A Story That Has Changed My Life Is.......

"You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good...." Genesis 50:20 a



The Biblical account of the life of Joseph.....for those of you who are familiar with the story, you can probably already guess why this story has changed my outlook on life and my approach toward it!
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the story, then I'm not going to spoil your chance to read and absorb it for yourselves....grab your Bible and read in the book of Genesis beginning at Chapter 37:1, and ending at Chapter 50:26.
I will tell you that it is an account of youthful foolishness that is mixed with the right amount of pain, sorrow, hardship, difficulty, faith, maturity, wisdom, and passage of time....which ultimately results in the reversal of a young man's fortune in life, and the sparing of many people!
In other words, it is one of those beautiful accounts that reminds each us of that God has a sovereign design and plan for our lives....it reminds us that when our lives are fully surrendered to Him, there is absolutely NOTHING that touches our lives that is wasted.....it reminds us that He uses every heartache, failure, and triumph, mingles them all together in the course of time and brings about a conclusion which hails to His glory and our good.....
Precious Sis, I don't know what you may be currently walking out/through in your life, but I do know this....if you know Christ as your Lord and Savior, then God Almighty is with you; He's orchestrating a Divine work of art within the tapestry of your life.....no matter how hard or painful your journey becomes, be reminded that Joseph didn't know what the outcome of his story would be either....he had to walk it out with his faith and trust in God to guide and sustain him.....yet unlike Joseph, we now have the benefit of being able to glean from Joseph's story, the marvelous workings of God as He wove every circumstance in Joseph's life together in a way where he could in the end speak the words of our Scripture reference to the very one's who had meant to destroy him.....
I'm not sure about you, but the account of Joseph's life assures me, that as long as I live with my faith focused forward, and my trust firmly rooted in the goodness of God, I can expect to see "all things in my life work together for my good because I love Him and am called according to His purpose....." (Romans 8:28 paraphrased) and because our God has no favorites amongst His kids.....you can expect the same in your life too!


As always, don't forget to join us over at http://holleygerth.com/ for more fuel for your heart & be sure to tune in Monday, March 31st at 10 AM EST via Blog Talk Radio as we discuss the story of Joseph's life, and the hope it holds for us in my broadcast titled "All Things Work Together...."

Are You On The Sidelines Or In The Game?

"The priests will carry the Ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth. As soon as their feet touch the water, the flow of water will be cut off upstream, and the river will stand up like a wall...." Joshua 3:13-14


Today's post came to me during this past football season as I stood by and watched my son battle back from an injury that he sustained during his very 1st game of the season.
I was especially reminded of today's Scripture reference, Joshua 3:13-14, as it occurred to me that the enemy often leads us to spiritual injury in order that he might keep us sidelined and out of the game on God's behalf; and make no mistake about it....the spiritual injuries the enemy uses to sideline us are often just as debilitating as my son's physical injury was to his ability to play football.
The enemy will often use fear, doubt, feelings of inadequacy, insecurity, as well as, false guilt, and condemnation to sideline us and keep us off of the playing field for God.
Although I named those particular negative feelings and emotions, they are just a few of the tactics our adversary keeps in his arsenal to render us ineffective and sideline us from stepping out and taking that 1st step of obedience in the things God calls us to & here's why.....
I am convinced that he (the enemy) works so hard to shut us down at the starting gate, outset, on the sidelines, what have you....because he knows that if he can successfully hinder us before we ever get started serving and living out our callings, we then, never have the real opportunity to become a threat to his kingdom.
One of the things that made watching my kiddo struggle with his injury so very hurtful was no matter how much he wanted to or wished he could, he simply could do nothing to help his team. His skills, talents and gifts were not in any kind of use....while standing on the sidelines for 4 games following his injury, he posed no threat whatsoever to the opposing teams his team played against.
Using that analogy, can you see then ladies, how and why it's such an advantage to Satan if he can cut our spiritual legs out from underneath us before we can even get in the game? We, like the priests of Israel have to be willing to step out in faith, get off of the sidelines and get out in the game of life, or in their case, in the waters of life....
The era of conquest would've surely been hindered and gotten off to a very poor start had Joshua, the priests, and people been too afraid to step out into the Jordan River, at flood stage no less, and believe that God would do with and thru them exactly as He had promised.
The Chronological Life Application Study Bible says it best....."The Israelites were eager to enter the Promised Land, conquer nations, and live peacefully. But first they had to cross the flood-level waters of  the Jordan River. God gave them specific instructions: in order to cross, the priests had to step into the water. What if these priests had been afraid to take that first step? Often God provides no solution to our problems until we trust Him and move ahead with what we know we should do. What are the rivers, or obstacles in your life? In obedience to God, take that first step......" (1)
I couldn't have said it any better myself....I truly believe you are eager to enter your promised land too! Yes, you may have to play the game or cross the rivers with a few injuries, but don't let anything keep you from it.....Your God has already given you the Playbook, instructions and Promises....Just Do It!!!

