Links of The Week

~ Nicole Slade ~ Leave a comment

This is the first edition of what I’m hoping will be a regular around these streets, ‘Links of the Week’. I will be sharing blog articles I’ve been reading, sermons I’ve watched or listened to, even adding resources that are helping me to see the glory of God. The internet is a dark and perverted place often times, but there is also so much good in it. So here’s to the links that are light-bearers in this dark place!

‘Just A Little More’. How to Quiet Our Cravings

Writer Scott Hubbard writes about how our cravings for just ‘a little more’ leads us outside of God’s yard.

Gem: “Ironically, giving in to “just a little more” leaves us with a whole lot less: less pleasure, less dignity, less self-control. Satan robs God’s children, one indulgence at a time.”

Why You Can’t Stop Overeating Junk Foods

This amazing infographic gave me much to ponder about my food choices. And even revealed some of the marketing science behind how their foods are marketed to us.

The Gift of Cancer

Writer Collen Chao’s endearing words made tears fall from my eyes. To read of such faith and trust on her part and to see the faithfulness of God’s part. By Collen’s account and other suffering servant’s God is good even when life is unspeakably hard.

Gem: “I shed a few fearful tears with my husband that Sunday morning, knowing well that sometimes our Abba takes us by the hand and leads us where we do not want to go—because He knows it is the only way to true happiness, the only way to more of Him.”

“But even while I wept, I sensed these raging waves carrying me to Jesus. I recalled C.H. Spurgeon’s words, “I have learned to kiss the wave that dashes me against the Rock of Ages.””

Truly, I was being swept and dashed—but it was straight into the arms of my True Love. And He was holding me tight and whispering, “This is a gift, Colleen. Trust Me.”

8 Real Steps for Repentance from Psalm 51

Writer Catherine Parks defines what true repentance is straight from the Davidic psalm.

Gem: “Have you ever been so discouraged by your sin that you’ve wondered, How can God love me? Surely I’m not really a Christian. Take comfort in knowing that the grief you’re experiencing is a sign that you have the Holy Spirit working in you, causing you to hate what God hates.”

What is the Role of a Christian Writer?

Gem: “The scribe of Christ—that is, anyone who spills words and follows Jesus—is tasked with a mission to share the treasures of God with all who would read their words. To build his platform, insofar as we are capable.

Gem: “So must a Christian writer be a scholar? Must he or she be a seminary graduate or a professor? By no means. But the Christian writer must be immersed in the Word of God. She must sit under it and let it warm her to life. It must be her primary means of research, but more than that—it must be her treasure.”

Bonus!

Resources:

If you own a library card there is this great treasure by the name of Hoopla. With only a library card and app, you can have access to countless eBooks, audiobooks, even music, and video. The app features a lot of Christian authors, rather it’s an autobiography or theology. It is a free treasure that can be used to grow in grace. Don’t miss out!

TGC has been long heralded champion of the Gospel. Its website is the home of countless videos and articles that seek to support and equip the saints in this weary land. TGC also offers free courses on different topics. While these resources are completely free, TGC does accept gifts for their endless resources.

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How our view of God changes everything.

~ Nicole Slade ~ Leave a comment

Our theology (the study of God) will sculpt our reality. Rather it is wrong or right. Whatever we believe about God will cause us to stand firm or for us to fall away from God. What we believe about God sculpts our decisions. Our thinking of God may even determine how we handle temptations.

So then, it is of most importance to work on our understanding of our God. Now I’m not talking about some deep and profound stances on the Bible, like cessationism or baby baptismal. What I have in mind is knowing the attributes of God. Is God the ends to which I may be fulfilled and satisfied? If not then I may seek fulfillment in lesser things. I will quickly succumb to any temptation. Is God sovereign? If not, then I believe in a puny god who is unable to cause or prevent anything from happening at all. Is God faithful? If not, I have no hope to see any of the good that He’s promised me in Christ. Is God compassionate? If not, then I may believe that He isn’t moved by my suffering, nor wants to fellowship with me in it. Is God wise? If not, then I will think my designs and plans are better for me.

So you see what we believe about God affects truly every waking moment of our lives. If we build our homes on a God who is an accumulation of our own desires and is of our own likeness. When the storms of life come our homes will fall a great fall. But if we press on to know God as He is revealed chiefly in the Holy Bible, then when those same storms come our way our homes will be left standing.

Every day we have to allow the word of God to do its good work of dividing our souls and spirits. Allow the Scriptures to reveal this God within its pages. Bible study can be times of God teaching us so profoundly. It can be so blessed and so precious and spiritual. But it can also be quiet and mundane. We can rush through the Word or be so self-consumed that we don’t even want to know about the God of the Bible, but about little ole us.

There is no time wasted when we have our Bibles opened and our eyes, minds, souls, and affections on God. This is likely the most important thing most of us will do all day. Not much of what we build, or work toward tends to eternity, but Bible study does.

So dig in with both spoon and fork. Let not the many swarming questions discourage you. Look for God in your time of studying the Word. Whatever you can learn about His undertakings’ and His character will be so profitable to you.

God is sweet, tender, merciful and good. Those are the words I would use for Him now. But yet He’s so much more than those descriptions. I think I boast to say those things because for a while I stopped believing those same things about Him. And if God isn’t good (which He is) I have no ground to stand or lay on.

