Are You Prepared For Your Journey?

We need to arise from our "slumber" and "feed" more on the Word of God, or the journey ahead will be too much for us. Without feeding on the Word of God daily, we will not have the strength to stand against temptation, to stand for Christ in these last days, to be an effective witness, or endure the trials we go through in life. Our strength, joy, and refreshment is found in our time alone with the Lord. We must diligently seek Him daily in prayer and in the Word. We make time for what is important to us. So, if your relationship with God is important to you, you will make time for Him. Remember, if you have time for social media, you have time to read your Bible.

- Rachel Marie

Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.” Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, “Get up and eat!” He looked around and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again. Then the angel of the LORD came again and touched him and said, “Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God.

- 1 Kings 19:3-8 NLT

Single this Valentine's Day?

Single this Valentine's Day? Don't be bitter. Celebrate God's Love for you. There's no greater love story than the cross. ❤️

- Rachel Marie

P. S. - Don't go out with a random just because you're lonely or emotional. Find your strength, contentment, and fulfillment in Christ. Trust Him. Wait on His Timing to reveal your love story to you. He's already written one for you, He just isn't ready to show it to you yet. Rest while your grow in your walk with Christ. 

"...And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

- Ephesians 3:17-19 NIV

"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 8:38-39 NIV

"This is real love--not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins."

- 1 John 4:10 NLT

"Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires."

- Song of Solomon 3:5 NIV

Where Are Your Priorities?

This is statement by Michael Kendrick is so incredibly true. The more time you spend with God, the more time you will want to spend with Him. I know when you first commit to seeking God daily, it's a discipline. But in time, as you remain committed, you begin to look forward to, thoroughly enjoy, and thrive off of your time alone with God each day. It's like you can't function without it. And that's how we should view God, as a vital necessity, a priority and not an option. ❤️

- Rachel Marie

You can read the devotion by Michael Kendrick on spending time with God by following this link:

https://www.facebook.com/RachelMarieMinistries/posts/933487506706227:0

How Your iPhone Can Help You Memorize Scripture

Here's a tip that will help you memorize Scripture fast: 

Make the passcode on your phone the corresponding numbers to the Bible verse you're memorizing. 

For example:

• if you're memorizing Jeremiah 29:13, your passcode would be 2913

• if you're memorizing Romans 8:1, your passcode would be 0801

• if you're memorizing Matthew 6:33, your passcode would be 0633 

A few other tips that help me memorize Bible verses are:

• writing the verse

• making the verse my lock screen

•  taping the verse I wrote on a place I look often, like on a mirror or a wall.

I was excited when God gave me the idea to memorize Scripture by using it as my passcode, because if you can't get into your iPhone or iPad without remembering it, you're gonna memorize it pretty fast.  Do this once a week, changing to a new verse weekly. Remember that while memorizing Scripture is very beneficial, applying it to your life is of utmost importance.

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

- James 1:22 NLT

Relentless Pursuit

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

- Jeremiah 29:13 NIV

Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.”

- Matthew 22:37-38 NIV

Our relationship with Jesus should be a relentless pursuit, a passionate pursuit. Jesus should be the love of your life. The song lyrics below perfectly capture what God wants our relationship with Him to look like. If you don't feel this way about your relationship with Jesus, move closer until you do. Walk with Jesus daily in prayer and in the Word, even when you don't "feel" like it. Ask God to give you spiritual tastebuds for His Word and for prayer. As you make this investment with God's help and self-discipline, in time you will feel like you can't function without your time alone with God each day. You will look forward to it. And before you know it, you will be passionately, relentlessly pursuing Jesus.

