Le Saint-Esprit, mon guide & Ami

Le Saint-Esprit, mon guide & Ami

Le blog de Lucie

We receive this peace through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

If we have given our lives over to Jesus and are following Him we have the very spirit of Jesus Christ living in us! He is always present, interceding and guiding us into truth and peace, in and out of the storm.

What is His purpose? It is that you will live with peace and joy in your heart, knowing that He loves you and nothing will come between you and Him, no matter the situation. It is that you will be made righteous, that you may display the gifts of His Spirit and show Him to a dying world.

Prayer is always God’s plan to connect us to Him but now more than ever, we need to be praying earnestly for God to draw us to Himself and praying about all that’s happening around us.

We have access to the very Spirit of Christ in His Holy Spirit who will intercede for us when we don’t know what to ask for!

~ Romans 8:26-28

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groaning too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because[ the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

“Our prayers are not always answered by a specific action. Sometimes our prayers are answered with a shift in our attitude or in our emotions. After prayers we may find that confidence has replaced our fear, contentment has replaced our desire, hope has replaced our despair, comfort has replaced our grief, patience has replaced our frustration, joy has replaced our spirit of heaviness and love has replaced our anger. I know many of us are shaken by the events in the past few weeks so, let’s look at Isaiah and see how he coped:

When Isaiah’s life was shaken, he responded by looking up. Par conséquent, he had a fresh vision of the Lord. This is the time to look up…from our knees! Let’s ask God to give us a fresh vision of Himself. Because, God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear… since He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust. Surely he will save you from…the deadly pestilence…You will not fear the terror of night…nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you…” Anne Graham Lotz

 

Bénédictions,

Lumières

 

Votre vie a-t-elle été ressuscitée?

Votre vie a-t-elle été ressuscitée?

John 1:1,14, Titus 3:5, Luc 1:28, 2 Corinthiens 5:21, Matthieu 27:3-4, 1 Corinthiens 15:3-4, and Colossians 3:1

For those of us who have suffered the trauma of abortion, can agree that every part of our being, physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional, has been broken and shattered into a million pieces. We found ourselves barely able to function and as a result we chose unhealthy mechanisms to cope with our state of despair; such as alcohol, sex, drugs, achats, unhealthy relationships or anything that could fill the black hole in our heart. There is only one person who can pick up the shattered pieces of our broken lives and fill the hole in our heart and that is Jesus the only begotten Son of God. Have you truly met the Savior, the lover of your soul? Have you been led out of the darkness and chains, into His glorious healing light?

Where were you when you found Jesus? I was 34 years old and literally on my back laying on my couch for weeks at a time, and thinking this is not living, I am barely surviving, and wanting to end this torment of a life. My depression was so severe that I was incapable of getting on with my life and daily responsibilities. I was a broken, depressed, addicted, suicidal mess. On the outside, I pretended to have a perfect life, but inside I was dying and it became exceedingly more difficult to put on my mask every day. The only thing that kept me from formulating a plan to end my life were my 2 children who were very young, at the time around 7 et 8. I could not abandon them and leave them without a mother.

My husband had been on a quest to find the truth about Jesus and he was attending several churches in our area. In my desperation, I told him I wanted to attend church with him on one such Sunday. All four of us attended a small Baptist church in Browns Mills, NJ on January 2, 1994. For the next four weeks we would attend church as a family for Sunday School, Sunday Service, and on Sunday and Wednesday night meetings. My heart and mind were being saturated with the Bible, the Living Word of God (John 1:1,14). My Spirit was slowly being regenerated or reborn (Titus 3:5). My eyes and ears were opened and I heard things I had never heard before, and I had attended church my whole life. I heard that Jesus was born of a virgin teenager, a woman blessed and chosen by God, (Luc 1:28) but no different from you or I. He lived a sinless life, (2 Corinthiens 5:21) was betrayed by Judas Iscariot for 30 pieces of silver, (Matthieu 27:3-4) was tortured and crucified on a cross, died, was buried and rose again on the third day. (1 Corinthiens 15:3-4) He is alive and sitting at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. (Colossiens 3:1) When I realized that Jesus loved me so much that He died for me and He took upon himself my sins and He willingly died for me. I was finally broken of my self-sufficiency and pride and I humbled myself before God and I asked Him to forgive my sins and I asked Jesus to be my Lord and Savior.