For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”

Deut. 32:47

The command or the word of God is our life. What we believe about God shapes our entire reality. No command or word of God is empty or meaningless. Bible study is not the business God gives us to be busy with (Ecclesiastes 3:10), but it’s how we meet with God. If we only had spiritual eyes we would see God himself sits down at our tables’ and lays beside us on our beds when we read Scriptures. The Holy Spirit that dwells within us is imparting spiritual things to us.

God is eager to teach each of us about all of Him. He desires to be known as we are known by Him. He longs a relationship with us, He wants to walk with us through the hard parts of the Bible, and our every day lives.  And He is faithful to build our understanding of who He is. And to tear down any wrong understanding of Him. God wants us to know how to rightly divided Scriptures (2 Timothy 2:15) so that we may live, think and choose wisely.

The satisfaction we crave is found only in God. And there is no bottom nor end in sight with Him. So drink up and be full.

Photo by Atlas Green on Unsplash

Please, be sure to follow me on Instagram and Twitter. And, stop by my shop and pick up some cute tees. Thank you for checking my little square of the Internet, be sure to follow and like. Thanks for reading and supporting my blog. I pray that it edifies you and glorifies God.

How Do You Respond In Trials?

~ Nicole Slade ~ Leave a comment

“Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.”

‭‭Job‬ ‭1:20-22‬ ‭ESV‬‬

This was Job’s response to losing his 10 children and all that he owned.

“But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.”

‭‭Job‬ ‭2:10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

This was Job’s response to being struck with horrible boils that covered his whole body.

I remember reading Job’s response to suffering right after going through a trial and suffering a bit of my own. Reading how Job worshipped the Lord and didn’t accuse Him of evil was far different than how I responded. I was ashamed when I compared my response to (lesser) suffering to Job’s (greater) suffering. As Asaph admitted in Psalm 73, I too was a beast toward God (Ps. 73:22). I accused God so frequently I have to imagine Satan was able to take a break. And when God didn’t hasten to answer my prayers and thus release me from the same trial, I ignored God. I figured,” well since He is ignoring my prayers, I will return the favor.”

By ignoring the communion of prayer and the Word which is the sword of the Spirit, I neglected all hope of fighting the good fight of faith.

I realized that I have need of spiritual fortitude. I also realized that though I would scoff at someone else’s belief in the “prosperity gospel”, my reaction seemed to reflect that I believed being a Christ follower would exempt me of hardships.

More recently I went through a trial where I did absolutely struggle to believe in the wisdom and goodness of God. Yet, I struggled with God rather than apart from Him.

I clung to God. I looked to His Word. I fought to believe what I know already to be true. That God is good and that He is most wise.

“For the Lord will not cast off forever, but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; for he does not afflict from his heart or grieve the children of men.”

‭‭Lamentations‬ ‭3:31-33‬ ‭ESV‬‬

I kept coming to the Scripture above, that spoke a better word to my heart. It showed me the goodness and tenderness of my God in black and white.

God isn’t far off in our trials. He only seems far off if we neglect to seek Him. God isn’t rejoicing in our lamenting. God cares for us. And wants the best for us (Hebrews 12:10).

 

To bless the God whom we know could halt or prevent our suffering is not an easy task. But it is a worthy one.

Dear suffering one, go to the throne of mercy! Pray that you may bless God in your trial and rejoice in your suffering. Pray that God may extend His sufficient grace so that you may persevere. Pray that He may give you a song in the night (Job 35:10). Go to the Word to see what Christ has won for you. Go to the Word and be reminded that this trial-permitting and ordaining God careth for you. Be strong in the strength of His might (Eph. 6:10).

If we but look forward to heaven, an eternity without worry or woe in our suffering, that is God making good. If we but treasure Christ a bit more than we did before, that is God making good. If we are a bit more tender and merciful, like our God, He indeed is making good. God is always up to good, even in our trials.

 

Take heart suffering one, Christ has overcome the world.

 

Please, be sure to follow me on Instagram and Twitter. And, stop by my shop and pick up some cute tees. Thank you for checking my little square of the Internet, be sure to follow and like. Thanks for reading and supporting my blog. I pray that it edifies you and glorifies God.

I’m A Holy Roller

~ Nicole Slade ~ 3 Comments

First let me address what a holy roller is, I found this definition on the Urban Dictionary– Holy Roller: Generally, refer to one who attends a charismatic church service. In which places a great amount of importance on the Holy Spirit. This person tends to be a very devout Christian and during church service, maybe become influenced heavily by the Holy Spirit. Therefore consequently dropping on the floor and rolling “in the Spirit” Hence where the term was coined, Holy Roller. Also generally is a derogatory term.

“Sometimes the word Holy Roller is used more loosely today to refer to anyone who believes the Bible is true, who claims to be an evangelical, or who talks about God in public.” (source)

Most people who use the word today are not speaking about the worship services of certain Christian denominations, but are rather speaking about someone who is a devout Christian. And when they use the word, ‘holy roller’ it is indeed a derogatory word.

So when I say I am a holy roller, what I mean is that I am both a Christian privately and publicly. My religion isn’t a few visits to a local church, but it is a part of my very being.

