For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Galatians 6:8

SEED #3 DETERMINE TO HAVE AN ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE

By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.  For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. Hebrews 11:9-10; These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. … But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. Hebrews 11:13-14, 16; By faith Moses… He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. Hebrews 11:24, 26

Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham and Sarah all were motivated in their faith by their belief in and yearning for heaven.  They had an eternal perspective.

Life has trials, difficulties, troubles and tragedies.  All of which cause us to look inward to our own pain and hurt.  Choosing to have an eternal perspective gives us greater purpose in our trials and eases the pain and suffering, perhaps just a bit.

Not only that, but keeping an eternal perspective invites God into our circumstance with a bigger view of life.

As we pursue spiritual maturity and a vibrant faith shall we intentionally plant seed #3: Determine to have an eternal perspective? Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Colossians 3:2

Blessings,
Diane

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9

SEED # 2: DETERMINE TO OBEY GOD EVEN WHEN IT IS DIFFICULT OR DOESN’T MAKE SENSE.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. Hebrews 11:8

Sometimes our inclination to obey is strongest from the start but it is difficult to maintain the obedience day after day.  When God called Abraham to leave his home and go to a country he knew not his first inclination may have been obedience; but what about day two or three or week 5, when he and his family were still on the journey?  Don’t you find obedience can get tougher when we don’t see results?

I cannot tell you how many times I have given a homework assignment to a counselee to encourage their growth, such as, “speak words of encouragement to your husband this week” only to have them come back the next week and say, “I tried that but it didn’t work!” Didn’t work?   Seriously?

Is obedience only required if it works?

Sometimes obedience is tough right from the start.

Sometimes we just don’t know why God calls us to do a particular thing. What God is asking doesn’t make sense to us.  Probably like Abraham when God commanded him to sacrifice his only son.

That didn’t make sense, but Abraham obeyed.

One seed we need to intentionally plant to reap the benefits is to determine to obey God even when it is difficult or doesn’t make sense.  Faith believes anyway.

Will you plant seed #2?

Blessings, Diane

What seeds are you sowing?

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. Galatians 6:7

Seed #1: DETERMINE TO LEAVE A GODLY LEGACY
By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. Hebrews 11:4

Abel’s testimony and legacy outlive him.  If you walk as a woman of faith, the evidence of your faith will leave a testimony that will outlive you.  It will allow you to leave a godly legacy that will impact your family for generations to come.

Have you given any thought to the legacy you will leave?  Are you being intentional about the legacy you will leave behind? You will leave a legacy one way or the other.  What will it be? How will you be remembered?  How will Christ be remembered in your life?  When people think of you will they think of you or the Christ you followed?

Be determined.

Determine to leave a godly legacy.

Blessings, Diane

Diane Hunt is a biblical counselor, women’s conference and retreat speaker and author. After sixteen years on staff at America’s Keswick, she and her husband John have recently moved to North Carolina to be near their two married children and four grandchildren. She loves reveling in warm sunny climates and playing with her grandchildren.

When I was little, my mom always had me say the prayer, “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, may angels watch my through the night, and wake me with the morning’s light.” I didn’t understand what “angels watching me through the night” meant at the time. Now that I’m an adult, it holds a lot more meaning.

Recently, I’ve been struggling very much with night terrors. I’ll wake up in the middle of the night and be unable to fall back asleep. I’ve shared this with many people and they have been faithful in lifting me up in prayer. I was so happy when my nightmares stopped for a little while, but now they seem to be back. It has been really hard for me, but I’ve also been learning a lot.

Through these night terrors, I understand more and more about how much God truly loves me. That might not make sense to most, but I can tell you that He has placed me somewhere where I am completely encompassed and overwhelmed with love. By surrounding me with brothers and sisters in Christ who have and will continue to support and pray for me, God has not allowed these nightmares to steal my joy.

