Truth (Do you really want it?) by Julie Sheppard

Jesus is the Truth, the Word and the Way!

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     People claim to be seeking the truth, but most of what we hear is lies. Yes they sound good, and it may even be what we wanted to hear, but is it true? Do we actually desire to know the truth or just what makes us feel good? News stories once had to be factual, and they were accountable for reporting the truth. Today if you read a news article or watch the news does not mean it is true. At least half if not more of what you read on the internet is not true. Our opinions have become fact( at least that is what we want to believe), which does not make it true. We even have a term to make lies sound nice; they are called ‘white lies’.

      In the movie “A Few Good Men” Jack Nicholson’s character states “You can’t handle the…

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Who Am I?

 

 

     Who am I that I think that I must defend God? God has given to each of us the gift of free will. Those who choose to deny Jesus may do so. When Judas chose to betray Jesus God did not stop him. Instead as Jesus was eating His last meal with His disciples, Jesus told Judas to go and do what he was going to do. (John 13:27 ESV Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”)It is man that tries to force his will upon others. Do it my way or else! God gives us commands and He wants us to obey Him. We try to force others to obey our ways but each day in one way or another we fail to keep all of God’s commands. (Romans 3:10 ESV ¹⁰ as it is written:“None is righteous, no, not one;) Yet when we see someone else break His commands we get angry, we argue and fight and justify our behavior. He is our Defender, our shield and strong tower. He does not need our righteous anger, especially since none are righteous. Jesus tells us if we love Him we will follow God’s commands. He also tells us hate is equal to murder. Then He tells us to love those who hate us and bless those who curse us. Jesus chose to go to the Cross and He loved those who crucified Him. I am not to argue in fight. I am to love.

     Whatever we choose to do we will face the consequences of our own choices and actions. No matter what we choose to do we will all face God and be judged for our own actions and how we lived our lives on judgment day. (2 Corinthians 5:10 – For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things [done] in [his] body, according to that he hath done, whether [it be] good or bad.)

    I do not need to get mad or upset when someone does not agree with me or even speaks against my faith. Arguing is pointless and calling a person names only harms my witness. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NIV 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.) I am to be self controlled and not try to control or dominate others. (Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Titus 1:8 but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled, ) I am not perfect and I have argued many times in my life, and I still fall prey to this behavior on occasion, but my goal is to live as Jesus instructs me to, and to live in peace and love that is only found in Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior.

In my weakness

I may be weak but the joy of the Lord is my strength.

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I am told that I am strong

That my faith is inspiring

but in this I do not agree

I would like to say that my faith does not waiver

and that i trust in God at all times

If I did this

I would be lying

Yes Jesus is my Savior

Yes He is my Lord

but I am weak

I have fears and doubts

I feel overwhelmed

and I have no strength to go any further

I want to give up

I cannot hold on

God in His mercy

picks me up

and he carries me

He gives me grace

He gives me love

He is my hope when I have none

I don’t know what tomorrow will bring

but I do know

that even when I want to give up

He will never give up on me

In my weakness

He is my strength

In the darkness

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To Live

Lord help me to die to myself and live for You.

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To Die is to live
To Love is to give
For the most precious gift
That can be found in this life
Is given in love by Jesus Christ
Who lived and died
To save our lives
So that we may come to know Him
As our Lord and Savior
For there is no greater love
Than a man to lay down his life
To save another
To die is to live
To love is to give.