The most memorable life transforming day of my life was on February 6, 1994 when I became a born-again believer in Jesus. I will never forget that evening after Church when I was of all things, smoking a cigarette in my garage; that addiction took longer to stop than my drinking which stopped immediately. It was a clear crisp beautiful February evening and looking up I saw the moon and stars and I had this overwhelming feeling inside that something happened, I felt my spirit quicken in me and I said, “I feel you in me, I am changed, thank you Jesus.” Tears streamed down my cheeks and I was filled with gratitude, love, and hope for the first time in my life, I felt completely loved.

Have you encountered Jesus?

Once you do you will never be the same.

Tell me your story, where were you when Jesus found you?

Bénédictions,

Toni

Lire la suite des blogs de Toni ICI.
Pensée puante: Pensées négatives

Pensée puante: Pensées négatives

2 Corinthiens 10:3-5 and Philippians 4:8-9

La pensée puante fait référence aux pensées négatives qui nous tourmentent, surtout lorsque nous sommes ARRÊT (Hfaim, UNEen colère, Lseul ou Tirrité) ou avoir des pensées telles qu'une vision déformée de Dieu et de soi, pensée négative, justification, peur, et l'anxiété. Nous aborderons chacun de ces sujets afin de pouvoir discerner les mensonges auxquels nous avons cru au fil des années et les remplacer par la vérité de Dieu.. Notre objectif est de vous équiper pour que vous puissiez remporter la victoire dans ces domaines.

2 Corinthiens 10:3-5 NKJV

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God for pulling down of strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself above the knowledge of God, brining every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”

Philippiens 4:8-9 NKJV

“Finally, brethren whatever things are true, whatever things are honest, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there be any virtue and if there be anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received, and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with.”

All of us know a person who can suck all the air out of a room because every word that comes out of their mouth is negative. Have you ever experienced that before? It is emotionally draining to be in the company of a negative person for a long period of time, before we too are dragged down into the pit with them. Are you plagued with negative thoughts?

The enemy is continually trying to trip us up, because his goal is to get us to focus on the negative things, instead of all the things we should be thankful for. Do you have a gratitude list? If you don’t, I suggest you do one today, and write down all the things you are thankful for. When you feel a negative thought coming on, just get out your list and remind yourself, God is still on the throne and He is in control and He is aware of everything that is going on in the world. He uses all of it for His purpose and plans in all of our lives. We must remember God is good all the time, and He is love, that is His character. He never changes, He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

The battlefield truly is the mind, that is where spiritual warfare starts and that’s where we have a choice to take it on or not. Right now, we are experiencing a worldwide pandemic, many are fearful, but as believers we need to be seeking the Lord even more now, so we have His perspective on this. What are you focusing on now? Do you feel peaceful and hopeful or depressed and hopeless?

I have a list of Biblical truths that I read over every morning to remind myself that I am adopted and loved by God. This is how I put my armor on to protect myself from the fiery darts of the enemy.

Qui je suis en Christ, to Combat Rejection.

je suis digne.

je suis aimé.

je suis accepté.

je suis adopté.

Je suis confiant et compétent.

je suis un enfant de Dieu.

J'ai le Saint-Esprit en moi.

Je suis victorieux en Christ.

J'ai une maison au paradis.

Rien ne peut me séparer de l'amour de Dieu en Jésus-Christ mon Seigneur.

I am valued by God, I am His precious child, J'ai une maison au paradis.

Je ne craindrai aucun mal!