I believe sin and demonic forces constantly attempt to sway us into believing that being holy isn’t good or acceptable. Or even that we will never reach a place where we can describe ourselves as holy. Often we are shamed by our past sins that prevent us from using the word ‘holy’ to describe anything about our lifestyles. When we are plagued by the fear of man, or when we evaluate ourselves through the eyes others; we are timid to be bold about our faith. We would rather offend our Savior than to offend our neighbor. We would rather be ashamed of the Gospel than to persecuted for it. The term ‘holy roller’ is designed to shame and shush our faith in the Son of God.

“For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground.”Leviticus 11:44 ESV

“but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”1 Peter 1:15-16 ESV

It is very clear all throughout Scriptures that God expects His saints to pursue holiness. We are called to be like God rather you are reading in the Old or the New Testament. Though we (whosoever is in Christ) are included in the New Covenant through Jesus Christ’s own blood. Even in the Old Covenant God put in place laws and boundaries so that the Israelites could also be holy.

The message that the world or culture pushes out is that you can be unholy and ungodly and yet spend an eternity with a holy God that you don’t even know.

But the flock of God shouldn’t be surprised by the world’s messages or even about being made to be a laughingstock. Our Good Shepherd has been kind enough to warn us. In the book of James, it says not to be surprised by our trials, but we should neither be surprised when our faith is mocked. The only reason Cain murdered his brother Abel is that his own works were unrighteous. All throughout Scriptures we see God’s people being mocked and maligned. Why should things be any different for us today?

The Challenge

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”Matthew 5:10-12 ESV

I would like to challenge all of God’s sheep to not dodge persecution in order to keep anyone’s approval. Let’s keep our minds on that handsome reward that is laid up for us in heaven. Love your neighbors’ as we are commanded to but don’t idolize their acceptance of you. You already belong to God’s family and have been embraced by the Everlasting Arms. Don’t be afraid to pursue holiness privately and publicly. What a privilege we have to share in God’s divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). Holiness isn’t bad, it is a higher good. Remind yourself, and your neighbors that without holiness no one can see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).

My sinful heart too has been gripped by the fear of man, ever since I can remember.

‘What will they think of me?’

‘What if they reject me?’

People who know me would describe my attitude or personality as being “sweet or kind”. But honestly I was kind to everyone not to love them well but so that they would love and accept me. I’m afraid that I won’t wake up anytime soon and no longer weigh myself through the eyes of others. So what I must do is remind myself (often) that I am acceptable to God through Christ, loved by the Son that laid down His life for me and that I belong to the Most High God. Since it is my default to seek praise and approval from mere mortals, I have to be intentional about rehearsing the truth to myself and also saturating myself in Scriptures that remind me of the truth and all of God’s blessed promises.

“Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.”1 Peter 4:16 ESV

The incorrigible thing about sin is that it distorts all of God’s good designs. We are not to fear men, we were created to fear God. Shame is good if it turns us away from our sins, but not if it turns us away from suffering with Christ. We are encouraged to glorify God when we are mocked or called “holy rollers” and not be mortified. We are to be glad and rejoice when persecuted not sad and discouraged. I wish I could recommend something that will undo the doing of sin. But what I can offer is the hope of the Gospel and that one day we will not have to deal with sin. But until that day we have to fight the sin that wants to kill us. We have to share our faith with fear and trembling. We have to train ourselves (through reading Scriptures) how to perceive offense or persecution. Not that we seek it out but that when it happens we will know why it’s happening and how to deal with it.

The Word of God says that we are blessed when persecuted and not cursed. We have to tell our souls that this is a good thing.

Yet we are not called to be stoicism we can weep to our God. After all, God is the Father of all our mercies and of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

Prayer

Lord, I pray that the person reading this may be cut to the heart (Acts 2:38-39) and yet Lord let them not despair in their conviction. I pray Almighty God that you will give them the grace to suffer well for Christ’s sake. Lord, if they are in anyway hiding their lamp underneath their beds, Lord fill them with such zeal for you and your renown. God, I thank you for not quenching a dimly lit wick. Help them to be zealous for you and uphold them with a willing spirit. I pray Lord make them willing to obey You, willing to strive for holiness, willing to suffer offense or persecution on behalf of Your Son. I say this prayer in His Name, Amen.

Please, be sure to follow me on Instagram and Twitter. And, stop by my shop and pick up some cute tees. Thank you for checking my little square of the Internet, be sure to follow and like. Thanks for reading and supporting my blog. I pray that it edifies you and glorifies God.

“He Saith” A Poem by Anna Shipton

~ Nicole Slade ~ Leave a comment

Preface: I’ve always loved words, especially powerful words of the Christian faith. All of this started once I was introduced to those old hymns, written by those who are now in glory. I started to search and download hymn e-books. I found these words were great sung to music but also had the same power in reading them. I stumbled upon the poetry book of Anna Shipton called, Waymarks of My Pilgrimage. This little treasure was bursting with beautiful and meaningful words. Even though there are centuries between our pilgrimages, the poems were very familiar and dear to my heart.

There isn’t much known about this author and sometime hymn writer. She’s published many works, most of them being poetry books but she’s also has written essays on the Christian faith. From reading her poems you can tell that Anna knew and treasured Scripture in her heart. In one poem called, God Knows Best Anna writes about her desires to have a family and an easier life. But like the title suggests Anna believed that God in His wisdom withheld both of these things from her.