- Rachel Marie

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It's a relentless pursuit, relentless pursuit

I will not stop chasing after you

It's a relentless pursuit, a passion in pursuit

I will not stop chasing after you

I won't hold anything from you

Every part of me I've surrendered to you

And I am not afraid to run after you, oh

To run with all my strength, run into you

It's a relentless pursuit, relentless pursuit

I will not stop chasing after you

It's a relentless pursuit, a passion in pursuit

I will not stop chasing after you the love of my life

Oh you the love of my life

Oh it's you, you, you, you, you

Of my life

I can't take my eyes off of you

I can't take my mind off of you

I'm hopelessly crazy in love with you, you, you, you

You've taken the keys and you've opened up all of me

And now I'm running, I'm running after you

The love of my life 

Oh you the love of my life

- Kim Walker-Smith, "Relentless Pursuit"

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Dear Heavenly Father, I pray for each person who reads this. I pray they would pursue you passionately. I pray their hearts would leap for joy at the sound of Your Name. I pray their time with you each day will be their favorite time. I pray they would grow closer to You each day. Speak to them through Your Word and let Your ears be attentive to their every prayer. I pray any who aren't saved are released this day from the bondage of sin and released to run after You. I pray each one would be a doer of Your Word, not a hearer only (James 1:22). I pray they would deny themselves, take up their cross daily to follow You (Luke 9:23). I pray they will fall madly in love with you every single day. I pray they seek nothing more than Your Presence and to please you rather than people (Gal. 1:10).

In Jesus' Name.

Amen

May God bless you and your daily effort to relentlessly pursue Jesus with me.

Rachel Marie

A Prayer for the New Year 2016

Just to give you a little background for today's post, in Ezekiel 34, God is calling out the shepherds of Israel for not doing what He called them to do. In verse 4, He says, "The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them (NKJV)". In Israel, the Church was not doing its job. 

As disciples of Christ, we all have an important role to play, whether or not you are specifically called to pulpit ministry. That part is spelled out in Ezekiel 34. How can we do this?

• We can strengthen the weak by encouraging them.
• We can heal the sick by laying hands on them in prayer, taking Jesus at His Word in Mark 16:18,"They shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover". Who is "they"? Not just ministers... Jesus said believers (See Mark 16:17-18).
• We can "bind up"or "bandage" the brokenhearted by comforting them and praying for them.
• We "bring back what was driven away" or "bring back the strays (NIV)" by doing what Jesus instructs in Luke 15:3-7. We need to go after those who have walked away from the Lord until we find them and joyfully bring them back into His Presence.
• We need to seek the lost, as Jesus did, for that is the purpose He came for (Luke 19:10). We can do this by sharing the Gospel with them individually, or bringing them to church with us.

God promises in verse 16, "I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice (NIV)". The Amplified Bible explains that the ones He will destroy are those "who have become hardhearted and perverse".

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, we thank You for your heart of compassion. We repent for the opportunities we have failed to use to search for the lost, bring back those who have strayed,  heal the brokenhearted, and strengthen the weak. Take out our hearts of stone and give us a heart of flesh. Give us hearts filled to overflowing with compassion. Let us make the most of every opportunity you give us to minister to the lost and the hurting. Point out people who need our help, people we can bring your salvation and healing to. Let Ezekiel 34:16 be our description of ministry. Bring this Scripture to life in each of Your willing vessels. May each of us do our part also, to provide food for the hungry, shelter for the homeless, and clothes for those who need them. Bless each ministry that does this. Bless each person who contributes to this type of ministry. Help us minister to widows and orphans in their distress and keep ourselves from being polluted by the world, for this is religion you accept as pure and faultless (James 1:27). In 2016, may each member of the Body of Christ fulfill these commandments. May we passionately, relentlessly pursue Jesus every single day of our lives. May we be like Jesus to the least of these.

Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from your relatives who need your help.

- Isaiah 58:7 NLT

Now, take action. Begin to fulfill the Scriptures we discussed in your daily lives in 2016. 

