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Verses to Calm an Anxious Heart & Sitting Among Friends #86

Jaime Wiebel — Wed, 02 Aug 2017 11:55:00 +0000

School is just around the corner and for me, that means an increase in anxiety. I have to admit. I love having my kids at home and them going back to school makes me a little, okay a lot, extra anxious.

Today had to be the worse day. I am talking reckless tears and a headache to boot.

Your reasons for being anxious or worrying may not be the same as mine. There are many other reasons that cause us to feel trapped in the anxieties of this world. Parenting, Marriage, Jobs, Money, Family Relationships, Debts, Illness, and you may wonder where the list ends.

But we have hope. We have a God that is in the business of conquering our fears and anxieties.

New stages or seasons in life involve change. Change is inevitable, even though it brings with it a certain amount of fear or anxiety we can embrace these days with hope.

I don’t know about you but I really need these assurances right now and I know they can only come from God’s Word. We are going to look to God to bring us go through these transitions with hope, courage, and strength.

Do Not Worry

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns–and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his lifespan? Matthew 6:25-27 (BSB)

He already knows your needs

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Matthew 6:31-32 (NLT)

In Everything Pray

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)

Rest, O My Soul, In God Alone

My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be shaken. On God, my salvation and my glory rest; The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah. Psalm 62:5-8 (NASB)

Take Heart! He has overcome the World!

I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!” John 16:33 (BSB)

My dear friends, we know there will troubles in this world. We can curl up on the couch with them or we can curl into God’s Holy Word with them. A stronghold where in His arm we can find comfort.

In God’s Word, we are told not to worry time and time again. We are told to pray and give our petitions and thanksgivings to God because there we will be given peace.

We are encouraged that God is our mighty fortress where we can come and find rest and still our anxious hearts before Him.

God is a conqueror! He has overcome this world that we live and fret in. In knowing that we can be courageous and march on through our days with Him marking our path and leading the way.

Thank you for joining me today. If you were encouraged by these words. Please share them with a friend. We don’t always know the hurt others are facing but we can the One who does and the One who can bring hope.

Before You Go, I have a fun giveaway of Nichole Nordeman’s New CD in Yesterday’s Post. Read the Full Review and Sign Up for a chance to win a copy of her new Cd Every Mile Mattered (Click Here).

I am glad you are here. I would love for you to join us at Seeking God Daily. Because a couple friends and I are passionate about sharing God’s Word we have joined forces to bring together a Facebook Group called Seeking God Daily.

Seeking God Daily is a group that offers hope, encouragement, and support in learning God’s Word and applying the truths to our walk with Christ.

We want to encourage one another through authentic, honest and respectful conversation as we earnestly seek God daily.

Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

We’re doing life together so come and join in the conversations. You can join this group by clicking HERE ! While you are there feel free to invite some friends along for the journey. We would love to have them!

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Let’s Connect!

WOW! Thank you all for coming and for the 61 Amazing posts from last week. This party has been wonderful thanks to you, friends, who link-up with us and those who stop by and read posts. Thank you!

You all are amazing writers who share Family and Faith, DIY’s, Recipes, Photos, Giveaways, Homeschooling and more. Many of you have amazing journeys of faith and I praise the Lord we are able to connect here!

There are easy share buttons to your left or at the bottom of each post (mobile) and after you link-up. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks! From all of us at #SittingAmongFriends

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When Doubt Creeps In & Sitting Among Friends #72

Jaime Wiebel — Wed, 26 Apr 2017 07:57:00 +0000

While I was reading my son a section in his Bible, a thought popped in my mind.

Is this all real? While it was brief and I was certainly assured that it was, I was a bit startled.

Have you ever wondered? Have you ever doubted? Have you ever felt like this is too much and could it possibly be true?

As Christians, having those thoughts is often accompanied by a sense of guilt. A sense of wonder or confusion. We may have these thoughts and think it is not possible to really believe in God and wonder or doubt if this is all real?

Jesus understands. In fact, He wasn’t afraid to clear this matter up with one of His close companions. And guess what? It came with no accompanying guilt.

We can come off this mountaintop of joy after Easter. We are ready to celebrate and are encouraged to get moving in our journey of faith. Then life creeps in and we can wonder or have doubts if we are the person for the job.

So, if you have ever wondered or had doubts if this is real (I am going to guess that maybe all of us have at some point) then let’s dive into John 20.

What has just occurred in John is the women went to the empty tomb, Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene and then the disciples.

I want to remind you before we go any further that the disciples were hiding behind locked doors because they were afraid.

