Lavish Love

Ephesians 1:7-10 (NIV)

 
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

 

It is so easy for us to go through our lives and be overwhelmed by the guilt and emptiness within us. The conformity of the world that we live in can often starve our souls of the deep spiritual nourishment we need to be sustained in life. Our souls begin to wander in a dry and desert land, exhausted from the burdens of sin that we carry, longing for life water to quench the drought within us. God so deeply desires for us to come to Him with our burdens, our sins and our emptiness so that He may break the chains that bind us. He sent his beloved son Jesus to take our place on the cross and bear the weight of our sins. He has paid the price for our transgressions that burden us and so desires to lavish our thirsty souls with His unfailing grace and love. He wants for us to no longer walk in confusion as we stumble in the darkness, but rather allow His light to illuminate our souls and reveal to us the mysteries of His perfect purpose that he crafted for each one of us. The riches of His merciful love are held in the scarred hands of the Savior as He waits longingly for us to run into His arms and experience the grace-filled purpose He has designed for our lives. He is calling us to run, with open arms and open hearts, to fully embrace redemption and walk in the light of His wisdom and love at work in us.

 

Look into your heart in this moment and come to God with any burdens or sins you find weighing down your heart. If you feel God leading you, ask Him to search your heart and purify you of the sins that leave you empty. Pray that He would take your weary, empty spirit and lavish it with the amazing riches of His grace. Ask Him to allow His love and wisdom to work within you that He would reveal to you the incredible and unique purpose He has laid out for your life. He loves you deeply. Come to Him, lay down your heart and allow His redemption to work powerfully within you for restoration.

 

I pray that this gives your heart peace and a deep joy as you experience the riches of God's grace being lavished on your Soul. He loves you, and truly has an incredible purpose at work in your life. I hope everyone has a fantastic day!

 

Madelynn

From the Dust

Psalms 119:25-28 (NIV)
 
I am laid low in the dust;
preserve my life according to your word.
I gave an account of my ways and you answered me;
teach me your decrees.
Cause me to understand the way of your precepts,
that I may meditate on your wonderful deeds.
My soul is weary with sorrow;
strengthen me according to your word.

We go throughout our day to day lives fighting our own battles and living our own ways, and while we may not always see it coming, many of us hit rock bottom, lay low in the dust as we are knocked to our knees in the battles we face. Life can be so taxing, so exhausting and there is only so much our souls can take until we hit our breaking point. We lose whatever strength we collected on the battlefield and collapse in an instance of hopelessness, not knowing were to go or how to rise from the dust. But here we find where we are to go, how we are to rise from our weakness and be empowered: God. When we are broken on the ground amongst the dust, he restores and perseveres our lives through the promises in His word. He takes our sorrow and turns it into strength, empowering us in a way we could never fathom as we are being powered with His strength. As we come to Him, confessing our ways, both wayward and straight, His holy spirit comes over us and lays on our hearts a gentle answer. As we go through this cycle of restoration, God fills us and causes us to hunger for His word and His ways. And just as this prayer of David comes to God with a raw and broken honesty filled with a desire to grow closer to his Healer, so God desires for us to come to Him with that same unveiled honesty and grow an insatiable desire for His word.

Regardless of whatever you may be going through, whatever circumstance you may be facing, pray this prayer to God with all your heart. Personalize it and come to Him with a raw, unveiled honesty. He desires to hear from you, for you to communicate with Him as a Father and a Friend. If you feel God leading you, invite Him into your heart to restore you and ask Him to guide you to walk in His ways, growing in a sustaining relationship with Him. Rest in this moment, and meditate on the words of this Psalm, allowing peace and restoration to settle on your heart.

I pray that this word of God would empower you and give you peace throughout your day. I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Madelynn

Cry Out

Psalms 40:1-3 (ESV)
 
I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord.


It's so easy to get caught in a slump in life. Where everything seems to either come to a standstill or work against you. We begin to feel down-cast and our vision is fogged as we stumble through our lives, unsure of where to go. We cry out for help to friends, to addictions, to relationships and things that bring us comfort in the world. We all cry out in our own way to the things we think will pull us out of that slump, which often will bring us momentary pleasure. But how often do we cry out to the One who always hears, who always responds, and is the only One who can pull us out of that slump? God is waiting patiently for you to cry out to Him and reach up to His hand so that He can pull you out. He wants us to wait patiently as His purpose is constantly at work in us, guiding to the place we need to be. Once we truly reach out and trust in God from the pit that we are cast into in our lives, He stands us upon His solid foundation and makes us secure in Him. All this gives us a joy beyond anything we've ever experienced and pours out into our lives. As we see the power that God has and how He cares for us with such a passion, we find ourselves trusting in Him with reckless abandon, letting go of anything that would hold us back from the love of our Saviour.

Take this moment to dig deep into your heart and cry out to God. Be honest with Him about what's weighing on your heart, for He desperately desires to hear from you, the one He loves so deeply. If you feel God leading you, ask Him to come into your heart and draw you out of whatever pit or slump you find yourself caught in. Pray for patience to wait on His purpose, and allow God to move in you in this moment, filling you with a new song of praise on your heart. Really rest in this moment and cherish the comfort that God is bringing. And let hope fill you for the days ahead that God has planned for you.

