Hello friends,

We’ve all had those times when the voice of negativity creeps in. We may ask ourselves if someone is talking to us because they are interested, or because we are called to love one another and that is how they show it.  I’ll be honest the past two weeks has been filled with those times for me. I’ll be talking to someone and in the middle of a story when I suddenly feel as though my story has no purpose and the person must be bored.  Or I’ll see someone I used to talk to every week, and wonder if I did something wrong because they don’t talk to me as much as they did.

This kind of thinking leads you to “remember” conversations and events differently than what they truly were.  It  can even lead you to believe that you aren’t worth talking to.  This kind of isolation is exactly what satan wants.  He wants us to feel isolated and alone so that he can continue to push us away from God and our fellow Christians, who love us.

Staying in God’s Word helps us learn how to detect and deflect the fiery arrows of the devil.  Whether it’s the Armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18), the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5-7), the Faith chapter (Hebrews 11), or any other story in the Bible, staying in God’s word helps us to detect and deflect satan’s attempts to bring us down. (Jesus did this in the desert, satan tried to tempt Him and He detected satan was the bad guy, so He deflected by quoting scripture).

I encourage you to read God’s Word.  I decided, for myself, this year I’m not going to make Bible reading a stressful thing.  No reading the Bible in a year or reading daily just to say I did.   I’m taking a book a month (maybe two if it’s a small book) and making sure I really focus on what it says. For January, I’m looking at Hebrews.  The Faith chapter is one of my favorites.  Hebrews also has one of my many favorite passages:

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭10‬:‭23‬-‭25‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

I love this verse because it reminds us how important it is to gather with other Christians. In addition to reading scripture, it is important that we fellowship with our fellow Christians so that we can lift each other up and encourage each other.

Fellowship is soooo important. By fellowshipping  with fellow Christians, we can hold each other accountable, encourage each other and pray for one another.  If you do not have a church you attend regularly. I encourage you to find a Bible believing church you can worship in with fellow believers.  I encourage you to attend Bible studies, prayer groups, and church services to implant yourself in a body of believers.

I am a follower of Christ, I am not perfect, but I love Jesus.

Until Next Time,

Liz Allen