Between people who go out of their way to pray over me, people who give me scriptures and devotionals to study, and people who lend me soothing music to help me sleep, it has been harder and harder for me to focus on these bad dreams throughout the day. That is amazing to me because usually, when I have nightmares, they keep running through my mind and I can’t seem to rid myself of the images. Now, my focus remains on the love of Christ, because that love is so clearly shown through my co-workers every day. Feeling such peace and love in such a time of darkness might not make sense to the world, but that is because it’s only traceable to the hand of God.

God’s truth screams louder than the lies of the enemy, so even if I’m being attacked I will fill my heart and mind with the Word of God and keep my eyes on the One who loves me more than I can imagine.

“You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,” – Psalm 91:5

“For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” – Zephaniah 3:17

“I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.” — Psalms 4: 8

Erin Culleny

Marketing Assistant

“God is jealous, and the LORD avenges; The LORD avenges and is furious. The LORD will take vengeance on His adversaries, And He reserves wrath for His enemies” Nahum 1:2

I once heard a popular talk show host say that she could not believe in God. She went on to explain that if God was jealous of her then God must not be “all that”. What she got wrong is that God is not jealous of us but He is jealous for us.

Warren Wiersbe gives this explanation of jealousy in his Old Testament Commentary on Nahum.

“Jealousy is a sin if it means being envious of what others have and wanting to possess it, but it is a virtue if it means cherishing what we have and wanting to protect it. ‘Jealous’ and ‘zealous’ come from the same root, for when you’re jealous over someone, you’re zealous to protect the relationship.”

The positive side of God’s jealousy for us is that He treasures you; He cherishes you and doesn’t want to share you with any other god. He has made covenant with us as believers and He takes His relationship with you very seriously. However, His love will not tolerate the idols we set up, our pride or anything that is in His rightful place.

God’s jealous FOR you! To know the depth of His jealous love for us is comforting. To know that His jealous love also burned against those who broke His law is convicting.

I pray that a proper understanding of God’s jealous love for you will encourage you today!

Blessings,
Kathy

Kathy Withers is on staff at America’s Keswick and serves as Acting Director of Partner Care. Kathy has been married to her husband Dave for 30 years. They have two adult children. Kathy is active in her local Church and teaches a Bible Study for women. Her passion is to encourage women to deepen their walk with Jesus Christ by finding and living out the truths of God’s Word.

Loading the dishwasher the other day, I had a flashback of an event from my past that caused me to pause in disappointment. It wasn’t really a moment of shamefulness, but rather passing thoughts of “I really wish I hadn’t done that.”

The enemy still catches me in moments of weakness to remind me of those dark moments from my past that I’d rather forget. He speaks in my ear, “Wow, do you remember when you did that?! How could you?” I feel the pit in my stomach and I look around to see if anyone sees me as if I am reliving my sinful act again.

It’s a pretty horrific place to be in at times. But once I gather myself and regain my composure, I’m usually able to move through my day with little interruption.

I began seeking God about why those instances still seemingly haunt me. Despite confession and repentance, why is it that some memories just don’t go away? These scars of sin just never seem to totally fade away into my new complexion covered by the blood of Jesus.

And this morning on my ride to work, while listening to my morning sermon podcast, I heard from God’s Word something that eased my apprehension and explained His plan.

The preacher said, “The scars are not there to remind you of what you’ve done, but rather to remind you of who He is and what He’s done in you.”

Tears began streaming down my face.

For the soreness that is left behind from previous sin is not an indictment but a battle scar from the spiritual war zone that Christ pulled me from.

With that perspective, I understand fully Paul’s interaction with God over the thorn in his flesh. As irritating and interrupting the sight of a scar can be, its purpose is part of our earthly lesson for eternity.

God told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”

And Paul responds, “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s
sake: for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Well, hallelujah!

Regardless of how the scar got there (because some wounds and scars come as a result of suffering in obedience too!) we can glory in the fact that these scars – unsightly marks, wounded emotions, never-quite-the-same limbs – are the very places in which Christ rests upon us. The calloused skin or keloids left behind mark the precise spots where Christ intervened and made us stronger.

