue to journal my journey of becoming a Certified Professional Life & Leadership Coach. If you are interested in following that journey, you can click on FOLLOW in the column to the right. Or if you have questions or would like working with me, you can find me at rhondagouldonline.com under “Contact” or on Facebook @ Rhonda Gould Coaching.

Wound Healer

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Matthew 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples in all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the HolySpirit,

And how do I do that, make disciples, when I’m so messed up?

Unless you are just “not normal” or not a Jesus follower, you probably have asked yourself this question. Saying things like, “I’m not able”, “I’m not capable”, “I’m not knowledgeable enough”, “I’m not prepared with all the answer to their questions” or a myriad of other “I’m not” statements.

But have we forgotten? Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

In a recent sermon, I heard the preacher call Jesus the wound healer. That really hit home because without the wounds healed, we will continue to spout out those “I’m not” statements.

This life, my life, has thrown so many reasons at me for why I am not worthy or able to carry out His good work. I mean really! Who would listen to me. But I know for fact that many of the men God and Jesus choose also had those thoughts. During the sermon this diagram came to mind.

A visual of “Life” and there is God asking to carry that load for us. He gives us His word. He provides us a way to speak to Him. And He provides us with others who can help us sort those “life” things out. But without JESUS, we can’t do it! Jesus is our wound healer. The one who took those sins and pains from us and placed them on His back. Carried them far and will continue to carry them if we let Him.

Psalm 116:16-17  Truly I am your servant, Lord; I serve you just as my mother did; you have freed me from my chains.I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord.

Read Psalms 113-118 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ps+113-118&version=NIV

And the cool thing is that God and Jesus didn’t leave us alone. They gave us the Holy Spirit to walk this walk of life. If we are tied into the healing from the wound healer, we will also have the Holy Spirit to guide us in our walk to making disciples.

So when “life” starts hitting heavy on you and the “I’m nots” want to seep back in, try these verses and let them carry you on your path to “I can” through Him.

Isaiah 30:21  Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Colossians 2:10  and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.

He is our Creator, our Savior and our Provider. Have FAITH in Him, TRUST in Him and He will bring you JOY! HE will Guide your every step!

Thank You Lord for being my wound healer. Amen!

Storyteller Pens

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We all have a story. Some are wrapped up in a pretty box with a big beautiful ribbon and some are, at it’s best, wrapped in the comics out of the news paper. Some may even be without a wrapping at all. But there is a story none the less.

By definition, story is an account of past events in someone’s life or in the evolution of something. The pen is a tool for which you can tell that story.

I have been telling my story for years now. The stories may not have had my name tied to them directly but each writing told the story of my heart from the past, current or hope for the future perspective.

It is very therapeutic to write your story. To write from the heart. Sometimes it’s easier to write it than it is to speak it. I know there has been times when this has been true for me. Gathering my thoughts and putting them down on paper has been a blessing that God revealed to me over time.

But my story is not the most important story. The story of Jesus coming to this earth for us and dying on that cross to bare the burdens of our sins so that we may have hope for a future with him is the most miraculous story. When we come to understand that story and it fills our soul with Joy and Peace, we then feel the depth of the stories of other’s that much more fully.

That is where Storyteller Pens come into play. I hope that you will take the time to watch the video below and understand what this simple pen can do for so many people and how that pen can change the lives and stories for generations to come. Stories of the past generations can be made new and better for future generations if those of us who know Jesus will help write a new story of HOPE for them.

If you would like to reach out to Mike Allen and become the writer of new stories of Hope, you can reach him at Mantech_2@yahoo.com .

I have found healing from telling my story. I promise that you can too! And remember that Jesus is the ultimate story teller, one that is full of hope and a future. We simply need to be willing to tell that story.

Jeremiah 29:11-14 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=jeremiah+29%3A11-15&version=NIV

Thank you Jesus for loving me enough! Amen