Christ had been crucified and now He was missing from the tomb. The reality of what was in front of them was the leader they had been following and riding all their hopes on, was gone.

Can you say bundles of wonder, doubt and fear must have been sweeping through their emotions? I can’t imagine the physical and emotional trauma they must have been feeling. But then…

Jesus appears and shows them His hands and side. He greets them with, “Peace be with you!” And they are overjoyed.

But one was missing. One didn’t have his fears or doubts calmed. Before we are too hard on Thomas, remember Jesus showed the others right away. He knew they had fears (they were behind locked doors) and His greeting of peace meant He knew they needed them calmed.

When Thomas arrived with the other disciples, they were overjoyed and exclaimed, we have seen the Lord! But Thomas…

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” John 20:26b

I will not believe. Have you ever said, unless God shows me this… Or… if God could only let me know or see this… Or… If only I could see a miracle, then…

John tells us a week later. Thomas had to wait a week to see what the others had already had eased in their minds. It must have been a very long week.

Sometimes a day, a week, a year or a decade of seeing clarity in God can eat away at us. It can eat away at our faith. The wonder, the doubts, the fears take place of the truth or reality of what the Lord is really doing in our lives.

Then the Lord appeared to Thomas and greeted Him, “Peace be with you!”

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” John 20:27

Right away, He addresses this issue of doubt. Put your finger here. See my hands. Physically see. Touch. Understand. I am and did what I said I would do.

He knows and addresses His doubt. Stop doubting and believe.

The opposite of his doubt is belief. Belief in the evidence.

Maybe you are saying to yourself. Well, if I could only see that, then I could believe. Then my doubts could be put to rest.

We don’t get the benefit of physically seeing Jesus. But listen to Jesus’ next words to Thomas.

Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29

Blessed are those who have not seen me and still believe. That is us who have put our trust in Him. We don’t have to see Jesus to believe. We can see the evidence of His existence is so many other ways.

We have his amazing sunsets that declare His great love. We have the miracle of life as He gives us each breath we take. We have His power displayed in us through His love that we can give others. We have healing, mending, and restoring of broken hearts, bodies and lives.

As we walk and put our trust in Him more and more, He becomes more evident in the grace and mercy that he pours into our lives.

We are on this side of the cross and get the benefit of walking in grace and not under the law. We are the recipients of His blessings, goodness, and faithfulness through the generations.

Wonder, doubt, and fear are all a part of the process of putting our trust in Christ more while stacking them up against the truth and evidence He has displayed in our lives.

When those thoughts creep in, we can replace them with the truth of what we know to be true of God.

When time, circumstances, and feelings make us weary we can hand them over to Him for the same encouragement He gave to Thomas. Here is the proof. Stop doubting and believe.

Christ didn’t rebuke Thomas. He said, put out your hand. Take hold of me and Believe!

Does doubt creep in?

Following Jesus’ example. Here is a simple exercise to replace doubt with belief in your life. We are going to replace the lies and doubt with truth. First, ask God to reveal some solid truths and evidences of His work in your life. (If you are a believer in Christ, that is miracle number one). Keep a list. A physical reminder of the ways God has shown up in your life. When doubt creeps in, ask God to replace the doubts with the truths you have recorded. Trust and Believe that His words are meant for you.

Let me know how using this exercise goes. What other ideas do you have and use when doubts and fears creep in? Let us know in the comments below. Need More encouragement. Feel free to email me!

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This week’s featured friend is Alisa Nicaud from Flourishing Today. Alisa shares her beautiful story of how she has Flourished in God’s abundant grace and inspires you to meet God so you, too, can Flourish Today. I am so glad you are here, Alisa. Thanks for joining us!

WOW! Thank you all for coming and for the 78 Amazing posts from last week. This party has been wonderful thanks to you, friends, who link-up with us and those who stop by and read posts. Thank you!

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Fear Not – Believe Only – Hope Restored! and Sitting Among Friends #61

Jaime Wiebel — Wed, 08 Feb 2017 08:57:00 +0000

Fear Not – Only Believe – And you will be made whole

Wow! Words that seem so steep to our minds. To our broken hearts. An uphill mountain to climb with peaks beyond our view. The journey of one father at the feet of Jesus may have seem wasted. It may have even seemed ridiculous to the onlookers.

But in his gentleness, Christ tells him, fear not, believe only, and she will be made whole.

We read that and some of us long to know and own those words. Fear Not. But what does it take to be made whole?

There are two stories intertwined in the latter verses of Luke 8. We will look at the story of a desperate father to save the life of his dying daughter as we continue to learn from the people who sought life at the feet of Jesus.