Anna’s words help me to lift my eyes to God and often reminds me that He is what life is all about. I know all of her poems will encourage your hearts as well. But this particular poem I’ve decided to share, I think as you read you’ll see why.

“HE SAITH.”

 “Thou hast dealt well with Thy servant, O Lord, according unto Thy word. … I rejoice at Thy word, as one that findeth great spoil. ” — Psalm cxix. 65, 162.

When the Father His little one smiteth,

A blessing must brood underneath ;

I will walk by the lamp that He lighteth,

And rest on the word that ” He saith.”

He saith, ” I will never forsake thee,”

Each day He proclaims it anew ;

And again to my Rock I betake me,

And prove that His promise is true.

He saith, ” I will guide thee :”

oh, never Distrust the full truth of His word ;

To-day, and to-morrow — for ever,

Let me rest on Thy promise, my Lord.

I know He is faithful who said it,

‘Tis written and sealed in His word ;

And day after day I have read it,

And said, ” I believe Thee, my Lord.”

But do I believe it and live it,

And know He is willing to be

As true as His word, and to give it

A thousand times better to me?

A mansion is mine,

He’ll prepare it,

Though the least of His servants am I ;

And, better than all, He will share it,

As ages on ages go by.

When I gaze on the wild roaring billow,

Shall I fear He will leave me alone?

Reposing no more on a pillow,

He watches His child from the Throne.

And yet, when the storm riseth higher,

And again on the waves I am tost,

I forget that my Saviour is nigher,

And cry in despair, ” I am lost !”

He saith, ” Call, and I will deliver,”

He hath won me from sin and from death :

Shall I dread, then, the dark rolling river,

When I hope in the word that He saith?

When the terrors of death shall assail me,

Shall I cling to a cistern of clay?

Shall I rest on a reed that will fail me,

When Jehovah’s right hand is my stay?

Is the Saviour unwilling to give us

The riches He rose to bestow?

Will the God of our mercies deceive us?

No ! Calvary’s cross answers No!

How poor are earth’s richest resources,

How rich is each promise to me ;

Though some trust in chariots and horses,

Lord, let me trust only in Thee.

*bolded for emphasis

Last Things:

Would you like me to share more poetry or hymns on this blog?

What content would you like to feature on this blog?

Leave me a comment down below?

Please, be sure to follow me on Instagram and Twitter. And, stop by my shop and pick up some cute tees. Thank you for checking my little square of the Internet, be sure to follow and like. Thanks for reading and supporting my blog. I pray that it edifies you and glorifies God.

The Pursuit of Holiness|Book Review

~ Nicole Slade ~ Leave a comment

I am so pleased to be finally reviewing this book written by the late Jerry Bridges. It has left quite an impression on me, as I believe it will on you as well. This is the very first book I will be reviewing on this blog, but there will be much more to come. Since I have resolved to read more in 2018. There are far too many awesome biblically-sound Christian books in the marketplace, for me not make use of the gifts and wisdom of my fellow siblings in Christ.

I found this gem of a book in my local Salvation Army. If you are looking to read more books but your budget is tight, thrift stores are a great place to start at. This little paperback book even has an inscription, apparently, it was a gift to someone, it reads:

Dan,

This book is a must for the youth pastor’s life. It’s heavy, but it’s very true!

Your friend forever, Mike.

Mike was right it is indeed very heavy, but also completely helpful. I’ve first heard about this book by the wonderful Jackie Hill Perry. She’s a wife, a mother and a poet living in Atlanta. The Gospel Coalition does this feature where they ask different Christians what they’ve read in the past, what they plan on reading and what books do they tend to re-visit. Since I’ve read that article I’ve wanted to read this book. So you can imagine how tickled I was to find in the Salvation Army for 0.50 cents (it was Wacky Wednesday).

This book entered my life at the perfect time. I’ve spoken about this before here and here. But I was struggling to be optimistic about overcoming a particular besetting sin in my life. I was questioning if it was even possible to live a life that would be pleasing to God’s eyes. I knew the Bible says that God has given me all I need pertaining to life and godliness, but I felt inept to pursue godliness or holiness. Mr. Bridges put my emotions in the form of words. Until I read through this book, I could only feel these feelings and not yet express them.

The most incredible thing about this book to me is the fact that it is far more encouraging than it is condemning, but it is very convicting! Jerry found a way to show his readers that while it was our responsibility to pursue holiness and to put off the old self with its sinful desires, that God in His supreme knowledge and mercy has made provisions for this effort of ours. In other words, you won’t walk away from this book feeling any worse than you already feel. Until I opened this book, holiness to me was some far off, out of my personal reach wonder. It seemed so difficult to attain and previously made me feel as if God was totally unfair to expect this of me, to expect this of us.

As I stated before this is not a book that brings shame, but it reminds us that God is holy and we can be like Him. In this book, Jerry writes about the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of each and every believer. How the Spirit creates within us desires for holiness and also points out the sins hidden in our hearts. So we all feel this pang to be like God, but we also see how we are nothing like Him. He writes that too often we feel crushing despair because of these things that are polar opposites.

Jerry Bridges also does write in this book about sin and temptation in the life of the believer. And guides us into how to get at the root of our sinful desires so we can cut it off from there. He also speaks about how the pursuit of holiness requires perseverance, and that even when we fail, we should never give up.