I pray that this word would empower you greatly today in God's purpose for your life. I hope you all have an amazing day! :)

Madelynn Marlow

Building Plan

1 Thessalonians 5:9-11
 
For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

Our day-to-day lives have a way of wearing on our hearts and breaking us down. Long days and the emotions they carry can often be very taxing on our bodies and hearts. As this world constantly persists in its attempts to break us down, we search for things to build us up. We dig frantically through whatever rubble the world leaves us with to find anything that would make us stronger and build us up. The more we dig to find something to build us up, the more we come out empty and more worn down than before. We were not made to be broken down by this world, but rather to be built up in Christ. Christ gave His life so that we may have life in Him and be built up on the foundation of His love. As we surrender our lives to God's building plan for us, we are spared the wrath that was before pressed on our hearts and we experience true life in Him. We no longer go through life merely surviving, but truly living with the divine purpose God has laid on our hearts. And with this love filled purpose, we find that what God has placed within us can't be contained as God begins to work through us so that we and those around us may built up in Christ.

Open up to God about ways that you feel you are suffering in this moment, and what you are building your life on now. If you feel Him leading you, invite Him into your heart and give your life over to Him so that He may build you up in His incredible purpose. Ask God to work in you so that with His love, you can build others up in Him too.

I pray that this word would empower you in the plan God has for your life, and that it would guide you to build others up in Christ as well. I hope everyone has a great day!

Madelynn

The Healer

Psalms 147:3-4
 
He heals the brokenhearted
    and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars
    and calls them each by name.

There is one thing that is inevitable for every person to experience in life: hurt. Whether it be physical, spiritual, or emotional pain, we all have to face some sort of hurt in our lives. It's a truth that some have great difficultly accepting while others embrace the hurt in their lives far deeper than they ever should. It's not something that we want to face or dwell on, but it holds a gripping presence in our lives when it does creep in. And for many in the world, there is a hurt that cuts deeper than any physical wound, and that is the pain of a broken heart. It leaves us broken even if for just a moment, and causes us to be weak as we become vulnerable. When most reach a heartbreak that runs so deep, they give up and lose hope. But God designed our lives for such a greater purpose than to lose hope. He designed us to live in the stronghold His infinite love, holding on to an unbreakable hope in Him. It breaks His heart more than we'll ever know to see the hearts of His children breaking. He so deeply desires for us to let Him nurse our wounds and heal us into a new and stronger creation in Him. If He so divinely crafted every star that is held in the vast night sky, how much more does He hold an incredible purpose for you, the child of His that He so fearfully and wonderfully made with an astonishing purpose in life. He is our maker, our healer and our hope. We just have to open the door in our hearts and let His healing spirit move within us.

Open up to God about any pain you are experiencing right now in your life, big or small. All of us encounter hurt, and it's something that God wants us to come to Him with. If you feel God leading you, humble your heart before Him and allow Him to move within you. Ask Him to heal you in this moment and guide you live in the new life that He is creating in you now. Cherish this moment and the strength that God is empowering you with.

I pray that this would heal any hurt you are facing in your life, and that this word would empower you greatly with God's incredible purpose for your life. I hope everyone's day is amazing!

Madelynn

Passion

Colossians 2:6-7

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

The moment when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior in our hearts is truly an incredible, indescribable moment. It's one that completely changes the course of our lives, and gives us true life in the life of Christ. In that moment we are left on a spiritual high with a fire burning brightly inside of us with a new found passion for God. We want to go all in for Christ, to live out our lives in this the light of the newly restored lives we have received. However, it is so easy in that moment to get lost in the excitement and not know where to go. So many of us slip and slowly lose that passion God graced us with when we received new life in Him. And so many of us finally come to a point when we stop and wonder where that passion went and how we could ever get back on track we we've fallen so far. God is a God of restoration through love, and He so desires for us to experience that love through life in Him. He calls us to come back to Him, to hold on to that passion we first had when we fell in love with Him, and to continue to feed that fire within us burning for God. Once we give our lives to Him, He becomes the foundation of our lives in which our souls are firmly rooted. He takes our weaknesses and strengthens us, and continues to strengthen us as He reveals to us His ways through His word. And with all this flowing into us, we can't help but overflow with thankfulness. This amazing cycle of love and grace that God so calls us to is right in front of us, ready to be grasped and used. All we have to do is step out and take hold of the beautiful rhythms of grace we are called to.

Read over this word of God a few more times. Open up to God about what this word lays on your heart. If you feel God leading you, invite Him into your heart and accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Take a moment and think about what new life in Christ means to you, and let the fire for God grow deep within you. Cherish this moment and the fresh passion for God's love that He is putting on your heart. Ask God to guide you so that you never lose this passion, that you are always rooted in Him, that He would strengthen you through His word and that you would always overflow with thankfulness for Him. Truly rest in this moment, and the sweet restoration it brings.

I pray that this would strengthen you greatly as you are rooted in the love of God today. I hope everyone has a fantastic day! :)

Madelynn

Holding it Together

Colossians 1:16-17

For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

If we stop and take a look at the world around us, we find that a lot of things are falling apart. The economy. People's relationships. People's lives in general. People's health. And if we pause from the craziness of trying to hold everything in our lives together on our own, we often find that many of us are tearing at the seams on the inside as well. We all strive so hard to keep our lives together, to give our lives purpose, and in doing so we miss out on the true purpose our lives were designed to uphold. The God who created us holds us, along with all things in this world, together in his supreme power, and He is the one who gives our lives purpose. God was at the center of all things when the Earth was created. He is still at the center of all things today. And God and God alone will continue to hold all things together in our lives, in this world, and in the universe He created. Our lives were fearfully and wonderfully designed to have Christ at the center. We just have to stop fighting to have control and give control to the one who was meant to have control in the first place: God.

If you feel like you are fighting to hold all the things in your life together, and you're not sure where Christ plays a part in alll of this, open up to God about it. If you feel God leading you, invite Him into your heart and surrender all control to Him so that He may reign your life in the center of your life, holding all things together with His perfect purpose.

 I pray that this word would give you confidence in the power of Christ throughout today. I hope everyone has a great day!

Madelynn