Then a man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying. As Jesus was on his way, the crowds -almost crushed him. Luke 8:41-42

Immediately after this, a very sick woman touches Jesus’ robe and is healed. Jesus stops to take the time to talk with her before He continues onto Jairus’ house.

The people had heard Jesus was coming, so the crowd was ready when he arrived.

Jairus’ daughter, his only daughter, was near death. He comes and the scene is crazy. There are so many people and yet Jairus falls at his feet and begs Jesus to come with him.

There are so many things we can learn from these two verses about Christ but I want to point out two things we can take a hold of right now.

He is a personal God. Each life matters. No matter how many people are around, He cares for each individual case.

He can handle all that is around Him. The day was crazy. Crowds pushing in on Him and He calmly stops to heal and talk to another woman before continuing to the house of Jairus.

While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher anymore.” (NIV) But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole. (KJV) Luke 8: 49-50

I love verse fifty. Fear not! – Believe Only! – And she will be made whole!

First, Christ is telling this father to fear not. When Christ tells us to fear not it is because he is capable of the end result. It may be healing, it may not and while that may seem of no consolation, notice Christ will make her whole. Not just alive, not just well, but whole.

I don’t want us to miss this train of events he is telling this father.

Fear Not – Believe Only – Hope Restored!

In this case, Christ chooses to heal this little girl. He goes into the house with the mother, father, and four of His disciples. He takes the girl by the hand, tells her to rise-up, and restores her spirit to her lifeless body.

Praise the Lord! He has made her whole. He brought hope to a hurting family.

This father, who agonizes over his dying daughter hears in the process of seeking his last bit of hope that she is dead. This was heart-wrenching news and it may appear that all hope was lost.

That moment you hear or see that the life of your loved one is gone. The sinking agonizing feeling is crushing to your soul. For a time, it may seem as if all hope is lost but it doesn’t have to stay that way.

Jesus came that it could be different.

He is not saying, “don’t mourn” to this father. He is telling Him to not fear. Us telling that to a friend or loved one may be of no comfort, but Christ, he is the difference maker here.

He tells the father to not fear because He has the power to restore the hope. That train, he can get it moving. He can move us from fear to hope.

Here is the other difference maker. It is the stop in between the fear and the hope. It is the faith to believe that only He can conquer one to restore the other.

What happens at the feet of Jesus here?

He gives this father a life changing opportunity to lay aside his fear, take ahold of his faith, and let Christ restore his hope.

What does that mean for you? What are you facing right now that you so desperately want to hope that there is a way to feel whole again? How has Christ showed up in your fear or are you still holding onto it not quite sure how to Believe Only?

Is your faith hanging in the balance not sure which way it will fall? Do you know the difference maker? Do you believe he can make a difference in YOU?

I would love to continue this conversation. Leave a comment below.

Email me at youresewtrendy@gmail.com, if you want to know more about the life-changing decision to follow Christ, I would love to talk with you.

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If we are not connected on Social Media, Find Me on one of the links Below!

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This week’s featured friend is Micah Maddox from
Deeper Life Today. Micah is in the middle of a series called Living with Purpose. She is a great encourager for life’s moments that hurt the most! Thanks for joining us, Micah. I am glad you are here!

WOW! Thank you all for coming here and for the 86 Amazing posts from last week. This party has been wonderful thanks to you, friends, who link-up with us and those who stop by and read posts. Thank you!

You all are amazing writers who share Family and Faith, DIY’s, Recipes, Photos, Giveaways, Homeschool and more. Many of you have amazing journeys of faith and I praise the Lord we are able to connect here!

There are easy share buttons to your left or at the bottom of each post (mobile) and after you link-up. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks! From all of us at #SittingAmongFriends
*** Joining Us Here? You are welcome to join me on Pinterest and Pin to Our Sitting Among Friends Blog Party Board where I will be happy to re-pin posts to my other boards. ***

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The post Fear Not – Believe Only – Hope Restored! and Sitting Among Friends #61 appeared first on Seeking God with Jaime Wiebel.

Family Fun Friday

Jaime Wiebel — Tue, 26 May 2015 16:54:00 +0000

I had the amazing opportunity to go to my son’s classroom for Family Fun Friday. I was actually going to have my sister go and talk about her job as an ecologist but it turned out that she was sick and I had to go in her place.

I love how God changes our plans in unexpected ways. Since last minute is my specialty, I decided to go and talk about my current pursuits in serving God in my life.

