Adding to Your Faith

“5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:5-8

 

I have been learning quite a bit about the faith walk. To start with, it’s a walk – a journey – and it requires going someplace with it and living it out. Faith is more than believing, it is doing what Jesus tells you to do. But in doing that, we are encouraged to, “…make every effort to add to your faith…” (2 Peter 1:5 NIV) followed by these things: virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love.

Verse 8 tells us why: “For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:8 NKJV)

Barren – the word here actually means useless, inactive, lazy.  And knowledge – full discernment and recognition. In other words, it is in adding these to your faith and walking them out that you will be effective.

How can you make an effort to add to your faith today?

#Opportunityisnowhere

Okay, be honest with me; how did you read that title. I dare you to vote:

Sometimes it seems like life dropped you off at the wrong street corner. You were supposed to be at Park Place or the Boardwalk and somehow ended up on Baltic Ave! Big difference there!

Everything that you do unto God is building a foundation of faith in your life. When you think you’ve missed your calling, be faithful where you are, pray and work unto the Lord in all you do and you will find that as long as you’re seeking Him, He is preparing you for what is to come. Seek HIM first!

Faith acts without delay. It doesn’t always make sense. But obedience (especially when you don’t understand) is the highest form of faith. God’s ways are higher than our ways. We cannot comprehend all He is doing or why things happen to be the way they are – but we can trust in His goodness to know that He will work all things together for good.

Sometimes I want to think I’m in the wrong place. I’m nowhere near the place I thought I would be by this time. It feels like there is nothing for me sometimes. Why would God bring me to such a place? Everything is seemingly at a stand-still. It is so tempting to pull back and just let things slide, wait on Him and do much of nothing. But I’m called to be faithful where I am even when I don’t understand why I happen to be here.

Opportunity is not nowhere, opportunity is NOW HERE. It is in this place I can take time to experience and truly know the heart of my glorious Lord. It is in this place that I can breathe deep and rest in who He is. It is in this place that I want to be found faithful living my life unto Him.

When you find yourself in that place, even when you think it seems mundane, be faithful – nothing done unto the Lord is ever in vain. Take heart when you feel like opportunities, promises, and the fullness of what you’re  called to nowhere, because it is NOW HERE. Faithfulness breeds fruitfulness. 

#BeFaithful

#FaithfulisFruitful

 

Heart’s Cry: Something to Believe In

What is worth a fight?

What is your dream?  If you have a dream, you have to have the passion to go with it.

It has to be a part of who you are and what you grieve for and what you live for.

What dreams are part of your heart’s cry?

I know that for me, my heart cry is freedom – physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually. My passion is to bring the broken to restoration and to a recognition of redemption – to not be enslaved by who they were or where they have been, but to walk free and unhindered in the fullness of who God has called them to be. My passion is to raise up girls and women to be healthy, whole, and completely devoted to God and to His plans and purposes for their lives.

As this is my passion and the cry of my heart it is what I fight for daily. I have a dream and a vision that goes with this call. A dream to rescue and restore.

Now….what is your dream? Why?

How often does it drive you to your knees in prayer? How often does your heart grieve for those that your dream will reach?

What is your true heart’s cry?

#31DaysofFreedom

 

Cyber-Sex Trafficking

I had drafted another post for today, until this hit my e-mail. Please read this article on Cyber-Sex Trafficking. The story itself is incredible. It is unbelievable what is happening all over the globe – and down our very streets.

Be a voice this week!

#31DaysofFreedom

 

 

Your Life For the Gospel

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” – Jim Elliot.

What do you burn for?

What in your life gives eternal value? 

You never know when your last day is. Are you prepared to lay down your life for what you claim to believe? Do you really burn for the gospel? Are you truly passionate about God, or are you in love with your religion?

The gospel will be an offense…persecution will come and persist, and in a paradox, instead of dying out, this will cause an uproar and a move of God – it will come out of the persecution.

Your life for the gospel – a life that makes sense in eternity. I life lived for God.

What burdens and burns in your heart?

My life for the gospel looks like invading the low and dark places that only the broken and shame are found. The victims, the abused, the prostitutes, the emotionally devastated, the hopeless, the runaway, the lost, the disillusioned, those who no longer see their priceless worth after being stripped down to what they see as nothing, the hurting – the broken women.