In my conversation with the Lord about this, He left me with this final thought. Despite how it may feel to experience a flashback or be reminded of who you were, God says today and every day, “Don’t worry. There’s grace for that.”

Diera Mendez
Diera Shaw-Mendez is a minister and youth leader at New Beginnings Worship Center, Pennsauken, NJ, and works full-time for an educational nonprofit in Philadelphia. She is wife to Chaplain Juan Mendez and mama to Olivia Joy. She spends her “spare time” running an online invitation design shop on Etsy and write occasionally for her personal blog, With Style, By Grace. Diera is a God-fearing, Starbucks loving, tech junkie (…in that order!) who simply wants to inspire women to invest in THE beauty that never fades!

3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air[a] came and devoured it. 5 Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. 7 And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. 8 But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” 9 And He said to them,[b] “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” Mark 4:3-9

As I have mentioned before, my husband and I have a deal. He takes care of the outside of the house and I take care of the inside. I prefer to clean the floors, wipe down the bathrooms, make the bed and clean out closets. I like that, in my opinion, Dave does all the real dirty work outside. I came home recently to find a large pile of limbs on the front lawn. A tree needed to be pruned back and the gardens needed to be cleaned out for the coming winter months. I don’t like that kind of “dirty”.

As I continue to study the Gospel of Mark with the ladies at my church I took another look at the soils described in Mark 4. In the past I considered that the parable of the sower and the seed was referring to the Gospel message being brought to places where it would either be heard and find nowhere to take root or it would be received and fruit would be the end result. However, I was convicted that this parable was speaking to me. In part, or even at times in whole, my heart can represent these various types of soil, too. How often do I receive seed from God’s Word and yet I choose to let it be blown away without a chance of taking root? There are hard places that need to be softened and rocky places that need to be cleaned out as well. The longer I walk with the Lord the easier the temptation is to ignore the signs that hardness is creeping back in or to continue to want to do the dirtiest of work to keep my heart soft, pliable and receptive.

The Gospel message is not just for unbelievers. Every day you I need to hear and know the Gospel message. Every day you and I need a message from God’s Word as He teaches us. Every day you and I must look at the soil in our hearts and remove the things that contribute to a hardened heart. Today I pray that you and I will not ignore the condition of the soil within our own hearts. You and I need to get our hands dirty.

Blessings,
Kathy

Kathy Withers is on staff at America’s Keswick and serves as Acting Director of Partner Care. Kathy has been married to her husband Dave for 30 years. They have two adult children. Kathy is active in her local Church and teaches a Bible Study for women. Her passion is to encourage women to deepen their walk with Jesus Christ by finding and living out the truths of God’s Word.

Not too long ago, quite by accident, during a very low moment, I came across a post on FaceBook which linked me to another page titled, “Daily Blessing” . I read one, then two, then three and had read a few more when I became tangibly aware that my thirsty, longing soul was being encouraged, fed, admonished, revived!

Our God is a keeping God. He is all the time faithful to draw near to us as we draw near to Him. Oh how good God is! How amazing He is to minister to me, to us, in the exact place of our need before we even ask.

In my case, on that day, I didn’t even know what my need was. I was simply in a down place and unable to think my way to speak truth to my own heart.  And yet, there God was and is!

Dear ones, do you hear; do you know what I’m speaking of? Our God is able! Our God is faithful! He loves us with an everlasting love. He is forever present to meet us; to love and care for you as only He can.

Since that day I believe the Lord has led me to share the “Daily Blessing” with a number of the women in my life. So that’s what I’ve been doing. Almost every morning I wake up eagerly looking forward to my daily blessing as part of my TAG (Time Alone with God).

He is using the “Daily Blessing”, (which now shows up in my email) to minister to me. When I’m finished with my TAG time (sometimes before) I copy, paste and pass it on -“pay it forward” if you will, to my sister friends.