I had a great afternoon talking to the students about writing, blogging and loving my Lord. What an amazing opportunity to mix things that I love most. My children, my opportunities to spread the Good News of the Gospel through writing, and talking to the students about how much God impacts my whole life.

I extended to the students an opportunity to guest blog on my page. This was voluntary (and meant extra homework), so I am glad to have received an entry.

This entry is from Olivia. I asked the students to draw a picture and write about how God affects their lives and gave them several writing ideas.

Thank you Olivia for your entry. Great Job and thank you for sharing your beautiful heart.

Olivia wrote “When God Helps me!” Inside with her picture her quote says, “God help me, now I am not scared.”

Thank you Olivia for sharing a simple yet profound truth. How many times do we try to do things in our lives through our own strength? We sometimes even let our fears get in the way of God doing His work through us. Read Am I In the Way? for more on getting out of God’s way so He can do His work in us.

Once we submit our fears to the Lord and rely on Him, He is free to release our fears.

Olivia, remember this amazing promise that Moses gave to Joshua before entering the land God had promised to His people, from Deuteronomy 31:8. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you. (NLT)

We are told time and time again, DO NOT BE AFRAID! I love this promise. We are told that the LORD will personally go before us. How awesome He is! With that amazing promise we don’t have to be afraid. We can embrace our fears and in His presence we can be Fearless.

Enjoy this beautiful new song called Fearless by Mia Fieldes.

Friends, Please Comment below to encourage Olivia in her walk with Christ. Thank you!

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The Power of a Living God

Jaime Wiebel — Mon, 06 Apr 2015 17:32:00 +0000

http://www.flickr.com/photos/48600082269@N01/2819155661/#DiscussPhoto

I love the story of the cross and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and I am honored to be sharing some of it with you today and we can reflect on Easter weekend.

Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary
Magdalene, came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from
the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and other disciple, the one whom
Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we
don’t know where they put Him.” John 20:1-2

Ever been to a grave yard? Can you picture this scene?

Mary going to the tomb and sees that the stone is rolled
away and she thinks He is taken. Who would take the body? Why would she even
think this?

It was thought at the time that Jesus body would be taken so
they could disprove Christianity and all Jesus had said during His ministry.

It’s funny how 2000 years later those same thoughts and
actions are trying to disprove a living God.

I found the caption under this picture of the garden tomb to
be quite amusing. It said “It was empty. We went inside and checked.”

Why had Mary found the tomb to be empty? It was not that His
body was taken. John continues on telling us that He and Peter went to the tomb
and found His linens lying neatly wrapped and laying where His body was.

In a James MacDonald sermon I recently heard, He asked a
funny question. He said, “If His body was taken, would the robbers have taken
the time to neatly fold up the linens that were covering His body and lay them
down and then escape with His body?” Also, Jesus’
tomb was also guarded by Roman soldiers.

Jesus had not been taken; He was raised on the third day,
just as He had told them on several occasions.

How do we know this is true and can His resurrection have
anything to do with me?

First, Jesus stood with Mary in the garden and comforts her
in her distress as she was standing outside the tomb crying. He talks to her gently and says, “Mary, why
are you crying? Who are you looking for?” She cries on in her distress, and He
simply calls her by name, and she recognizes Him.

Do you need comforted in your situation right now?

Next, He appears in the midst of the disciples, as they were
hiding out in a locked room. They were afraid of the Jewish leaders who had
Jesus crucified. Jesus’ first words to them were, “Peace be with you.” This was
not just a generic overused saying. Jesus wanted them to have Peace in the
midst of their fears. He was standing
among them so they would know that only He would be able to give it to them.

Do you need a little Peace in the midst of your fears?

Next, Jesus appeared to Thomas, who doubted Jesus was real.
Jesus understood Thomas’s doubt. He didn’t rebuke Thomas. He reached out to
Thomas, showed him His wound, and allowed Thomas to touch His hands so his
doubts could be answered. Then He said to Thomas, “Believe.” And he did.

Do you have doubts?

Jesus continued to walk and talk with people for 40 days
after He was raised from the dead.

Witness after witness can attest to a living God.

Do you have doubts? Do you have fears? Do you need comforted
in the midst of your situation?

God doesn’t guarantee
a life free of problems. With Him, He offers us hope and peace in the midst of
our problems. Don’t wait until you are free of lives problems to come to
Christ. Come as you are. There is awesome power in the Resurrection of Christ. He is waiting for you right now to answer His call and
bring your life to Him.

Christ conquered death! Christ conquered the grave! Do you believe He can conquer whatever you are facing right now?

I will be praying for you this week to turn your life over
to Christ.