My life for the gospel looks like living the unloved and battered women and girls. To reach out and rescue the ones from which innocence has been torn away.

My life for the gospel looks like reaching into the dark places of a broken soul for the light the enemy has tried so desperately to steal from them.

My life for the gospel brings a restoration to the broken and a recognition of redemption. It brings hope.

What does your life for the gospel look like? What burdens your heart? Where can you make a difference? 

New Life is Starting at Every Ending…

Today, I along with my incredible classmates graduate from Victory School of Ministry.  It is hard to even form words for how these years have been, but perhaps the lives we live will tell the story better than any words ever could. This is the end of a season for many of us. Some will be coming back and others will be moving on, but no matter where we go in life we will always take a bit of each other everywhere.

I have learned so much and God has changed me in so many ways. As I step out, I know that a new life is starting at this ending. This was only the beginning. It has been such an honor to be part of this group of God’s elite! Everyone is uniquely gifted and has different strengths – but as was said before, you go fast if you go alone, but you go far if you go together. I’m so honored to privileged to have walked with each of these people as a class and as a school.

To my class: I believe you will go far. I believe in the dreams that God has put in your hearts. I believe in and I’m committed to praying for you and the destiny that you will fulfill. I am incredibly proud of each and every one of you. I love you dearly. We’ve all had our ups and downs. None of us are perfect. But even with all that being true, we love each other and we have each other’s backs. It has been an honor to grow, to fight, to pray, and to stand with you. No matter where you go, you have my prayers.

To my first year class: I am so incredibly proud of every single one of you. God has done incredible things in your life this year! I’m looking forward to seeing what more He does in each of you. Remember to stand firm. Be challenged. God has so much in store for you. You are all in my prayers. It has been an honor to serve with you. I love you all.

To my leaders: Thank you for calling out the potential that is in me. Thank you for challenging me to be more than I thought I could be. Thank you for the grace that you’ve shown, for the prayers that you have sown, for the wisdom that you have imparted, for the love that you have given. I really do feel the weight of the responsibility of the prayers that were prayed over me – heard and unheard, and also for guarding the sacred trust of everything that has been poured into me these last 2 years. I feel the weight to walk out in the fullness of all that has been brought forth in me.

With nothing left to be said, but all to be lived:  Live. Pursue. Love. Endure.

Uninspired? Light a Fire!

Have you ever had one of those days, or weeks, or even months where you felt so uninspired? You loved something, or you wanted to do something but lacked the inspiration and the motivation to do it? What do you do when inspiration and motivation run cold?

LIGHT A FIRE! 

I know. The last thing you want to do when you’re feeling uninspired is something. But how do you get from uninspired to fired up?

Emotionalism aside, what had you fired up about it in the first place? If you want to burn long and strong, you have to remember what stirred the fire up in the first place.

As passionate as I am about writing, there are days where I don’t have the words.

As passionate as I am about the causes I believe in, there are days where it seems that they aren’t heard.

As passionate as I am about dancing, there are days where I can’t move or don’t feel like moving.

As passionate as I am about the Lord, there are days where I have to say to my soul, “You will bless the Lord!”

Does having to stir myself up sometimes make these passions any less in me? No, it doesn’t. Because deep inside, they are part of my cause, they are part of my purpose, they are what make my being come alive. They are what God has put in me.

Emotions can sometimes get in the way. There are going to be days where you feel like just laying around and doing nothing – this is okay. But don’t lose sight of what made those passions rise up in you.

I have to remind myself of why I write. I have to remind myself of why I believe in taking a stand against human trafficking and abortion. I have to remind myself why I want to raise up a generation of women who are whole, healthy and wholeheartedly devoted to the plans and purposes that God has on their lives. I have to remind myself why I dance. I have to remind myself that God is greater than my circumstances and no matter where I am at, He is worthy and I will bless His name.

These are some of my passions. Many days they excite me and I come alive because I GET to sit in God’s presence and commune with Him. I GET to write. I GET to take a stand. I GET to mentor young women. I GET to minister. And all of this, it makes me feel alive inside.

Sometimes there is a fight. But I’ve found when the fight comes, many times it is because you have lost sight of why you do what you do. Sometimes it is because you have lost sight of the origin of your passion: It started with God.

Passion isn’t based on emotion. It is a love and commitment so deep that it sees the vision and is relentless to see it come to pass. All of my passions come down to one thing: that God be glorified in it. I love the Lord and I am passionate about the things of God. This is why I do what I do. And if there was nothing else but Him, my passion would still burn to just sit as his feet and worship Him simply because He is worthy.

