Hi everyone!
Due to the fact that I am a little bit scatter brained, I sometimes have a difficult time finding something to blog about. There are so many things that I would love to discuss but I don't know where to start.
I also would love some feedback on what is helpful and what is not.
Therefore, I am extending an invitation to you all to email me!
Feel free to please email me:
- Topics you are interested in, even hard ones. I would love to have specific things to research for you! Lot's of people don't like to talk about certain issues but I want you all to feel free to give a suggestion that can be anonymous that I can try to tackle for you.
- Questions you have about anything.
- How I can make this blog more effective.
One idea I had was to just go through a book of the Bible systematically instead of hopping around trying to find something to talk about. If you have any suggestions for a book of the Bible you would like to go through, please let me know.
So! You can email me at h.rebekah.helm@gmail.com . Honestly, you can send me anything.
This would be a huge help to me!
Thanks,
Holly
Monday, January 20, 2014
Pressing On
Lately, I have been learning that the life of the Christian is very difficult, especially regarding sanctification.
If you don't know what sanctification is, it is the way in which God shapes the Christian daily to be more and more like Jesus Christ in every aspect of life. It is the process in which God refines us and purifies us until the day we arrive in heaven and are made perfect, finally.
This process can seem very discouraging. At times we can vividly see just how sinful we truly are, and even though we are saved we still war against the temptations of the world, our flesh, and Satan.
We need to remember that sanctification is a process. The Christian life is not a perfect life but it is a life marked by a growth in practical holiness. It is a life marked by the deep awareness of sin and the powerful desire to be made into the likeness of Christ.
Let this encourage you.
Paul wrote to the Philippian church,
"But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed into His death, in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on to lay hold of that for which I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.
Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet, but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 3:7-14
If you ever are feeling discouraged in your walk as a Christian, keep pressing on. Get into the Word of God and keep seeking to understand how God desires for you to live. Don't give up. Keep pushing away sin and seeking the righteousness of God. And don't forget that it is God who is at work within you. It is by His grace that you are saved and by His grace that He will lead you and sanctify you.
One last thing; giving into sin and temptation is not the solution for discouragement. If you struggle with certain sins, as we all do, your discouragement will not be solved by continuing in that sin. Keep pressing on, forward, away from sin. It is in those desperate times when we feel most tempted to sin that we must flee to Jesus Christ to help us. Apart from Christ we can do nothing.
Keep pressing on by grace of our Lord.
Thanks for reading!
Holly
If you don't know what sanctification is, it is the way in which God shapes the Christian daily to be more and more like Jesus Christ in every aspect of life. It is the process in which God refines us and purifies us until the day we arrive in heaven and are made perfect, finally.
This process can seem very discouraging. At times we can vividly see just how sinful we truly are, and even though we are saved we still war against the temptations of the world, our flesh, and Satan.
We need to remember that sanctification is a process. The Christian life is not a perfect life but it is a life marked by a growth in practical holiness. It is a life marked by the deep awareness of sin and the powerful desire to be made into the likeness of Christ.
Let this encourage you.
Paul wrote to the Philippian church,
"But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed into His death, in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on to lay hold of that for which I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.
Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet, but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 3:7-14
If you ever are feeling discouraged in your walk as a Christian, keep pressing on. Get into the Word of God and keep seeking to understand how God desires for you to live. Don't give up. Keep pushing away sin and seeking the righteousness of God. And don't forget that it is God who is at work within you. It is by His grace that you are saved and by His grace that He will lead you and sanctify you.
One last thing; giving into sin and temptation is not the solution for discouragement. If you struggle with certain sins, as we all do, your discouragement will not be solved by continuing in that sin. Keep pressing on, forward, away from sin. It is in those desperate times when we feel most tempted to sin that we must flee to Jesus Christ to help us. Apart from Christ we can do nothing.
Keep pressing on by grace of our Lord.
Thanks for reading!
Holly
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Worry Warts
In this ever changing world and the uncertain times in which we live it is extremely difficult not to worry! How can we be free of anxiety when there are so many things to worry about? Persecution, nuclear pollution being dumped into the ocean, poor road conditions, the future, what other people think of us, what will we do with our lives, who will we marry, our family conditions, and the list goes on and on and on and on.
But this is a new year! A new chance! A fresh start!
Let's be honest... it is... and it isn't. All we did was go from one day to the next. Although we can hope, plan and resolve to be different people with different habits and better lives we are usually disappointed with the results because we fight the same old battles today that we did yesterday and the day before.
I want to encourage all of you today. Let's look at this a little closer.
