The "F" Formula

While trying to encourage a friend the other day, I wrote something and when I looked at it I thought.."That might be something worth remembering! Maybe it would encourage others!"


'You Felt it, Faced it and then Finished it in Faith!  That is what we do with uncomfortable, unwanted, unhealthy emotions.'

📖 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4

Ugly, unwanted, uncomfortable emotions; we all have them...but we must not let them overwhelm or overtake us!

FEEL it...the first thing is to understand that something is going on....we are acting out...behaving the way were are because of WHAT is going on inside.   Take a few steps back..." What is it I am feeling to make me act this way?   Hurt? Sad? Depressed? Neglected? Abandoned? Self centered? Jealous? and the list can go on....but figure out what you are feeling.
Jesus had emotions too!
When Lazarus died...
📖 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked.

 “Come and see, Lord,” they replied.  Jesus wept. John 11:33-35

He got angry...

📖 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me." John 14:14-17

Jesus felt alone, abandoned...
📖  Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled.  Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”  
Matthew 26:36-38


"Feel" it so you can
FACE it....ok I am bitter because...?  I am angry because,......?  I feel neglected because...?  you get the idea....you find a point in time when that "feeling" began, an event (or maybe several), that triggered the emotion. ....now Face it...so that you can step beyond it...past it....but in facing it you go through it! We don't side step or skirt. around it.....we face it so we can deal with it

When Jesus felt alone...abandoned...overwhelmed He Faced it and gave it to God, so he could move on and do the will of His Father.
^📖 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Matthew 26:36-39

FINISH it!!!  

When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:30

With those words Jesus finished IT....finished the punishment for sin, finished eternal separation from God.  Finished death for our sins once and for all!

The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. Romans 6:10

We need to finish it, the battle with what ever emotion we are feeling that is trying to strangle out the good God has for us!  

Feel it!  Face it!  Finish it!!

And we can only make this formula work with the most important  "F"....FAITH.

With faith in God and our Lord Jesus Christ we can face the emotions that threaten to do us in...we can work through them knowing He had gone through them before us! He has felt them, faced them and finished them!  For us!
📖  ..keeping our eyes on Jesus,the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne.  For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, so that you won’t grow weary and lose heart.  Hebrews 12:2-3 (HCSB)

📖 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Hebrews 4:5

So to finish it we must....
 📖   Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:31-32

God has shown us how....
📖  He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy    and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8

And as overwhelming as it may seem we can do it because...
📖  I can do all this through him who gives me strength  Philippians 4:13

Have faith that He has overcome anything you may be facing right now!

📖 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

You can do this...you can MOVE past it!
makes me think of a song ..of course!

Move. Mercy Me

A1c

A1c is a blood test for diabetics that track a person's blood sugar levels over the course of several months. (in it's most simplest definition)
Most diabetics...at least the ones I know are to check their blood sugar levels once a day...bare minimum... preferably more. And then their doctor checks their A1c at different intervals.
This way they control their sugar levels better..their diet, medications etc....in theory!

"HgbA1c is a good marker for glucose control, because the more glucose is circulating in the blood, the more hemoglobin will be glycated (covered with sugar)"
(https://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/blog/what-does-a1c-stand-for/)

Makes me wonder wouldn't a  "C1c" test be helpful?!!  A test to measure how much Christian has coated our cells/built up in us over a period of time?  To help us have a better handle on our Christian walk and life?!

From the moment we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior...Master of our life...our "C1c" should increase.
Sometimes the numbers might spike with a period of spiritual growth, and sometimes they would stay level as we go through a spiritual dry spot, but the ideal is that they would always be increasing.
If our numbers drop we know that we need an infusion to the soul. 

Silly isn't it!?
 But how many of us just move through each day, not giving much thought to how Christ would have us live, each moment? 
"Over all I am a good person, it's not like I have murdered anyone!" 
"I love Jesus."  
"I go to church once a week (IF I am not too busy)," 
"I know what the scriptures say..I will get more serious about it later."
"I am too tired" or "to sick too care"

We get caught up in the busy and only when things slow down do we think "Oh God, I pray I handled the day ok."