He said it to Thomas 2000
years ago and He says it to you today, BELIEVE!

I have changed the comments section to hopefully make it easier
to share. Please take a few moments to share how the power of Christ is working
in your life today.

You can also share your doubts, your fears, or areas that
you need comfort so we can pray with you.

May God Bless you and bring you to a new place this week.

If you want to know how to make a change in you life go to Who Loves A Good Rescue Story, Part 2?

To further read the details of this story read John 20 and
21

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Who Will Bear My Shame? Part 3

Jaime Wiebel — Mon, 30 Mar 2015 03:38:00 +0000

Please Read Who Will Bear My Shame Part 1 and Who Will BearMy Shame Part 2?

When I last left you, I was at the beginning of my marriage
and the baggage that I had brought with me was beginning to weigh me down. I
had this really amazing man and I felt like I had very little to offer him. I
loved him very much but that didn’t seem to be enough.

One day it happened, crumpled up in a ball, I collapsed
before my Lord and King in utter shame. The weight of my life came crashing
down on me and I had no choice but to face it. I fell on my bed and began
sobbing uncontrollably. I began crying out to God, “I am so sorry, I am so
sorry. Please forgive me for all that I have done against you. I am so ashamed.”
I begged over and over for Him to forgive me.
As I laid there crying, I didn’t know what else to do besides open my
Bible and begin to seek out some relief.

I now realize He was slowly revealing Himself to me and as I
was begging for forgiveness this is what He was showing me.

He held up my head
and said, “Child, I already forgave you.” I didn’t understand. I said how is
this possible my list is so long? How can you bear it?

He said, as I set out for Jerusalem, I knew what I was
doing. I held your list in my hand and with my face to the ground, I prayed for
my Father to take this cup from my hand. He reminded what I was holding onto. I
knew there was no other way. As I was betrayed with a kiss and arrested, I made
sure I didn’t let go. When all of my followers abandoned me, I didn’t waiver
for a moment.

As I was dragged from
the high priest to the governor, I made sure that I that your list was in my
grips. As they began spitting and slapping me in my face, I knew I had to take
this one for you. When they tore my clothes from me and replaced it with a
purple robe and a crown of thorns and began mocking me, I knew you would
someday understand.

When they tied me to the post and began beating me in the
head with a stick, I made sure to take every blow and to never let go of your
list that I had carried all this way with me. As the morning continued on and I
began to walk to the place they call The Skull, I made sure that no matter how
hard it was going to be to carry that cross and your list, I would do both.
When the cross became too heavy, it dropped me to the ground but I had clenched
your list I brought with me.

As I walked the rocky path to Calvary’s Hill, I knew you
would someday come back to me. When they laid me there on the cross and began
to nail my hands and feet to the rugged wood, I felt every blow of the hammer
but I held on tight.

As they mocked and ridiculed me, I knew you would face the
same. My heart broke for you and for all who were watching. I cried out, “Father,
forgive them for they know not what they do.” Just the same as I do today.

As they raised the cross my blood began to drip down your
list that I took with me on that day. With each drop, your list became less
visible to Me and to My Father until the blood soaked page was wiped completely
clean.

With my last breath, I gave one last shout for you and for
the whole world to hear, “It is finished,” because I had given the world all they
would ever need to be with me in paradise. At that moment, I opened my blood
clinched hand and your list blew as far as the east is to the west.

So you ask if I will forgive you darling girl, I already
have. Now it is your turn to forgive yourself.

I cried out, my Lord,
I don’t deserve your grace. He said, nobody does but the debt has been paid.
You just have to believe and to trust that it was meant for you.

The Good News is this. Now when I stand before my Lord, I
don’t have to bow my head in shame. I don’t have to trudge to His feet with my
heavy load. With arms spread wide, He took it all. Today, I can stand before my
Father and bow my head as a redeemed and righteous daughter of a King.

Dear Friends, there is power in the cross. The power to heal
the broken-hearted, the power to forgive, the power to be completely redeemed.
The amazing thing is, it was all for us. There is nothing we can do to add to
the grace that Christ poured out on us at the cross.

Crucifixion was meant to be painful and humiliating. Christ
took that so we don’t have to. For our relationship with God to be restored, there
had to be a perfect sacrifice. Jesus was the only One who could be the perfect
sacrifice, being One with no sin. Now God can see us in a new way because
through Christ we are redeemed. Through Christ we are made whole. Through
Christ we are made new.

So now you are faced with one thing, a choice. The choice to
believe what Christ did on the cross was for you or to turn it down.