When your sights are on Him, the fire starts again.

Walking it Out: Where in your life have your passions died down. Light a fire again. Spend some time with God and then write down your passions. Write down how they came about. Write down why your passionate about it.

Rock of the Ages

I woke up this morning with an old hymn going through my head. You may or may not be familiar with it – Rock of Ages. Just the familiar tune reminded me of when I was little and my siblings and I would crowd on the couch with my mother and we would sing a few hymns and pray and read the Bible together. Those were the simple days, (at least they were for me,) where the biggest concerns were who got the blue dum-dum when we went through the bank drive-through or whose turn it was to have a sleep over at Nana and Pap’s house.

These days my concerns are bigger (in my eyes) than the ones I had as a child. It seems that I have a long to-do list with a short amount of time. And that may be true, but even more-so, His grace is sufficient and the sufficiency of Christ is more than enough for me.

It wouldn’t be hard to overwhelm myself with the details or with commitments and deadlines – but what good is that? What good is it to get so caught up in what I do that I forget why I do it. Is not all for the glory of God? At times that can mean putting my “to-do” to the wayside, and putting my “being” at His feet simply to worship Him and to be with Him. 

Sometimes life can get messy and unpredictable. Situations you find yourself in can get hard and you can get hurt or find yourself confused and lost. You’re pushing yourself to the max but to no avail. It’s those times you need to take a deep breath, put your “to-do” to the side and sit as His feet. God is the only constant in this life – He’s the Rock of the ages. Recognize Him in the midst of what you’re going through.

How are you feeling today? Are you tired, stressed, anxious? Are you busy, distracted, concerned? Are you frightful, lonely or hurt?

“3 You will keep him in perfect peace,

Whose mind is stayed on You,

Because He trusts in You.

4 Trust in the Lord forever,

For in YAH, the Lord, is everlasting strength.” 

Isaiah 26:3-4 (NKJV)

No matter how you are feeling, remember God is still on the throne. He sees and cares about the situation you’re in. When you recognize where He is, those feelings will melt away and peace will follow.

“2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;

My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;

My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

3 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;

So shall I be saved from my enemies.”

Psalm 18:2-3 (NKJV)

Related Posts:

She Smiles at the Future

The Color Purple

The Heart of the Psalms

 

Leader in the Making

Life isn’t always easy and sometimes you fail. The thing with failing not everyone seems to understand is this:

1) Failing doesn’t mean your a FAILURE

2) FAILURE can’t be blamed on someone else because even though circumstantially it can be due to someone else, but you have a choice to get back up again.

The greatest glory is not never falling but in getting up when you do.

Sometimes it is people that bring us down who try to disqualify us based on where we’ve been, our circumstances or who we are. But they aren’t the ones who can call us out. The only person who can take you out of running your race is YOU.

History belongs to the people who don’t disqualify themselves.

 

Don’t disqualify yourself before you start the race. You are destined for greatness! Don’t let circumstances and situations make you think you aren’t qualified. God’s call and anointing on your life is what qualifies you – NOT what you can do in your own strength.

God’s been teaching me so much about trusting in Him and not in my own strength. Things don’t always makes sense, but He orchestrates everything so beautifully! He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it! Trust him. Keep running and don’t quit.

21 Days of Never-the-Same – Day 15

This is what I live by. I recognize that I am called to a higher standard.

I Brittany, am a disciple of Christ

I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have Holy Spirit power.

The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made.

I am a disciple of Christ.

I will not look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still.

My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure.

I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, colorless dreams, tame visions, worldly talking, cheap giving and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions or popularity.

I do not need to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded.

I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, am uplifted in prayer, and labor by power.

My face is set, my gait is fast, and my goal is heaven.

My road is narrow, my way is rough, my Guide reliable, my mission clear.

I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed.

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity.

I will  not negotiate at the table of the enemy or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won’t give up, shut up, let up or slow down

until I have preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up and stayed up for the cause of Christ.

I am a disciple of Christ. I will go until He comes, give until I drop, preach all I know and work until He stops me.

And when He comes to claim His own,

He will have no problem recognizing me for my banner will be clear.

I BRITTANY, AM A DISCIPLE OF CHRIST!