I’d like to end this post by sharing some of my favorite quotes from this book:

  • “Our first problem is that our attitude toward sin is more self-centered than God-centered. We are more concerned about our own “victory” over sin than we are about the fact that our sins grieve the heart of God. We can not tolerate failure in our struggle with sin chiefly because we are success-oriented, not because we know it is offensive to God.” (Page 20)
  • “God wants us to walk in obedience – not victory. Obedience is oriented toward God; victory is oriented toward self.” (Page 21)
  • “Will you begin to look at sin as an offense against a holy God, instead of as a personal defeat only?” (Page 24)
  • “In the deceitfulness of our hearts, we sometimes play with temptation by entertaining the thought that we can always confess and later ask for forgiveness. Such thinking is exceedingly dangerous.” (Page 33)
  • “The Holy Spirit makes us more aware of our lack of holiness to stimulate us to deeper yearning and striving for holiness. But Satan will use the Holy Spirit’s work to discourage us.” (Page 48)
  • “Many Christians have a basic desire to live a holy life but have come to believe they simply cannot do it. They have struggled for years with particular sins or deficiencies of character. While not living in gross sin, they have more or less given up on ever attaining a life of holiness and have settled down to a life of moral mediocrity with which neither they or God are pleased. The promise of Romans 6:6-7 seems impossibly beyond them. The strong commands of Scripture for them to live a consistently holy life frustrates them.” (Page 53)
  • “We may not like the fact that we have this lifelong struggle with sin, but the more we realize and accept it the better equipped we will deal with it.” (Page 62)
  • “We need to reckon in the fact that we have died to sin’s reign, that it no longer has any dominion over us, that God has united us with the risen Christ in all His power, and has given us the Holy Spirit to work in us.” (Page 85)
  • “And we don’t like the idea that we have to struggle with sin. We want instant victory.” (Page 107)
  • “At first it seems we are making no progress, so we become discouraged and think, “Whats the use! I can never overcome that sin!” That is exactly what Satan wants us to think.” (Page 105)
  • “Lastly, don’t be discouraged by failure. There is a vast difference between failing and becoming a failure. We become a failure when we give up – when we stop trying. But as long as we are working on those sinful habits, regardless of how often we fail, we have not become a failure, and we can expect to see progress.” (Page 136)

As you have read I emphatically recommend this book to anyone who wants to share in God’s divine nature. Pick up your own personal copy of this book. But, I’m interested in what book or books do you recommend reading? And what books do you plan on reading in 2018? Drop me a comment below.

Please, be sure to follow me on Instagram and Twitter. And, stop by my shop and pick up some cute tees. Thank you for checking my little square of the Internet, be sure to follow and like. Thanks for reading and supporting my blog. I pray that it edifies you and glorifies God.

Where The Rubber Meets The Road

~ Nicole Slade ~ 3 Comments

This week has been interesting, to say the least. It started off with comparison gripping my heart. I was just scrolling on Instagram and all of a sudden I see a sister in Christ, celebrating something I had prayed for and had not yet received. Instagram has been a blessing in my life but also a stumbling block. I love to encourage women, men, anyone who follows me with God’s truth. I feel really useful in God’s kingdom because of the content I create and share on Instagram.

I think social media and blogging as a whole gives me the ability to use the gifts that God has given me for the body of Christ.

Comparison for me is like when someone hits the lights in a bug-infested home, they all come out and scatter. I get thundered with comparisons, questions, and accusations toward God. I loathe the fact that rejoicing with others isn’t something that I do well. I consider my lot and I am intensely infuriated by the fact that I even dare to compare myself to anyone else. It is the absolute worst. I know these comparisons, questions, and accusations are all lies but I can’t stop myself from believing them. I get so angry that I want to delete the app or take a break from it altogether. I become convinced that if I didn’t have an Instagram account I wouldn’t be dealing with comparisons. My frustrations with dealing with comparison reminded me of the depression I had dealt with before Christ. I was so depressed and there wasn’t a “reason” for it in the world. Back then I didn’t know that you could be depressed and have no reason for those feelings. I didn’t know about chemical imbalances in the brain that cause depression. But that’s how it feels to compare my life to others. There is nothing wrong with what God has given me, but I couldn’t find it in myself to be thankful for any of it.

Then I started to slowly but surely drift away from God. I wasn’t peeling open my Bible nor was I praying at all. And if I did it was quick and my requests were for others and not myself. At a certain point, I started to believe that God was angry with me for not reading my Bible and for not praying. It’s moments like this where my performance streak sneaks up on me. If I thought that God was angry with me because I stopped doing spiritual disciplines, then I must really believe that those things are what makes me acceptable to Him; and not the sacrifice of His Son. I fell in this slump of self-pity and overindulging in things to pacify or reward myself.

What I did was lie down in the biggest battle that I continue to have, for my mind. It felt like I had left the house in the biggest rainstorm. The lies thundered in my head, and I had drifted away from the only anecdote, God’s truth. I cannot ignore the spiritual realities of what I was dealing with. The accuser’s lies were so swift and so fast that they pushed me off a ledge. I felt I couldn’t win the battle. I felt I couldn’t hold every thought captive. It felt overwhelming and I did all I knew how to do, which is cower and raise my white flag.

