Courtney

Lord, I pray that you overflow this upcoming month with your blessings. I pray that you help me walk the path you have for me, discovering new things that you have planned out. Lord, I thank you for everything you have done for me. No thanks could ever be enough. We are so unworthy of the gift we were given, but I pray that you help me live out a life that gives out as much thanks as possible. in Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Our God robbed the grave! Jesus has been risen! Praise him. Praise and worship with everything you have! Thank you Lord for everything you’ve done for me. Thank you for taking my sins and allowing me to live in freedom. I live for you. I will walk my path remembering what you did for me; what you did for every single last person on this heavenly made planet. Let your glory shine bright today! You are alive in us! You are entirely, utterly all we need! “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (Peter 1:3).

This is my pastor guys. Take some time out of your day to watch this. Give thanks on this Good Friday!

As we go into Holy Week, can we just take the time to give thanks and remember what was done for us? We are loved so much! God’s love for us is never ending! It’s such a great love, that we will never be able to get from anywhere else! A life was taken for us. So we could live our lives in freedom. So that we could be forgiven. In Luke 23:24 Jesus says, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.” I believe that is meant not just for the people back then, but for us too! Jesus had such a selfless love! As he was on the cross, he was thinking of others, asking God to forgive them. A prayer of such mercy and love. Jesus had such a merciful love. A love that is worthy of all of our praise! Jesus provided forgiveness for all those that would ever believe. Give thanks! Live your life with grace and holiness. Be thankful that God gave his son so you could live! Not only this week, but every day, love your life to the fullest; For a life was taken for us. Do not complain. How can we be so selfish to not appreciate the life that was so lovingly given to us? He is so good! 

We all want to follow God’s will for our lives. We all want live a holy life. But, sometimes it’s hard for us to know which way to go. We lose sight of the destination that we’re headed to, and start to take all of the wrong turns, leading us further and further away. We have to learn to stay on HIS path for us. Not the path that we want to take. If a door that you want to open is blocked, it’s because it isn’t going to take you where our Father wants you to go. God knows what is best for us. You can’t keep trying to pry open a door that he has locked. We need to let our situations fall into His hands instead of trying to take over. He is the only one that is certain on what is best for our lives. Simply wait for God to open the right ones for you. He keeps certain doors closed for your protection. Trust in Him. Be patient. He’ll either open the door that you are standing at, or he will show you another.

What is faith without works behind it? The apostle James tells us that it’s dead. Faith without works is dead. Faith is lifeless without actions to back it up. It is impossible to have unshakable beliefs without obeying the laws we were given. The best way to obey is to trust. When we have unending trust in God, we realize that His way is the best way; the only way. It won’t be hard for you to stay true to His commandments, Because you will fully trust that He knows what is best for you. Take Daniel, for example. His faith in God was tested so many times. Each one of those times, he chose to depend on God. He followed His lead each and every single time. Noah is another example. He was warned, and he trusted God, obeying Him in building the ark. Trusting our Father, leading to obeying Him is the key element to faith. Believe in Him and know that He will never lead you in the wrong direction.

Acknowledge him. Love him. Trust him. God wants to honor you for honoring him.Take a second of your day to just thank him. “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” (Chronicles 16:34)

3 years ago is when I began to love God. I’ve always believed in him, and I’ve always viewed myself as a Christian, but this is when I gave myself to him and put my soul into it. Or so I thought, because not long after, meth tore me away. The man that I’m with started getting into it as well. To the point he wanted to learn how to make it. Of course, I was skeptical. I mean, who wouldn’t be? I had a burden on my heart because I felt like I was turning my back against God… I let the addiction take over, and before I knew it, we were making sure we had an obnoxious amount, everyday. Our lives revolved around it. Constantly thinking about it 24/7. High all the time. Happy as could be until the paranoia, violence and lack of sleep came around. As soon as we hit that point, we couldn’t turn back. The lack of sleep turned us into angry people, but we always felt like we needed more, so we could never get sleep to get back to our normal minds. It was a neverending vicious cycle. Our mental state was quickly deteriorating. We didn’t care. All that mattered was the next high. We all know that these things come with consequences, and boy do they. We were driving around one day with a friend of his and saw police. James, in his paranoid state of mind, started panicking, gaining their attention. Of course, not long after, we saw the lights. James sped into a driveway and hopped out of the car and ran. Just minutes after, there was multiple undercover cops searching for him. 20 minutes later, a trooper pulled into the driveway with James in the passenger seat. He let me say my goodbyes and sent me and his friend on our way. After that, his friend looked after me and took me under his arms; I will forever be thankful for that! But little did I know at the time, his friend was much worse with drugs than I could imagine possible. I started getting worse. Smoking it just wasn’t cutting it. I started injecting. It was a whole new world for me. It was all fun and games to me until I got a call from James one day, begging me to go to my parents house and get away from the life I was living. At that time, I thought maybe he was just jealous of me spending time with his friend, so I ignored it, hung up the phone, and got high. The next day I got another call from him. Again, begging me to go home. This time, he told me he’s been going to church and talking to God. He asked me to pray on it. I’ll admit, at this time, that’s not what I was worried about doing. I had lost all sight of my Christian ways. I already had a syringe ready in the room. I was more than ready to get high, but, I thought to myself; What do I have to lose? Why not send out a quick prayer? Instantly after praying, my heart started changing. I broke down and cried to God, asking him to please rid my life of the things I was into. I left the house that night. I went home to my parents. Since that night I opened up to God, I have not once even thought about getting high. I’ve felt no want. No need. This is coming from an addict that couldn’t go a couple hours without. I asked him to rid me of it, and he did completely. Not only me, but James as well. I’m now close to God again. In fact, closer than I’ve ever been. I revolve my life around HIM now. I want the high that HE gives me. Through God, you truly can do anything. This took a lot of courage to post, but I believe it’s something the Lord wants me to do. He saved my life. He can surely save yours, too. “Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He sent out his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave.” (Psalms107:19-20) I’m a recovering addict, and this is my testimony.