When I read this every morning it protects my mind from the lies and negative thoughts that the enemy wants me to focus on. When I don’t read my list, I am vulnerable to the enemy’s devices; I am impatient, unkind, and easily frustrated. Lord You are showing me that today in fact, I must make time with You each morning; You are my priority, reading Your Word daily is food for my soul, praying is a time for me to hear from you and to talk to you, and journaling is a time when I go even deeper with You seeking your wisdom and wanting so much to hear from you to lead and guide me in my life and in all I do, because I want my life to be pleasing to you and I want you to be glorified through it. Merci, Seigneur, for reminding me and convicting me of that today.

Father in heaven, I pray for each woman on this call and for the women on-line reading this blog. I pray they will seek you with their whole heart. Show them how much you love them in a very real and tangible way. Protect them from the lies and negative thoughts of the enemy and help them to focus on the things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report. Renew their minds daily as they read Your Word. Heal them and bind up their wounds as only You can, for you only, are their Mighty Counselor and Great Physician. Meet them where they are and lead them by Your righteous right hand. Forgive all of their sins and heal them Lord. Thank you for Your love, mercy, grace, and compassion upon them. We pray this in the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Do you struggle with negative thoughts?

How often are you plagued with these thoughts?

Is there a person or situation that causes you to start thinking negatively?

What have you done to help protect yourself from this kind of negative thinking?

Bénédictions,

Toni

En savoir plus sur les articles de blog de Toni ici!

Pensée puante: Ma vision déformée de Dieu

Pensée puante: Ma vision déformée de Dieu

Proverbes 23:7un, Romains 2:4d, 1 Corinthiens 6:20, et Jean 3:16

 

La pensée puante fait référence aux pensées négatives qui nous tourmentent, surtout lorsque nous sommes ARRÊT (Hfaim, UNEen colère, Lseul ou Tirrité) ou avoir des pensées telles qu'une vision déformée de Dieu et de soi, pensée négative, justification, peur, et l'anxiété. Nous aborderons chacun de ces sujets afin de pouvoir discerner les mensonges auxquels nous avons cru au fil des années et les remplacer par la vérité de Dieu.. Notre objectif est de vous équiper pour que vous puissiez remporter la victoire dans ces domaines.

D'abord, la Parole de Dieu dit dans les Proverbes 23:7un, “Car comme il le pense dans son cœur, lui aussi.” Ce que nous pensons de nous-mêmes dicte la façon dont nous nous percevons, Dieu, et d'autres, et comment nous réagissons aux choses. Si nous nous considérons comme enfants de Dieu, aimé, chéri et adopté dans la famille de Dieu, nous verrons que nous sommes vraiment spéciaux, mis à part par Dieu pour les bonnes œuvres. Nous aurons une vision plus positive du monde. Si nous sentons que nous ne sommes pas aimables à cause de nos péchés passés, et pas une personne de valeur, nous nous sentirons déprimés, solitaire, et désespéré. Pouvez-vous voir que ce que nous pensons détermine ce que nous ressentons?

Ma première vision déformée de Dieu a commencé quand j'étais un très jeune enfant. 6 ou 7 ans. J'ai vu Dieu comme un Dieu en colère et inaccessible. On m'a dit quand j'étais enfant, si je faisais quelque chose de mal, Dieu me punirait, J'attendais constamment que le marteau me tombe sur la tête à chaque fois que je faisais quelque chose de mal. L'église était vieille et possédait de beaux vitraux, mais à l'intérieur il faisait noir, froid, et les gens parlaient en latin. Je n'y ai pas vu l'amour de Dieu. Tout ce que j'ai vu, c'était des règles strictes et des punitions sévères en cas de désobéissance.. J'ai vu régulièrement des étudiants frapper avec des règles.. Cela m'a empêché de me cacher à nouveau, comme je l'ai fait à la maison, quand mon père avait une de ses crises de colère.