I titled this entry, “Where the rubber meets the road” because we all will go through these storms and we need to hide the word of God in our hearts before the surging waters. By God’s grace, I’ve always been pretty consistent spending time in His Word. But in that storm (due to me drifting away from time in the Word) I was bone dry. I had some remnants of scriptures in my heart, but not enough to survive that level of a storm. While you are in a storm or a trial, is not the time to slacken on spending time in God’s Word. You will feel so weary but you still need to hide the Word in your heart.

We read God’s word so we can know Him, and worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). We are also commanded to love Him with our mind (Luke 10:27). But also when we have to walk out in the worst rainstorms. These storms or trials are different from person to person. But God permits these for a very grand purpose, so that we may know Him better. Think about what Job said in response to his own sufferings:

“I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and I repent in dust and ashes.” Job 42:5-6

Job says he had some amount of knowledge of God but through his sufferings, he came to know God more deeply.

Friends, when you go through storms don’t assume that God is unable to snatch you out of them. But lest we forget that suffering, storms, and trials produce a needful fruit within us that sunny days cannot.

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:3-5

The next time we face a storm we will endure longer and we won’t give up so soon. We have been given the privilege to not just believe in Christ but also to suffer with Him (Phil 1:29). So, our quiet time isn’t just to stir our hearts or more importantly to renew our minds. But also help us to face the storm, hand in hand with other believers and following behind our great Shepherd.

Please, be sure to follow me on Instagram and Twitter. And, stop by my shop and pick up some cute tees. Thank you for checking my little square of the Internet, be sure to follow and like. Thanks for reading and supporting my blog. I pray that it edifies you and glorifies God.

Four Things To Look Out For While Reading The Bible

~ Nicole Slade ~ 3 Comments

I don’t know any other topic I am consistently passionate about other than the Bible. I want to see every child, woman, and man to grab a hold of the Bible and not let go. To look and look at their Maker until they resemble His likeness. But with that said I thought it was important to note how to be watchful of ourselves when we read our Bibles.

1. Studying Or Reading The Bible Doesn’t Earn God’s Love.

God’s love is perfect so there is nothing that we can do to add or take away from that love. I wish I could say that this is a lie that I only believed when I first had saving faith in Christ. But it is a lie I am inclined to believe this to this very day. I realized only once I got saved that I have a performance streak in me. I wanted to prove just how lovable I could be to this God. And the other side of that coin was that when I knew in myself that I was wholly unlovable, I sank into the pit of despair. This takes reminding ourselves of the Gospel every day. We may not read a chapter of the New Testament every day. But we must repeat the Gospel to ourselves with intentionality.

For example:

“God accepts and loves me because of Jesus Christ. I have experienced the great exchange with Jesus. He has received the punishment, separation from the Father, and death that my sins deserved. And I have received His righteousness. I am a child of God and He is jealous for me.”

We can spend hours in the Bible or we can spend minutes, His love will not change for us. But also I think Jen Wilkin said it best, “The heart can’t love what the mind does not know”.

Scripture reading is so good for our souls. It makes obedience look good and sin look bad. It anchors our often troubled souls. We have a new need for God’s truth every single day that we awake. We love the Word so that we may love God more and keep His commands not that He will love us. He already does, He loved us even while we were His enemies (Romans 5:8). How amazing is that! And we are no longer His enemies we are His children.

2. That Any Truth Gleaned Is Revealed To Us By God

It didn’t take long for the sin of pride to grip my heart when reading the Word. At one point every time I would open the Bible I would discover so much truth that I began to believe the lie that it was my wisdom that had garnered these truths. God quickly responded to this by showing me that it wasn’t within myself that I had gleaned these truths. In those following days the Bible that was opened up to me like an oyster was shut tight and I couldn’t make it open to me. The Holy Spirit soon convicted me and I repented. I’ve always fancied myself to be bright, and I thought that explained why I understood so much of the Bible. When in all actuality it was my Teacher, the Holy Spirit who gave me these truths. Now I come to the Word as humbly as I can, with lots of prayer. I believe that those days where I don’t understand certain passages of the text reminds me just how dependent I am on God to understand His Word.

3. Searching Scriptures Only To Find A ‘Word’ For The Day.

I get it, I do, sometimes we just have to make a beeline for the book of Psalms. The toil of everyday living or the storms of life have us going to and fro, and we need to be anchored in God’s truth. But I often would come to the Bible so weary that I wasn’t trying to learn about God, I just wanted to be assured that it would all be alright. I looked intently for the verse that could speak into my life that day. Instead of looking for the attributes of the God that never changes.

The Bible is about God, period. We do gain insight into who we are or into human nature by reading the Word. But if we come to the Bible only to look for ourselves we are cheating ourselves.

I think for a while I didn’t realize that seeing various attributes or the character of God could anchor my troubled soul as well. This God whom Enoch walked with, I walk with today. The God that was faithful to David will be faithful to me. I had no idea that what I needed the most was to see God, and not myself.

“If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. If you look at God you’ll be at rest.” – Corrie Ten Boom

I usually sneak a line or two in my prayer before reading the Word. For example:

“Lord, clear any ill-motivations that I may have for coming to Your Word.”

Some wrong reasons that I’ve come to the Bible include:

  • To share something on social media.
  • To check Scripture reading off my to-do list.