A few thoughts on ways you can help those in need according to Isaiah 58:7:

• Make a monthly donation to a local food ministry in your area and/or volunteer your time to help
• Volunteer at a soup kitchen
• Donate clothes to ministries who provide for those in need
• Start a homeless shelter in your area
• Keep blessing bags in your car with basic necessities in them; hand them out when you see someone in need

Happy New Year! I pray you all have a wonderful year filled with blessings, health, provisions, and spiritual growth :)

4 Ways to Practice Thankfulness

Photo credit: Google

Being thankful is popular around Thanksgiving, but quickly dwindles away in light of Black Friday sales. However, gratitude should be integrated into our daily lives. God's Word commands us to give Him thanks. There's always something to be grateful for. If the ONLY thing you have to be thankful for is Christ making a way for us all to have a relationship with God, that would be more than enough! Most of you reading this, though, have numerous reasons to be thankful. In today's post, I am going to be sharing some ideas I  have learned from others on how to reflect on things we are thankful for daily.

1. Give thanks to God each day. 

First and foremost, we should begin our prayers daily by giving thanks to God. Psalm 100:4 tells us to "Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name." It's easy to go to God and unload our laundry list of things we need/want, but His Word commands us to give Him thanks for what we already have first. Give thanks to Him for all He has done, all He has given you, and simply for who He is.

2. Start a gratitude journal.

This is something I have just started doing again. A friend shared this with me a while back. Write down 5 things you are grateful for each morning and each night. Here's the catch: Never write the same thing twice. This makes you really dig deep to think of things you are thankful for.

3. Create a Habit of Giving Thanks Instead of Complaining 

A bad habit I really want to break is complaining. I don't want to complain at all, about anything, ever because Philippians 2:14-15 says:

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, "children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation." Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky.

Not complaining is a huge way we can shine for Jesus. Believe me, people around you will see your light shining if you never complain. Someone who never complains is going to stand out. (Of course, you can still pour out your heart to God in prayer about things that bother you.)

Something I love that Joyce Meyer said is that it is easier to form a good habit than break a bad one. So.. in my case, I can form the good habit of being thankful and break the bad habit of complaining. So, every time I am about to utter a complaint, I give thanks instead. I just started doing this and it is amazing how quickly it can change your perspective.

Below are a few examples that Heather Lindsey posted on Instagram that will also help you look at things in proper perspective:

I am going to add a few things to this list:

• In heavy traffic? Thank God you are physically able to drive, have gas, and a vehicle to get you where you are going!
• Didn't get a close parking spot? Thank God you are able to walk.
• Dislike the weather? Thank God you have warm clothes, central heating & air, and insulation in your home.. AND that you have a home.
• iPhone, iPad, or laptop going dead? Thank God you have these items. In 3rd world countries, these are unheard of and many right here in the states cannot afford these items.
• Power outage? There's nothing like a power outage to remind us what a blessing electricity is! There's very little we can do without it.
• Living paycheck to paycheck? In comparison to people in third world countries, you live a luxurious life. Things that we often take for granted as "basic needs" would be luxury items to them: safe home, clean water, food to eat (choices of what to eat), hot water (baths/showers), a car, medical care.. Just to name a few.

4. Start a blessing jar!

Photo credit: Pinterest

 I just started this a couple months ago. I saw this idea on Pinterest one time. The idea is to use a jar (decorate it all you want-- the above is not mine -- I decorated mine with red ribbon!) and every time something good happens (big or small), write it down, and stick it in the jar. On New Year's Eve, review all the good things that have happened this year. Praise God for each thing as you jot it down, as well as when you reflect on them as you read them on New Year's Eve.  So, although I started mine very late in the year, I knew God would do many great things before the end of the year. My jar is already pretty full. I am sure this will help me remember many things I might have otherwise forgotten! As full is my jar is from a few months, I can imagine how full it will be New Year's Eve 2016 (if Jesus tarries) when I have things in it from all year!

Let's make "thanksgiving" a way of life, not merely a holiday. 

If you enjoyed this post, please share it :) Thank you to all my readers out there! God bless you!

Happy Thanksgiving! 

In God's Crazy Love,

Rachel Marie