C'est la bonté de Dieu qui mène à la repentance. (Romains 2:4d) Une méthode pour modifier le comportement consiste à avoir peur du jugement; l'autre c'est par l'amour. Dieu veut que nous lui obéissions par amour et non par peur. Si tu aimes quelqu'un et qu'il t'aime, tu veux passer du temps avec cette personne, mais quand tu penses à quelqu'un comme à une personne dure, ce n'est pas quelqu'un avec qui vous vous sentez en sécurité et à l'aise. Voyez-vous la différence? Dieu est amour, et sa grâce est imméritée. À cause de ce que Jésus a fait pour moi sur la croix, le moins que je puisse faire est de le servir et d'obéir à sa parole. J'ai été acheté avec un prix (1 Corinthiens 6:20); le sang précieux de Jésus a payé le prix de mes péchés et des péchés du monde entier.

Je n'ai pas vu l'amour de Dieu évident dans mon ancienne église. Ce n'est que lorsque j'étais 34, quand j'ai fréquenté une petite église baptiste du New Jersey, que j'ai entendu l'évangile pour la première fois. Le bâtiment était très simple, pas de vitraux. Il y avait une croix devant où se tenait le prédicateur et un piano. Mais une chose que j'ai vue manifestée était l'amour de Dieu que ces gens avaient. C'est ce qui m'a attiré vers Jésus. C'était la prédication de la Parole de Dieu à travers la Bible et l'amour de Dieu dans les paroles, les actions et sur les visages des personnes qui fréquentaient cette petite église..

John 3:16 “Car Dieu a tant aimé le monde qu'il a donné son fils unique… ” Il nous a tellement aimé qu'il a donné son Fils mourir pour vous et moi; c'est une image de l'amour sacrificiel. Merci, Jésus, pour mourir volontairement sur la croix pour nous, Je sais que c'est ton amour pour le monde qui t'a retenu sur cette croix.

Je crois que l'ennemi travaille dur pour déformer notre vision de Dieu, pour nous faire douter qu'Il nous aime vraiment et se soucie de nous. Regarde Eve dans le jardin, le serpent (Satan), le trompeur et père du mensonge, essayer de semer le doute dans l’esprit d’Ève quant à savoir si on peut faire confiance à la Parole de Dieu. J'imagine qu'elle pensait, "Dieu me cache quelque chose de bon, Il ne m'aime pas vraiment parce que s'il le faisait, Il me donnerait tout ce que je veux. Adam et Eve ne savaient pas ce qui était le mieux pour eux, et c'est pareil chez nous; nous ne savons pas non plus ce qui est le mieux pour nous. Dieu nous a dit de ne pas avoir de relations sexuelles avant le mariage. Était-il en train de nous tenir tête? Non, en fait, il nous protégeait, surtout ceux d'entre nous qui voudraient avorter nos bébés. Il essayait de nous protéger, nous et nos bébés.

J'ai réalisé que c'était par amour que Dieu ne voulait pas que j'aie des relations sexuelles en dehors du mariage, parce qu'il voulait me protéger. Si seulement j'avais fait confiance à Dieu et l'avais invité dans mon processus de prise de décision et croyais qu'il pourvoirait à mon bébé et à moi., alors peut-être que j'aurais eu le courage de choisir la vie pour mon bébé. Au lieu de cela, ma vision déformée de Dieu m'a fait craindre de l'approcher avec mes besoins., quel était l'ennemi'le plan. Si l'ennemi peut nous faire paniquer et ne pas chercher Dieu'la sagesse, disposition, et protection, alors il a gagné la bataille.

Quelle était votre vision déformée de Dieu lorsque vous étiez plus jeune?

Comment le vois-tu maintenant?

 

Bénédictions,

Toni

Lire la suite des blogs de Toni ICI.