Christ died with two criminals on either side of Him. On one
side a criminal who, in his brief time with Christ, realized who He was and
realized He was the only One that was going to save him at that point. He
recognized that he wasn’t worthy of being saved but saw the innocence of Jesus
as he hung on the cross.

On the other side was a criminal who made the choice to mock
and taunt Jesus, saying if you are The Son of God, then save us. Even in his
final moments of life, he didn’t recognize that he didn’t deserve it. He wanted a quick way out.

Christ recognized the heart of the changed criminal and assured
him, today, you will be with me in paradise.

Do you need that assurance in life?

Are you at the point in your life where it may seem to be
going good, but you are not assured of what would happen to you or where you
would go if you faced death today?

Have you asked Christ into your life but you are continuing
to live on your own path because it seems to be easier?

Are you a free person in Christ but still, like I was,
living in the bonds of sin and shame?

So, I asked the question, WHO will bear my shame? Jesus
says, I already have. I took it all and hung it to the cross. Do you need to
lay your baggage at the foot of the cross? Do you need some relief from what is
weighing you down in life?

There is power and hope in the death and resurrection of a
Living Savior. He’s waiting, my friend, for you to take His hand. He says seek
and you will find. Knock and the door will be answered.

Christ came to seek and save the lost. He came for people
like me and you.

If you are in need of forgiveness today, take it to the
cross. God laid down His life there to save you from your past, present, and
future. All you have to do is ask for forgiveness.

If you have questions about how to heal a broken relationship
between you and God, let me know. I would love to have a conversation with you
about this. You can send me an e-mail at youresewtrendy@gmail.com.

If you already have a relationship with Christ, please take
a moment to pray for others that may be reading this right now. Please share
some encouraging words below in the comments sections and please SHARE the hope
with your friends.

Any comments and questions can also be left anonymous, so please reach out and take that next step.
I Love this song from Crowder! I hope that you enjoy it and may you be lifted by the Almighty!

The post Who Will Bear My Shame? Part 3 appeared first on Seeking God with Jaime Wiebel.

Who Will Bear My Shame, Part 2

Jaime Wiebel — Fri, 27 Mar 2015 06:43:00 +0000

If you missed my last post Who Will Bear My Shame, Part 1, follow
this link for the beginning of story.

My journey may not be as long as others but it has been
filled with many lessons that have made me who I am today. It has been filled
with a God that would not let me go, and a God that knew I needed all the grace
and mercy He could pour out on my past, present, and future.

God had many plans for me and it seemed that none of them were
on my list so far. I was in my mid-twenties, childless, single, and jobless. I
had just left my beautiful paradise home on Oahu and was heading back to the
Midwest to move back in with my parents.
Is this sounding like anyone’s fairy tale they dreamed of as a little
girl?

Not only had my life not been going as I had planned or
expected, I was carrying a lot of baggage that I had accumulated over the
years. I would have loved to throw it all out as I flew over the deep blue
Pacific Ocean and get a fresh start in my life. Getting rid of your sins is apparently
not that easy and it was something that God had to work out in me.

I could present myself as this good Christian girl but deep
down inside the pain and agony of shame, fear, worthlessness, regret, and
disappointment were weighing me down. As I continued to suppress all those
feelings inside they just became larger than I could take care of on my own.

When I moved back to the mainland, things seemed to be turning
around for me. I was quickly offered a teaching job. I began attending church
again. I was spending a lot of time with my family and I was really discovering
who I wanted to be, so I thought.

Shortly after being here a teacher friend of mine asked me
to go on a blind with her husband’s good friend. I quickly said, “No.”

I was on a mission to discover who I was and not what or who
any guy told me I was. I really wanted to become my own self without any
attachments. I already had an image of myself and that was looking pretty bleak
and downright disappointing.

My 28th birthday was approaching. My friend had
asked me several times to go out as a group with her and her husband so I broke
down and said yes. By this time I seemed to really know what I wanted for
myself. I wanted a turn around.

We went on a blind date. Many of you may be groaning right
now. I know it could have been pretty disastrous, it wasn’t bad but I told
myself I probably wouldn’t go out with him again. However, he called me back with
a plan and to make a long story short, I am happy to say I am married to an
amazing man and we

will be celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary
this year.

Our relationship didn’t start out quite as I would have
hoped. We went out a lot with friends and I was back into my lifestyle of doing
whatever made us happy at the moment. We were happy. We had great times together
but they were not all my proudest moments.

Several months after we got married my baggage really
started weighing me down. Here I was with a really great guy and I had so many
regrets in my life. Let me start by explaining with a little story.

