Hidden Disobedience

This past Sunday our pastor continued our study in Joshua. Part of his sermon has stuck with me since then and I felt like sharing it may benefit someone else.

For reference, the scriptures we were looking at were 
Joshua 7: 1-12, 20-26

This came from his final point (of a 3 point sermon)

The point was: 

God never blesses disobedience

This is one of those points that I instantly thought back to different times in my life where I have been disobedient. More specifically, a time when I had a recurrent sin (aka: a hidden sin). That while I knew it was wrong, I continued to partake in it. We all have if we're being honest with ourselves. And if we are being really honest, most of us have one right now.

What is a "hidden sin"? It is simply a sin that you are doing that you try to keep hidden from others. You could also call it a "secret sin."

For you this may be: pornography, alcoholism, sex outside of marriage, gambling, cheating on a spouse, drug abuse, or something completely different.  

But to burst your bubble...

You CANNOT hide sin from God

We all sin; every. single. day. We live in a broken world. But there is a difference in intentional sin vs unintentional sin. We are going to mess up and make mistakes. But from those we learn and we try to do better. We repent. 

Now that you have probably taken a second to think about the disobedience (hidden sin) in your life, let me ask you a question:

Have you recently had a thought that is something like this:

Why is everything in my life going the opposite of what I want?

or

Why does it feel like God is against me?

Maybe you need to evaluate if you are being disobedient towards God. Evaluate if you are trying to hide a sin from Him. Evaluate if you are sinning in a way that the world says it's okay, but God says it's not.

If you can say yes to one of those, change it. 

I can promise you that God is not working against you. He wants nothing but good things for you. That doesn't mean life will pass without trials and hard times, but it does mean that He will be with you and help you through. But remember, God will not reward you for being disobedient. 

I hope this can help someone evaluate their life and make a change. I know that it has made me stop and evaluate my own. I am trying to be more aware of what I am doing and saying. 

Love you friends♡

Snow & Rest

Has it been snowing where you are?

Here we have had a snow storm the last 2 weekends. Snow is not my favorite thing (not even in my top 20). But here we are getting it back to back. Plus side- my kids love it. And this weekends snow storm was perfect for playing and of course, building a snowman. 

Yesterday at church, my pastor spoke on REST. 

How many times have you said, "I just need some rest"?

He told us that we have to look beyond that statement. That if we read our Bible we will find that God intends for us to have rest, but not just the kind we think of (Sunday afternoon naps)

Mind

Body

Spirit

You will first notice that God talks about rest right in the beginning. God took a day of rest. Do you think he really needed it? (Genesis 2:3)

We are also called to rest one day of the week (Exodus 34:21). This is for more than sleep. Rest your mind from the chaos around you, rest your spirit by leaning into God, rest your body by not laboring. 

And when we are seeking rest we can always find it in God (Matthew 11:28-2) HE provides for us in every area of our life. All we are called to do is seek after HIM, trust in HIM, and rest in HIM.

One of my favorite verses that my pastor provided was Psalm 62:1

Truly my soul finds rest in God;
    my salvation comes from him.

This is just a short summary of what all our sermon entailed.  But I hope that these verses will give you peace and comfort and most of all, rest

❆❆❆❆

So while we have been trapped at home in the snow today, I have really thought about rest. I have pondered these verses and some of the things that my pastor said. And I have tried to be intentional with my rest today. I played with my kids, took a nap, and stopped to just relish in this life that God has given me. To stop and rest my mind so that I can hear HIM and see HIM. I pray friends that you take time to do the same❤