Peur vs foi

Peur vs foi

Le blog de Lucie

John 16:33, John 14:27, and 2nd Timothy 1:7

Quand j'étais une petite fille, I feared so much in my life, especially in my home where I should have felt safe. I can remember fear always being with me. At a very young age, while laying in my crib my older brother would come in and silently hover over my face, to frighten me. For years he tormented me in so many ways, including sexual molestation when I was an adolescent but no one came to my rescue. My parents were mostly present but unaware; they were not able to care for us individually since there were so many of us; j'avais 14 brothers & sœurs. They were busy working, training us to do household chores, taking care of the home and keeping us afloat. My mom was not a communicator and didn’t engage in individual conversation with us. And my father was a very angry man who took his frustration out on us kids, so in fear I hid from him when he came home from work. But that was not always an option.

Over the years, I learned that if others saw my fear, they would take advantage of and sometimes prey on me. Eventually I learned to mask my fear with a false persona of self-confidence to prevent anyone from getting too close and hurting me emotionally. I worked really hard to provide for myself and created a perception that I could overcome any threat that came into my life; I was convinced, I could protect myself. This worked as long as I was able to control my environment. But that is not reality. We know there are many situations we can’t control, including our relationships with others!

Into my early teens my life spiraled out of control with promiscuity, broken relationships, drug and alcohol abuse until I came to the point that I lost what sliver of hope I had and felt an overwhelming sense of despair. Fear ruled my thoughts and no matter how hard I tried to bury it; it was always present in my heart. I continued on this destructive path, trying to bury the pain, until one day I found myself pregnant and this situation stopped me in my tracks! I feared that my lifestyle would be exposed, I was ashamed and feared what others would think of me. I was single, in my 20’s and didn’t really know the father, so I had an abortion. That is when I found myself unable to cope with my decisions, especially the one that took the life of my child. This choice brought me to a point of extreme crisis. I couldn’t move past this decision which was always in my thoughts and defined who I had become.

During the time span of my disfunction, from the age of 14, I can remember followers of Jesus telling me about Him, but I was afraid of getting involved in what I thought was the rigid religion I grew up in that had nothing to offer me except judgement. For 11 years Jesus sought me out and one day, ironically, 9 months after my abortion, He opened my eyes to see His truth and, on that day, I asked forgiveness for all my sins and invited Him to be my Lord and Savior. As I began to walk with Him and explore the bible, I read that He would care for me and that I could exchange my fear for faith in Him, and in His promises!

As a new Christian, just learning about the ways of God and who I was in Him, I continued to operate out of fear. But over time, I came to understand that fear and faith cannot co-exist. One will always negate the other. This was a life changing truth for me!

For the past two or so weeks we’ve been listening to the world and experts tell us to, “Be afraid, fear for our health, the health of our family members, the economy, losing our jobs, not having enough to sustain us, to avoid all social contact, that things are going to get much worse, that there is a silent killer among us!"

The government entities have closed down the parks, écoles, restaurants, businesses and more. The stock market is plummeting and the world is reacting in panic, wondering what the future holds for them and their children. Many are selfishly hoarding goods in the event they have to be quarantined. There is uncertainty all around us. While I’m very aware of what’s happening and that we have good cause to experience this fear and concern, I want to share 2 perspectives that I hope will help us put things into perspective.

And I heard Satan Say, “I will cause anxiety, fear and panic. I will shut down business, écoles, places of worship, and sports events. I will cause economic turmoil. I will isolate them so I can more easily attack and cause great fear, so they will lose all hope.”

Puis, Jesus said: “I will bring together neighbors, restore the family unit, I will bring dinner back to the kitchen table, I will help people slow down and appreciate what really matters. I will teach my children to rest and rely upon me and not the world, their money, or possessions. I will provide for all their needs.”

What are you fearful of?

How do you respond when you cannot control your environment?

The Lord has given us His Word to show us how we can be encouraged through difficult times and not to react in fear.

We read in John 16:33, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you; not as the world gives do, I give to you. let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

2 Tim 1:7, “For God gave us not a spirit of fear, but of power and love and self-control.”

 

Dans l'amour du Christ,

Lumières