Julie A. Sheppard

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Continuing to make changes in me (Words)

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Proverbs 18:21 ESV Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.
A few years back I had come to realize that my speech was ugly and hateful. I had so much anger and resentment over the abuse and wrong doings that had happened to me, I was allowing it to control my behavior. I always felt the need to protect myself and the slightest wrong would allow me to justify to myself, giving me a reason to retaliate. I did not have the physical ability to do harm but the words that came out of my mouth were as damaging as any physical damage a person could do. I had no intention of forgiving those who had hurt me. Then one day I heard the words spewing out of my mouth like lava from a volcano and realized…

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Procrastination/Don’t Put It Off Till Tomorrow

 

    There is one thing I am very good at. I procrastinate doing things on a very regular basis. There are things that I know that need to be done, but they are not immediately important. Right now I am procrastinating as I write this. I have a pile of socks and laundry that I need to go through and put away, as well as some other household chores that have pile up while I was laid up last week. Now that I am feeling a little better, I know I should be tackling these chores, (which I did start) but instead here I am typing these words. Guilty I am procrastinating putting off for later can be done right now.

   This makes me think about the parable of the ten virgins. Half of these virgins kept themselves prepared for the groom to arrive and the other half went about their days doing what they pleased for the moment and not preparing for His return.( Matthew 25:1-12) Now I have to ask myself am I prepared for the return of my Lord Jesus? Am I doing everything that I can to be ready to be His bride? We His children are His bride, and we need to prepare ourselves today for His return. We do not know the exact day and hour but He is coming!  Be ready and prepare yourself as a bride prepares for her wedding day we must prepare for His return. Do not wait for a more convenient time, right now is the time to get right with Him.

Do you listen?

Do you know the difference between hearing and listening?

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When your children do not listen to you and disobey you do you get upset? Of course you do. I do not know of any parents that does not care when their child does something wrong. As a parent you have rules you expect your children to follow those rules. There are the things you want them to do, and the things you do not want them to do. When they break your rules you discipline them. So why is it that when God tells us to do something or not do something we like to argue with Him, or we go ahead and do the thing He has told us not to do? He is our Heavenly Father, and we are His children. As we want our children to listen to us we need to listen to God our Father and not argue with Him and do what…

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Forgive me

Forgiveness sets you free!

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My prayer.

For anyone I have hurt with my words or actions, I am sorry, please forgive me.

For anyone I have judged in anger I am sorry Please forgive me.

For anyone I tried to control, boss or try to manipulate to get my own way, I am sorry please forgive me

For those I did not help when I was able to I am sorry please forgive me.

For those I refused to listen to who needed to talk I am sorry please forgive me.

Father in Heaven I am sorry for every time I have withheld the love you gave me from another and refused to forgive, help me to forgive and please forgive me

For anyone I had not forgiven I am sorry I forgive you and hope you can forgive me. I ask God to bless you with His love and mercy.

 

Forgiveness is…

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Eye of the Dragon

God my Heavenly Father did not give me a spirit of fear! He gave me a spirit of power and of love and a sound mind. I will not be controlled by fear, paranoia, terror, or anything of this world. Jesus gave me power and authority to tread over these things, and through Jesus I have the victory!

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Art by Julie Sheppard / Water color and ink

 

I looked deep into the eye of the dragon. I could smell his breath as he breathed through his nostrils. Something burned deep within him.

I was not afraid. I spoke not a word. Smoke came from his nostrils. His anger burning hotter within in him.

I was close to his face as I stared into his eye. I saw the red flame burning. His anger was growing. Still I was not afraid.

I looked deep into the eye of the dragon. Then I turned and walked away. I conquered my fear. I am not afraid!

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February 17, 2016

Last night at church I asked for prayer. My brother in Christ spoke and I listened. The first thing they said I was dead, the old me is gone, and that Jesus now lives in me, I am a new creation. Then they said that in the night when I go into my kitchen and I turn on the light the darkness vanishes, but it is still dark in the drawers and cupboards because they are closed. I need to let the Light of Jesus shine into all areas of my life.

Today I read in my devotion this-

I do not believe this is coincidence, but God speaking clearly, not only to me, but to anyone who is seeking a deeper relationship with Jesus. Let His light shine into all the areas of your life. Let go of your way of doing things and how you think, and let His WORD transform you with the power of His LOVE. Let Him be the Potter and you be the yielding clay.

Matthew 28:5-7 (ESV)  But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he[a] lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.[a] The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

God Bless