When I was teaching there was a guest speaker for the school
district. I am not exactly sure what he was about. Maybe he was there for me or
I guess it might have been for the kids. He was talking to the kids about
purity and giving themselves someday to their mate.

He stood in front of all the kids and held up this beautiful
red rose and said something like this. “This is you. You are beautiful. There
are many layers to you and each one of them is very special. However, each time
you give yourself to someone, you lose a little bit of yourself.” As he said
this he was peeling away pieces of the rose. He continued to talk about doing
different things in life and each time he would peel away another petal. By the
time he got done with his story, the rose was just a stem, the center, and a
few petals.

Then he continued, “Someday you will meet the mate that you
want to be with. What will you offer them? Will there be just pieces of you or
will you offer them your whole beautiful self?”

This is exactly how I felt all the time. Here I was in a new
marriage and I felt like all I had to offer this amazing man were pieces that
were left of me. This was completely me. He had told me early on that he didn’t
care about my past because it made me who I was. I really loved him for that reassurance.

Slowly, I began to break. I had come into this marriage with
all this excess baggage and I had not figured out any way to get rid of it.
What I didn’t know at the time was God was beginning to make me whole but
before he could get me there I had to stand and face Him. I had to look Him in
the eye.

I relate to Peter here in the beginning of Luke 22:61 which reads: At that moment, the Lord turned and looked at Peter.

Peter said he would never deny Him Lord, but the Lord knew Peter would get weary and fall away. When I was young, I remember sitting at church camp and promising to live a life that was pleasing to God. Now here I was, afraid to look Him in the eye. Running this way and that just so I wouldn’t have to face Him. Here He was, looking me in the eye, undaunted by my life, and ready to pour out some grace and mercy so I could be more glorifying to Him.

Come back Sunday to read more of this story. Maybe you need to face your King today and you no longer want to do it with your head bowed in shame. Maybe you have no idea what I am talking about but you know you need something different than what you have, please come back for the rest of the story. It will be worth your time. In the mean time if you want to know what it means to have a relationship with Christ you can read, Who Loves a Good Rescue Story, Part 1 and Who Loves a Good Rescue Story, Part 2.

Until then, I will be praying that the Lord will do a work in you and pour out His mercy and grace onto your life.

The post Who Will Bear My Shame, Part 2 appeared first on Seeking God with Jaime Wiebel.

Shame Can No Longer Bury Me: Today I Am Living Free

Jaime Wiebel — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 20:49:00 +0000

The Lies I Told Myself

For years I told myself as long as I accepted Christ, I was free to do whatever I wanted. I had gotten my ticket into Heaven and I was free.

But as I came into my twenties and early thirties, my Shame began to bury me deep underneath the lies I had told myself.

The bigger problem was I had enough Bible knowledge to lie to myself and everyone around me, but not enough to truly live free in Christ.

For years I had been “Following Jesus”. What does that even mean? Many people today claim to be Christians but they don’t really follow Jesus. I
know what that looks and feels like; I was one of those people for many many years.

Recently, I heard someone on the radio say, “If all of the evidence of your life was gathered, would there be enough evidence to prove you
are a Christian.”

For me, the sad answer was NO!

Playing the Game

I could play the game as most people do. Go to church on the weekends and live for me the rest of the week. I knew all the great stories inside and out and I could have great theological conversations.

The world will tell us to follow our hearts and follow our dreams and that is exactly what I did. What made me happy or what appeared to make me happy at the time was where I went.

If you are a follower of Christ those worldly mantras couldn’t be further from what Christ calls us to do as Christians. They are lies and ones that look pretty on wall hangings and T-shirts but can leave us feeling ugly.

Jeremiah 17:9 tells us “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?

My heart told me things like it didn’t matter who I was with as long as I was happy. My heart told me that it didn’t matter what my behavior was with them as long as I was happy. The lies of my heart even told me it didn’t matter what

but if we are followers of Christ that is sometimes very far from the truth of
Living for Christ. Let me explain by sharing a bit of my
life with you.

If you read my blog post titled “The
No-Plan Plan, Part 1 and The
God Plan, Part 2” you can see my salvation story. I accepted Christ when I was twelve years old. I was soon baptized and later became a member of our church. Shortly after that, I came into my teenage years. Many of you that are grown know the rebellion and the heart ache that comes along with being a teenager. I was no different and spent a lot of my life following my own heart

These two verses could summarize a lot of my
life, denying my Lord and being afraid He would look me eye while doing it.

Luke 22:34 But
Jesus said, “Peter, let me tell you something. Before the rooster crows three
times tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.”