In themselves neither of these reasons are sinful. It is good to use our platforms to make much of God. And Scripture reading is a spiritual discipline that needs to be on our list of daily priorities. But because of the sin in our hearts any good thing can be perverted and twisted.

I may only be sharing to gain some vainglory for myself, or to make much of myself and not Christ. This is a problem. I may get so caught up in scratching meeting with God off my list that I don’t ask Him give me a desire for His Word. Or I don’t ask Him to bring revival into my heart. And even more importantly I don’t repent of these feelings. I know that the word of God is sweeter than honey (Psalm 19:10;119:103). So when I can’t taste the sweetness there is something wrong with my taste buds. And this too is a problem

4. That Reading God’s Commands Are More Important Than Keeping Them.

God prizes obedience to His commands over our own knowledge of them. All through Scriptures God tells us over and over again that keeping His commands is what really matters to Him. He told it to King Saul by way of the prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 15:22). Jesus spoke about the man who built his house on the sand (Matthew 7:24-27). And James warned us not to be hearers only but to be doers of God’s word (James 1:22).

The blessing comes in the doing not in the knowing.

This took me a while to grasp. I certainly know the miserableness of knowing better and not doing better. I think on some level we all do going through this lifelong process of sanctification. God has given us a portion that He knew we could handle. He’s given us today, and to practice the truth we’ve attained (Philippians 3:16)

Last Things

Even though I present these four things to look out for while reading the Bible, let us not cease to press on to know God. Meeting with God is more important than anything else we can do. Let us still put that important meeting on the top of our lists. Let us still come to the Word weary-hearted. Finally, let us be watchful but let us not stop gleaning from God’s enduring Word.

Please, be sure to follow me on Instagram and Twitter. And, stop by my shop and pick up some cute tees. Thank you for checking my little square of the Internet, be sure to follow and like. Thanks for reading and supporting my blog. I pray that it edifies you and glorifies God.

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

~ Nicole Slade ~ Leave a comment

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace

I think it is safe to safe to say that most people know the words of this famous hymn written by Mrs. Helen Lemmel. Some have even sung it while silently praying that they would no longer be held captive by the world and the many things in it. What even those people may not know is that the chorus of this hymn was inspired by the words of a woman by the name of  I.Lilias Trotter.

“Never has it been so easy to live in half a dozen harmless worlds at once — art, music, social science, games, motoring, the following of some profession, and so on. And between them, we run the risk of drifting about, the good hiding the best. It is easy to find out whether our lives are focused, and if so, where the focus lies. Where do our thoughts settle when consciousness comes back in the morning? Where do they swing back when the pressure is off during the day? Dare to have it out with God, and ask Him to show you whether or not all is focused on Christ and His Glory. Turn your soul’s vision to Jesus, and look and look at Him, and a strange dimness will come over all that is apart from Him.”

The wording of this quote is different from how we speak today. And it was a completely different time when these words were written. But the gist of it is how effortless it is to drift in our walk with God. Also, how the good (the world) can hide the best (Christ). It can be so difficult to treasure Christ when this world is filled with “treasures”.

So how can we treasure Christ in a world filled with “treasures”? Practically speaking we can turn our eyes to Jesus by peeling our Bibles open. And then praying earnestly that God would show us His glory. That bright light that overcame darkness and the only light that can dim the light of the world. This is one of the means of grace by which we can see the worthiness of Christ. It’s only while reading our Bibles that then can we understand the reason the angels never cease to praise Him. We must consistently look to the Word so that the world will appear to us as it really is, dull and incomparable to Christ.

God delights in truth in the inward being. (Psalm 51:6)

We can be honest with God. We can weep and tell Him we know that He is the only treasure but we often get thrown off the path by little trinkets. We can tell Him that we know He is better than anything else we can behold but yet we find ourselves being held captive by lesser things. We can be honest and say that we have stopped following in His steps because of something that can’t hold a candle to Him. We are wretched things that don’t know our left hand from the right (Jonah 4:11). We know that Christ is better but we become hypnotized with various little shiny things. Our devotion to Him is like a morning dew, that quickly evaporates as it lands on the earth (Hosea 6:4). And yet, God still pursues us. He never ceases to draw us with His bands of love (Hosea 11:4). In the Bible, God says that when we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us (James 4:8). But, I have to be honest sometimes I haven’t even drawn myself near Him, and He’s already right there, near me.

When we read the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), even though Jesus isn’t saying this parable to highlight the father’s love for his son; but rather to highlight the behavior of eldest son. We can’t help but see the similarities between the son’s father and our own Father. The son had to make this one long, hard journey to his father. But I believe in our walk with God we may find ourselves needing to be embraced and kissed again. We will need to be re-robed and to have the same rings and sandals given to us again and again. But it is always better to be with the Father.

Last Things

I wanted to end this post by saying that I am so happy for the good work that God is doing in you. No one reads a blog post like this unless they’ve been drawn by God. He is doing an awesome work in your life, even though you aren’t yet where you want to be. And that is what it truly means to be a Christian, to be continually hungering and thirsting for more. A person in Christ has a ravaging appetite to be more holy and to be more like Jesus Christ. It is the good work of the Holy Spirit to point out how we are not like Him, and yet the Spirit gives us the desires to be like Him. So I am thankful for the work that the Spirit is doing within you, you can rest assured that God will complete this work and one day you will see Him as He really is (1 John 3:2). May you love the Lord with all your strength. And may you be true to the Heart that died for you.

