Encouraging verses and thoughts

Just some great thoughts, some good verses, great reminders and encouraging things to study. I have enjoyed reading these verses and really just kinda wanted to write about them, or just put them on here so others could be reminded also.

"Therefore I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is- his good pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12

God's gifts are irrevocable, it says in Romans 11. His mercy is filling us each day. We are called to be living sacrifices, as he puts it in the verse above. We are called to be lights to the world, in a world of darkness and evil, to run the race given us with complete certainty that he is our God and that we are his children. His will is perfect, and without his will we are broken and hopeless. There are allot of things in this world that can not be explained, and are very hard to understand. But one thing I hold on to and constantly remember is that God has a perfect will, he created everything and he has the power to work out everything for good, no matter how horrid it seems at the time. I have personally seen this in my own life. He has taken every thing, and has worked into my life to become something for the better. We are like clay being molded in his hands. He is molding us, taking the things that come into our lives, and molding them into a stronger, taller, solid pot that cannot be easily torn down. We start as a lump of clay, something that can be easily smashed, not able to stand on its own, but if we let him work in us we can end up a beautiful strong, piece of art that is able to stand strong in his hands. And that is a wonderful thought, wonderful hope.

" Therefore brothers, since we have confidence to enter the most holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened up for us through his body. and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess for he who promised is FAITHFUL!"

He is so so faithful! There has never been a time that he has left me, everytime I have fallen and been so down, there has been something that happened to bring me right back up again. There's always opportunities that he brings me, it is just a matter of will I take them? We have a "new and living way" it is so full of joy and hope and peace, we just have to draw near to him. We have to make an effort to take the opportunities, focus our hearts on him, and draw close to him in a relationship that can not be broken. That is one thing that can't be taken away, our relationship with Christ. and that leads me to the next verse.

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38

Nothing can separate us. He is in our hearts for good, he is there to stay and nothing Satan throws at us, nothing the world puts at out feet, nothing anyone can say or do can separate us from his love. Jesus commands my destiny and yours. And that is an amazing thought, an amazing promise. <3

(the whole chapter of Romans 8 I LOVE by the way, I greatly encourage you to read it, and if you already have, read it again, and again and again.) :)

"If God is for us, who could be against us?" Romans 8: 31 amen!!

Romans 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

The love of God should be overflowing out of us. His joy radiating out of our very spirits. That is the light people can truly see, the visible character of a disciple of Christ.

1 Peter 2:4 " As you come to him, the LIVING STONE, rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him, you also like living stones, are being built into a spiritual priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."

This made me think of how much we need each other. Christ is the living stone, he is the capstone, the foundation, the one that holds everything together. We are also called to be living stones. We are connected to him, a family of Christ and if we are all called to be living stones then we are all connected. This made me think of a brick wall. All the bricks are interwoven together, without one brick, the other would fall and shadder. This is a metaphor of how much we need each other in the body of Christ. We need to learn to rely on each other in both good and bad times. Because without the accountability of the other, one may fall and stumble. We are supposed to be a loving family of believers, and I truly believe if we could be open up to each other, praying and confessing on a regular basis as we are directed to, the church could be such a powerful place. Because even though we seem so friendly and happy on the outside, we are still broken...there is pain in the church that no one can see, because we are too afraid to open up and support each other. We need to crush our stained glass masquerade and start seeing the real thing.


"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens,[a] Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. 16Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:14-16


He was tempted in every way imaginable, never failing, never giving in. He is our high priest, our capstone, our living salvation. He is able to do so much more than we can ever imagine in our lives. If we would just allow him to be put in the driver's seat of our lives, and allow him control then maybe we could find the mercy and peace that we are longing for. If we trust him, approach the throne with confidence, he can help us. He will never turn us down. He wants a relationship with us and is waiting for us to approach him and accept him. He loves us and cares for us more than we could ever imagine, we can not fathom the love that Christ has for us.

I long for a relationship with him, I pray for the strength and will to let go of myself, to trust him, put everything behind me, put Satan beind me and allow him to work in me. I have a hard time giving up my control. It is so hard to say"OK, you know best, why don't you take control know and I will take the back seat." I get so frustrated that I can't get better at what I need to get better at, when I know that I can't even give up my stubbornness to trust him. I have to give it up to God, because that is the only way my life will truly be complete. I love him, and without him I am nothing. I am working daily on reminding myself that he loves me and will do everything in his power to get me on the right track. And I just pray that I can give it up to him. It is so hard, and I can't even understand why it has to be so hard. I guess it is Satan telling me that I can't afford to give it up. And yes that is exactly what it is, but even with knowing that I still can't find myself really submitting my power, not fully.

I have no idea who will be reading this post, but if you have gotten this far then you must care enough that I can ask for your prayers. Please pray for me, pray that I can give my life fully ot Christ and submit my control. Because nothing can be done, can get better unless I can fully do that.

God bless you!! :)

Kayleigh