Remember to drop on over to http://holleygerth.com/ to give your heart a bit more lift! Also remember to join me Monday, March 17th at 10 EST on Life On The Grow Blog Talk Radio when I'll be chatting on today's blog in more detail!

A Small Thing That Makes A Big Difference Is......

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life....." Proverbs 13:12

 Hope!
That small 4-letter word is one, that for centuries, has made all of the difference in the lives and perspectives of many a person!
Show me a person who has lost their sense of hope and I will show you an individual who would likely tell you that their whole world is shadowed by a dark cloud or even, perhaps, a sense of meaninglessness.....on the other hand,  if you should show me an individual who is hopeful, I will show you a person who views life from the perspective of having a confident trust with the expectation of seeing that trust fulfilled....in other words, they have an eagerness and joyful expectancy for what their future holds....and I'm not speaking here about a "bubble-headed, rose-colored glasses" type of optimism.
The type of hope I'm speaking of is not something we can just muster up via wishful thinking and a positive attitude....The hope I'm referring to has it's roots in a supernatural Source....God Himself.
The earliest Christians often faced difficulties. Oppression, poverty, persecution, famine, and imprisonment were more common than material peace, security and prosperity. But even under such difficult earthly circumstances, the presence of the Holy Spirit and the hope of final restoration gave them great joy and strength.....
The point being this, no matter what difficulties we might face in this life, the hope of eternal life with God should help us to respond to all of our circumstances in this life with love, joy, and peace. (1)
So, the next time your dreams don't pan out exactly as you plan.....remember....hope springs eternal.
When your friends fail to understand your heart....remember....hope springs eternal.
When death rears it's ugly head and you find yourself standing at the graveside....remember....hope springs eternal.
When the diagnosis and prognosis are far worse than you even thought possible....remember.....hope springs eternal.....
And finally, when that day comes and you get to see Him face- to- glorious-
face....believe me, you'll remember.....hope springs eternal!

1. Excerpted from: The Chronological Life Application Study Bible; Tyndale House Publishers, Inc; Carol Stream, Illinois; October 2007



Remember to join us over at http://holleygerth.com/ for more encouragement! Also, be sure to join me Monday, March 10, at 10 AM EST via Life On The Grow Blog Talk Radio where I'll be discussing "The Power of Realized Hope...."

The Same Team.....

"Some of you are saying , "I am a follower of Paul." Others are saying, "I follow Apollos," or "I follow Peter," or "I follow only Christ." Has Christ been divided into factions?" 1 Cor. 1:12-13a

Being a Baptist gal born & raised I have spent my fair share of time at/in church. Let me be the first to say, I ADORE the Body of Christ, which is why I am writing today's post....
We only need look around us to see how our society and the world at large are heralding the soon coming return of our Lord and King! Soon and very soon, our faith shall become sight! In that, I rejoice, but I would be lying if I said that my heart isn't also burdened down with heaviness and sadness over some other things that are equally as obvious....
In our scripture reference, we hear Paul expressing his concerns over divisions within the church. His question in the beginning of verse 13 brings to mind something I've witnessed over the years in watching my sons play the game of Basketball.
Often, in the heat of the game, the fellas will be poised under the hoop diligently watching and waiting for the basketball to make it's way to, or through, the net so they can "box-out" their opponent and grab the ball for a rebound for their team. I cannot tell you how many times I've seen kiddos from the same team thrashing and fighting for the ball with such concentration and determination that they fail to even realize that they are fighting one of their own teammates....but luckily, we dedicated sports-parents are always present and are quick to "coach" from the stands and  yell out "Same Team!"  in the hope of making the players aware that they are actually inhibiting one another from accomplishing the very purpose for which they are even playing the game in the first place.....and nothing breaks or saddens my heart more than witnessing this very same thing within the Body of Christ......
Go back and read it for yourselves, but I believe that Paul was attempting not only to remind the Corinthian believers of the destructiveness and Kingdom hindering work caused by divisions within the Body, but his message was intended to be one of reproof for us as well......
Whether it be Denominational differences, styles of worship, or just plain old in-fighting, this offers us a graphic picture of what happens when the church, or the people in it, are divided.....
So, here's our challenge......just like in the game of Basketball, as followers of Christ, we need to remember that we too have an opponent who delights in nothing more and does nothing better than causing us to thrash and fight with our teammates, while slyly duping us into forgetting that our true fight is actually against his opposing team..... (Eph. 6: 10-18)
How much healing might we render in the Body, and how many senseless quarrels might be avoided if we took the time to yell out "SAME TEAM!" and remind ourselves and one another that our Jesus, in fact, is NOT divided....never has been and never will be! Our allegiance must be to Him and the unity He desires......
Although the reality of this truth saddens me, it is not one I can say I've lived out, or have even witnessed being lived out with consistency and passion.....it is a great goal for us to press on toward though....wouldn't you agree?