Resources:

I am a huge fan of this podcast! It’s host Leslie Ludy is a godly woman, and I love the content she produces. This particular episode was a quick introduction to Ms. I. Lilias Trotter. I highly recommend that you check it out!

If this quote from Ms. Trotter has you wanting more, check out these links: 1, 2 and 3.

Please, be sure to follow me on Instagram and Twitter. And, stop by my shop and pick up some cute tees. Thank you for checking my little square of the Internet, be sure to follow and like. Thanks for reading and supporting my blog. I pray that it edifies you and glorifies God.

Why We Can’t Lose Our Salvation

~ Nicole Slade ~ 2 Comments

I have never undertaken writing something on my blog that may be considered ‘heady or theological’. I am totally relying on the Spirit of God dwelling in me to write about God’s truth. I know that there are some Christian denominations who hold to the belief that we can indeed lose our salvation. But the Bible doesn’t say such things. I am afraid that this school of belief is taught by man. Some even assume that if we hold on to the belief of eternal security (or that we can’t lose our salvation) we use this belief as an excuse to live a life that is full of sin. I hope to present God’s own words to you and to make a defense for why we should believe in eternal security.

I think that when someone doesn’t believe in eternal security, that in their hearts they believe that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ wasn’t sufficient. That perhaps His sacrifice wasn’t as He said it was on the cross, “finished” (John 19:30). That maybe they must work or earn some righteousness of their own in order to ‘supplement’ the perfect sacrifice. They must think that in not believing in eternal security that they live their lives in the true fear of God. I hope to present this notion as man-made beliefs and perhaps self-righteousness. Moreover, I hope to prove that the belief of eternal security is no license to sin but in that belief is the proper way to think about God.

The belief that salvation can be lost affects not only those who I’ve already addressed but also those who do believe in eternal security. Often in the dark night of the soul or once again yielding to some temptation many will give Christ the permission to give up on them. They know that their names are already written in heaven (Luke 10:20) but because of despair and hopelessness, they will feel as if their salvation and sanctification is dependent on them. I hope to refresh every soul that holds to the truth of either belief. I will show that the only thing we’ve contributed to salvation is our own sins. And that our salvation is because of the works of the Son, we are preserved by the Father and we are being sanctified by the Spirit. Salvation is an act of the Triune God alone, and that He is sufficient for all these things.

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Jeremiah 31:34 ESV *bolded for emphasis

Anyone who is Bible literate knows about the Old and New covenants made by God with His people. In the Scripture mentioned above, God is speaking through the prophet Jeremiah, he is prophesying of a new and better Covenant through the blood of Jesus Christ. In this particular Scripture, we see that the New Covenant is not like the Old, also that this covenant cannot be broken as the first one was by their forefathers. Unlike the Old Covenant where God’s law was carried in the Ark of the Covenant. In the New Covenant, His laws would be within the believer and written on their hearts. Also that they wouldn’t have to go into a temple to worship God, but that they themselves would become temples of the Holy Spirit. At the Passover when Jesus was eating with His disciples’ He broke the bread, which represented His body, and took the cup which He explained was His blood, ushering in a new and better Covenant (Luke 22:19-20).

I believe at the very heart of this belief of conditional salvation or security is disbelief and not understanding that God is sovereign. When we believe that salvation is conditional we think that God is not able to save us. We even go against the Bible, which says, ‘Christ is able to save to the uttermost’ (Hebrews 7:25). We reckon ourselves not united to Christ in His death, but that we are a hard nut to crack. In other words, we believe that we are such a challenge to God that it is impossible for Him to complete sanctification us.

3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

1 Peter 1:3-4  *bolded for emphasis

This belief in eternal security is not a license to abuse God’s grace. But it is one of those promises that compels us to become like God or to share in His divine nature. In fact, anyone who believes that their eternal salvation is an excuse to sin may need to do some self-examination. Because those who are God’s children though they may sin and yield to temptations cannot live a life of sin (1 John 3:9).

If you are yet not fully convinced that anyone’s salvation can’t be lost I ask you these questions:

1. Do you believe that God can lose His grip or that anyone can snatch away from His hand (John 10:28)?

2.Do you think that God cannot keep you even to end (1 Corinthians 1:8: 1 Thessalonians 5:23)?

3. Do you believe that God’s purposes of saving you can be thwarted ( Job 42:2; Isaiah 14:27; Proverbs 16:1)?

4. If God saved Paul (Acts 9) who called himself, ‘the chief of sinners’ (1 Timothy 1:5), why do you believe that God is unable to complete the good work He has started in you (Philippians 1:6)?

5.Do you believe that anything in the Bible hints at the fact that God doesn’t keep His promises?

Prayer: Lord while I don’t feel quite sufficient to write this post, and I am almost sure I didn’t mention everything pertaining to this topic. You, however, are sufficient for all these things. I ask that you would give these readers ears to hear. And give their souls rest from the busy work of self-righteousness. Say to their souls that, ‘I am your salvation’ (Psalm 35:3). Show them that the basis of salvation is dependent totally on You, on Your character and Your power. I say this prayer in the only name under heaven that saves us (Acts 4:12) and gives us true life, Jesus. Amen.