Whew! It's a good thing there is no such test!...or is there???

📖  By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. Matthew 7:16-20

So how does my "C1c" look?
"I am a good person, generally, I haven't murdered anyone!"
📖 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’  But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ ["Vain or worthless fellow; a term of contempt used by the Jews in the time of Christ." (Orr, James, M.A., D.D. General Editor. "Entry for 'RACA'". "International Standard Bible Encyclopedia". 1915.)]  is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. Matthew 5:21-22

"I love Jesus!"
 📖  “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Matthew 7:21

📖  But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. Matthew 15:18

"I go to church (when I am not busy)"

📖  Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:23-25

 "I know what the scriptures say..I will get more serious about it later."
📖 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Hebrews 10:26-27

"I am too tired" or "I am too sick to care."
📖    I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!  So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. Revelation 3:15-16

I don't know about you....but does some of that seem almost discouraging?!

But for those of us who believe, who call ourselves followers of Christ....we WILL stumble ...we WILL fall... BUT WE HAVE THIS HOPE....
He has given us FORGIVENESS!!
📖  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Roman's 5:8
📖 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. . John 3:16-17

📖 Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter,...  Mark 3:28

📖 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  

2 Corinthians 12:9a

📖    “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Amen!!!

I know my "C1c" numbers may not always be on the increase...but my goal is that of John the Baptist     "He must become greater; I must become less.”  John 3:30


So the silly "C1c" can be a reminder; 
The more the "C" Christ is #1, the lesser the "c" coefficient of me. 

The more of Him in me, the less of me I see!
As I pray that for me today....I will pray it for you as well! 🙏💗

BRAVE

I have been doing a study on Psalms with a very sweet friend of mine ...The Psalm Adventure with Gwen Smith (you can find them through this link; Gwen Smith Bible Studies   I would highly recommend!)
There are weekly video segments that my friend and I are behind on....so we have been trying to catch up and have been watching them together!  One of the  sessions we watched Gwen talked about "Bolstering Your Brave" and of course my brain kicks into high gear with an acrostic of how we can get our BRAVE on!

Believe in Who He is!
       Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."  John 14:6
Rely on His Strength
     I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13        
Acknowledge His sovereignty!
      Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.           Matthew 28:18
Victoriously claim His might!
     But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 
     1 Corinthians 15:57
Enter into His Power!
     Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Ephesians 6:10

We can be BRAVE in the face of any of our fears if we remember; Who is fighting for us, Who is on our side!  Remembering to allow God to be at the head of our lives and everything in it. With God in the proper position in our life, we will be able to fight the battle!

 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Ephesians 6:11-13

Don't try to defeat the enemy on your own.....He will give us ALL we need to fight the enemy we face!  and He will give us VICTORY!

I pray today you are FEARLESS!
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)

A great "battle" song! (please click on the link below to enjoy)

🎶
Fearless. Jasmine Murray

Because of the Cross You Are.....

I had several different inspirations for a couple of blog subjects this past week, I knew God would direct me this morning as I sat to have my Coffee Time with my Dear Friend.....well He had other plans!!!

Before I sat I was doing a YouTube work out - PS1493 (Psalm 149:3)  It is both spiritually uplifting and physically challenging (enough for me!).....as I got finished...standing there sweaty and heart rate up....I was rooted in the spot.... The music video that came on the screen so touched my soul. When I realized I hadn't moved; remote still in my hand, tears streaming down my face,  I knew I HAD to share this today.  It speaks for itself...there is not much I can add

Please click on the link below and watch the YouTube video

Flawless - Mercy Me

and then click on this;

A picture of you; what would it say? ____________________
FLAWLESS!!



For You shaped me, inside and out.
You knitted me together in my mother’s womb long before I took my first breath.
I will offer You my grateful heart, for I am Your unique creation, filled with wonder and awe.
You have approached even the smallest details with excellence;
Your works are wonderful;I carry this knowledge deep within my soul. Psalm 139:13-14 (VOICE)


My prayer for you today; You believe and feel you are FLAWLESS because of what Jesus did on  the cross!