Luke 22:61 At
that moment the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered at that
the Lord had said, “Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny
three times that you even know me.”

I began doing many things that I am not proud of. I was
hanging out with a crowd of really great people but when I was with them I
often did things that deep down inside felt wrong. The reality is that I never felt peer
pressured to do those things because they were things that I did out of my own
sinful nature and my own personal desires. It was even to the point that I was sometimes
putting myself in real danger.

I went through my high school and college years continuing
to live on my own path. After five years of college and a double major in Early
Childhood and Elementary Education I was sure that I would have no trouble
finding a job.

I spent one year as a substitute teacher in my hometown. With no prospects
for employment I decided to move to a bigger city and seek employment there.
After several really promising interviews, I ended up subbing again. When
subbing wasn’t paying the bills, I had to seek full time employment completely out
of my field. Sound familiar to anyone?

All this time I was trying to figure my life out
on my own. I am a very independent person and thought that if any trouble arose;
I could figure it out no matter the situation. I did what I wanted to do with
no real strings attached or so I falsely believed.

I ended up moving 5000 miles away to a beautiful island
called Oahu. Completely clueless what life would bring me, I thought that I was
moving for a job but in reality I was moving away from my life. I thought that
I would find a perfect life if I got far away from my real life. With two
suitcases, a one way ticket, a hotel reservation, and a job, I left for the
beautiful city of Waikiki.

At first glance, everything seemed like a real paradise. The
ocean, the palm trees, 5000 miles away from reality…

The problem with always
trying to seek happiness in the things of this world is there are so many
disappointments along the way. I had made many poor choices in my move there.
Not necessarily in the move itself, but in the choice to move with someone. We were
both moving out the convenience of running away from reality and that turned into
a lot of hate between the two of us.

Here was the thing. I had lived my life up to that point
doing everything that I wanted to do. I would call myself a Christian but my
life showed nearly zero evidence of a real faith in Christ. My disastrous
decisions and being in “paradise” weren’t enough to cover up that lie that I
continued to tell myself.

You know the lie. It is the same one that we are constantly
being feed. If we follow our heart and our dreams, if we are happy, then we are
making the right choices and everything will work out for good. I don’t want to
disappoint anyone but that lie has real consequences.

This is how the devil works. He will fill your head full of lies;
he will promise you the world and even give it to you. There is just one catch.
You have to follow him and live life for yourself, which really means for him.

The
problem is he cannot promise to ease your mind or the trap you may find yourself
in. In fact, after all of the lies he will begin to cover you in the dirt you
dug out of your own pit. He will tell you how awful you are and how this is all you will
ever deserve.

For some of you who may not understand what that statement
means, let me be real frank with you. You have two choices in life. You can go
on the path that Christ has planned for you or you can go on your own path and
live for yourself. You can be a slave to
the devil and his work. The latter was the path that I was choosing.

I was choosing my own desires and it led to so many feelings
of guilt, shame, resentment, fear, and worthlessness. In the process, I was
denying my Lord.

The thought that I lived with for years was this, if I keep
going on my path, never look over my shoulder (literally), I will never really face
the Lord and all the offenses I had and was committing against Him. I knew that
He was there watching over me which made the things I was doing feel so much worse.
I gave Him a front row seat to my own selfishness. I honestly thought to myself,
if I keep going straight ahead and never look back, I will never have to face
my sin. I was in absolute denial for a very long time.

If this sounds confusing, answer this question. Have you
ever done something, possibly pretty bad, to someone that you really love? The last thing you may want to do is see that
person, talk to that person, or maybe even face that person. You know the
moment you see them there will be some hard feelings or possibly even a serious
consequence to what you have done. So you avoid them, at all cost.

This was me, and as I stood before my Lord it was easier not
to face Him or look Him in the eye. What I was really avoiding was not facing
all my shame and sin. My life was standing before me and it was in serious turbulence.
When I left my Hawaiian paradise, I felt inside that I was at the pit of my
life and I was ready to escape it.

I started packing my heavy baggage. In went, the guilt, shame,
resentment, fear, and worthlessness, covered in a facade of living a great
life. The only thing left to do was head for home. Over the next several years my Lord, who would
never leave me or forsake me, began to pour out His grace and mercy. He had much
bigger plans for me.

My great Lord had many blessings waiting for
me and He has them for you, too. If you are carrying any extra baggage, pack it
up, come back and see how we can unpack it and live for the hope of a brighter
tomorrow.

The post Shame Can No Longer Bury Me: Today I Am Living Free appeared first on Seeking God with Jaime Wiebel.