Philippians 4:6-7
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
1. Don't worry about your life. But how do we do this? We take all of our problems and requests to the Lord! Instead of allowing worry to overrun your mind, bring EVERYTHING to God in prayer. This doesn't mean you cannot think about your life but you cast your worry at the feet of Jesus and don't pick it back up! God alone is wise and knows what He is doing and He cares for you.
2. Gratitude to God for His goodness, faithfulness, and grace is not only essential to prayer but also causes us to think on God's promises and faithfulness in every circumstance. Worrying shows that we do not fully trust in the Lord to come through or to do what is best in His eyes and it is actually sin. When we see worry like that I think it helps us to understand that it isn't a problem we can ignore. We must ask for God's strength to persevere and for help to trust Him more, and like the man in Mark 9:14-29 (I encourage you to look that up) we cry, "I believe, help my unbelief!"
3. The result is that God's perfect peace then will guard our hearts. This peace is beyond our comprehension and we cannot analyze it and we must trust that God will do this for us. What I want to emphasize here is that this peace is for those who are saved. You cannot have peace in your heart apart from peace with God and the only way you can have peace with God is through Jesus Christ. Because of our sin, we are actually enemies of God according to Romans 5:10. But God, being rich in mercy and love did what? He sent His very own Son, Jesus Christ, to live the life we could never live, to die the death that we deserve and to rise from the dead showing that God accepted Jesus as the sacrifice for our own sins. Therefore, if we repent of our sins and trust in Jesus Christ as our savior we will be saved and God will put His very own Spirit inside us, to live within us so that we can live unto righteousness - so that we can live lives that are holy and pleasing to God! Peace is the... FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT: Galatians 5:22-23. It is part of the package of fruit that comes from being saved!
If you are saved, you can have peace through prayer and committing all things to God. If you are not saved, I would plead with you to consider these words. If you have not repented of your sin you are still an enemy of God and His wrath still abides on you for the life to come. You will not find peace apart from peace with God, your Creator who deeply loves you. And this is the FREE GIFT of God. He died while we were STILL SINNERS. You do not need to clean yourself up to come to God - YOU CAN'T! It is all Him, it is all His wonderful grace. Accept the precious gift.
Thanks for reading!
Holly Helm
But this is a new year! A new chance! A fresh start!
Let's be honest... it is... and it isn't. All we did was go from one day to the next. Although we can hope, plan and resolve to be different people with different habits and better lives we are usually disappointed with the results because we fight the same old battles today that we did yesterday and the day before.
I want to encourage all of you today. Let's look at this a little closer.
Philippians 4:6-7
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
1. Don't worry about your life. But how do we do this? We take all of our problems and requests to the Lord! Instead of allowing worry to overrun your mind, bring EVERYTHING to God in prayer. This doesn't mean you cannot think about your life but you cast your worry at the feet of Jesus and don't pick it back up! God alone is wise and knows what He is doing and He cares for you.
2. Gratitude to God for His goodness, faithfulness, and grace is not only essential to prayer but also causes us to think on God's promises and faithfulness in every circumstance. Worrying shows that we do not fully trust in the Lord to come through or to do what is best in His eyes and it is actually sin. When we see worry like that I think it helps us to understand that it isn't a problem we can ignore. We must ask for God's strength to persevere and for help to trust Him more, and like the man in Mark 9:14-29 (I encourage you to look that up) we cry, "I believe, help my unbelief!"
3. The result is that God's perfect peace then will guard our hearts. This peace is beyond our comprehension and we cannot analyze it and we must trust that God will do this for us. What I want to emphasize here is that this peace is for those who are saved. You cannot have peace in your heart apart from peace with God and the only way you can have peace with God is through Jesus Christ. Because of our sin, we are actually enemies of God according to Romans 5:10. But God, being rich in mercy and love did what? He sent His very own Son, Jesus Christ, to live the life we could never live, to die the death that we deserve and to rise from the dead showing that God accepted Jesus as the sacrifice for our own sins. Therefore, if we repent of our sins and trust in Jesus Christ as our savior we will be saved and God will put His very own Spirit inside us, to live within us so that we can live unto righteousness - so that we can live lives that are holy and pleasing to God! Peace is the... FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT: Galatians 5:22-23. It is part of the package of fruit that comes from being saved!
If you are saved, you can have peace through prayer and committing all things to God. If you are not saved, I would plead with you to consider these words. If you have not repented of your sin you are still an enemy of God and His wrath still abides on you for the life to come. You will not find peace apart from peace with God, your Creator who deeply loves you. And this is the FREE GIFT of God. He died while we were STILL SINNERS. You do not need to clean yourself up to come to God - YOU CAN'T! It is all Him, it is all His wonderful grace. Accept the precious gift.
Thanks for reading!
Holly Helm
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