So dear Victory Call sisters, in keeping with that I’m sharing one of them with you today, hopeful that you will receive the blessing within.

“May the Holy Spirit detoxify your soul! May He show you what habits, thoughts, and actions need to go so the Lord can strengthen you for the road ahead. May you sense the holy-invitation before you. May you get a glimpse of His plan for you; just enough to inspire you to make the necessary changes, take the necessary steps, and grab a firm hold of His promises. May you be willing to do something different so you’ll be ready and equipped for this next place of promise. He’s got a new chapter ahead for you. May you care enough about your story to leave the lesser things behind. You’re so precious and important to Him! Blessings on your day today!”

Stephanie Dale

Stephanie D. Paul serves as part of the Addiction Recovery Team at America’s Keswick as Director of Women of Character. She has been married for over 30 years to Sesky Paul who is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy. They have two grown children.
Her single focus in ministry at Keswick is to image Christ in grace and truth to wounded and hurting women, encouraging them to make Jesus the truest Lover of their soul and the One in whom all hope lies.
The Daily Blessing is written by Susie Larson who is a radio host, speaker and author. One of the ways she connects with women is through writing the Daily Blessing. You can visit her website and read more at http://www.susielarson.com

All the resources I looked at about preparing soil to grow a garden speak of the value of compost.  Compost is “a decayed mixture of plants (such as leaves and grass) that is used to improve the soil in a garden; a mixture that consists largely of decayed organic matter and is used for fertilizing and conditioning land.” (Merriam-webster.com)

The addition of compost to the soil enriches the soil for a better growing season and a more abundant harvest.  Paradox?  Dying things enrich the soil so that living things grow better.

Do you want to grow in your walk with Jesus Christ?  Do you want to mature in your faith?  Do you desire to bear more fruit?

Then death is necessary.

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. John 12:24

As you die to your own passions, your own desires, your own plans, your own way… well… to you, that death will enrich the soil of your soul producing more fruit. It’s not just death, sister, it is death that brings life.

I think too often when confronted with the challenge to die to our flesh in some area, we can’t see past the death part.  All we can focus on is being without that thing.  All we can see is the death, the unfulfilled longing the death will cause.  We do not lift our eyes beyond death to life that lies on the horizon.

For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.  So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Romans 6:10-11

For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 2 Corinthians 4:11

If you resist dying to your flesh, then you resist life as well. You cannot have life without dying. But the good news is THERE IS LIFE!!!!

Blessings,
Diane

Diane Hunt is a biblical counselor, women’s conference and retreat speaker and author. After sixteen years on staff at America’s Keswick, she and her husband John have recently moved to North Carolina to be near their two married children and four grandchildren. She loves reveling in warm sunny climates and playing with her grandchildren.

Suddenly your world is turned upside down.
Bad news from the doctor
A family death
Financial loss
An accident
An addicted family or friend
A theft
A friend moving away
A husband leaves
Loss of job

Listen. close.  There’s a whisper: “Will you trust me now?”

It’s easy to trust God when life is good, but what about when life takes an unexpected turn. Do you hear the whisper?  “Will you trust me now?”

When life gets difficult, maybe even seemingly impossible, will you then stop trusting God?  Oh, we may say “of course not” but in reality when worry, anxiety and fear loom larger than trust we need to ask ourselves the question – will I stop trusting Him NOW?

We may need to remind ourselves multiple times a day or even multiple times an hour– out loud, “I will trust Him now. I will trust Him now. I will trust Him even now.  Yes, Lord I will trust You now.”

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.” Isaiah 26:3-4

Blessings,
Diane

Diane Hunt is a biblical counselor, women’s conference and retreat speaker and author. After sixteen years on staff at America’s Keswick, she and her husband John have recently moved to North Carolina to be near their two married children and four grandchildren. She loves reveling in warm sunny climates and playing with her grandchildren.