Fuel Up For Free | Fuel For The Weekend

Happy Friday, friends. We have made it to the one day of the week most of us long for. I am working today and will be busy but I wanted to hop on here and share a little Fuel For The Weekend. Do you

have plans this weekend? Our family has a very important meeting scheduled tomorrow and it's exciting and scary all at the same time. We are looking forward to church on Sunday, too. Whatever you are doing and however you spend your weekend, I pray that it is a blessed time and productive in advancing God's Kingdom on the earth!

Have you ever been in a situation where you know you did something you shouldn't have, or said something that you should have just been silent about? Was someone upset with you? It does not feel good to have someone angry with me and especially when I have done something I knew I should not have done. The relationship changes a little and distance creeps in. The same is true when we sin and God is upset about the intentional sin we have committed and we start to feel distance in our relationship. It feels like God is not as close. Why? There is now something between us and God...it is the sin that we have in our lives.

Now going back to the original question where a friend or family member or coworker is upset with us for what we have said or done in error; doesn't it just feel so good to apologize to that person and get back in right standing with them? When I am willing to humble myself, acknowledge I messed up, and vow to do my best to not repeat that same mistake, the other person often softens, too. The wall comes down and we are able to fellowship again. How much more wonderful is it when our Heavenly Father hears our repentant prayer, accepts our apology, cleanses us from all unrighteousness, and we are now free to commune with God intimately that we were unable to before? I am so thankful that He is so loving, kind, and forgiving.

I want to give you some fuel for the weekend. There is a really short chapter in the book of Isaiah and it really speaks to me about the benefits that follow reconciling with God. I do not know if you have ever read this before but it is so beautiful and I want to share it here today.

ISAIAH 12:1-6 (1)And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise Thee: though Thou wast angry with me, Thine anger is turned away, and Thou comfortedst me. (2)Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; He also is become my salvation. (3)Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. (4)And in that day ye shall say, Praise the LORD, call upon His name, declare His doings among the people, make mention that His name is exalted. (5)Sing unto the LORD; for He hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. (6)Cry out and shout, Thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.

I absolutely love this passage. "I will praise You God, and though You were angry with me before, now Your anger has turned away from me and You comfort me!" This is such a beautiful illustration of the way our Heavenly Father lovingly holds us and comforts us after a time of separation. He longs to be in fellowship with us, too. He misses the closeness we once shared when I strayed from Him. The same is true with how He feels about you.

I will trust You God and not be afraid. No matter what my situation looks like, no matter how bleak things may appear, I am trusting You God and I will not let fear have a place in my heart. JEHOVAH is my salvation, my strength, and my song. Psalm 56:3 What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee.

With joy we shall draw water out of the wells of salvation. We will gladly go to the Living Water and enjoy times of refreshing. Amen? What an exciting idea that we can freely receive a cup of fresh life anytime we desire! This life can leave us dry, depleted, and disappointed but we have the opportunity to come anytime and draw water from the wells of salvation. When we come with joy we can receive the thirst-quenching, life-renewing water that will never run dry. We have an unlimited resource in our Heavenly Father! Revelation 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

Let's praise Him today. Let's tell others what He is doing in our lives. Let's be encouragers to those around us and make mention that His name is to be exalted. We must decrease so that He can increase. John 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease. All the praise, honor, and glory are due Him. He is worthy of it all! He is great and greatly to be praised. Psalm 145:3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable. I magnify His great name and honor my King Jesus. He is daily working on our behalf, working all things together for our good and blessing us in ways we cannot even imagine. Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. Ephesians 3:20-21 Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Whether you can sing well or not, it does not matter. Lift your voice and start thanking God for all the wonderful things in your life. Thank You Jesus for waking me up this morning, clothing me in my right mind. Thank You Jesus for refreshing me at the wells of Your salvation. Thank You for the breath in my lungs and that I can use my arms and legs without assistance. I thank You that my body is no longer racked with pain. I thank You Jesus for giving me joy down in my soul bubbling over and the peace that does not even make sense with the things I am facing and going through. You have done excellent things my King and it is known in all the earth! I adore You Jesus! Psalm 100:1-2 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before His presence with singing. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

We are to be loud about it! That may be out of some people's comfort zones but it is okay to be excited about our relationship with Jesus. The scriptures say, "Cry out and shout!" Why? For great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of where? In the midst of thee! He is in our midst. He is in our presence. He is going through the fire with us. He is in the lion's den with us. He is in the court room, the board room, the class room, the bedroom, the vehicle....wherever we are, He is there! He is Holy. He is Righteous. He is to be glorified and praised. Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.

No matter what plans you have this weekend, and no matter if they happen or not, let's not get caught up in the trivial matters of this life. Let's choose to magnify the good and not the bad. Let's choose to honor our King Jesus with our time and efforts and actions this weekend. Colossians 3:17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him. Let's use these six verses to navigate the upcoming weekend. Fill your tank up for free! Gas prices here in southern Indiana where I live are $4.25 and it seems that they increase toward the weekends. This fuel is FREE! It has been paid for by the precious blood of Jesus and it was PAID IN FULL. So, come to the wells of salvation and take your fill. Get satisfied. Let it quench your thirst. John 4:13-14 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

I pray something you have read today has given you strength for your journey and light for your way. God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens

Celebrating Freedom | Fuel For The Weekend

 

I am looking forward to a long weekend! It is going to be so nice to catch up on some rest, work on some projects, do some writing, and enjoy the holiday weekend. Here in America, we are celebrating Independence Day. I am so thankful for the men and women who have served, died serving, serve now, and will serve in the future. I do not take my freedom for granted. I know how quickly our rights can be taken away. But I am also thankful for freedom from sin. I am thankful for the sacrifice Jesus made for us, to cleanse us and wash us in His precious blood so we can live with Him for eternity.

In Galatians 5:1, it reads, "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." This is a great word for a time like this. We are to stand fast in the liberty that Jesus made us free. We don't have to work for it, try to earn it, be good enough or popular enough. When we accept Jesus as our Savior and choose to live for Him, we simply must stand firm on the Rock of our salvation, the foundation we build on, and that rock is Jesus. The next part of that verse is telling us what not to do. Don't pick up bad habits you laid down when Jesus set you free. Don't get messed up by running with the same crowd of people who you were pulled away from. If there are people who bring you down, tempt you to do things you shouldn't, and try to make you spend less time on your relationship with Christ, it is time to separate yourself from them and don't get tangled up with them again. That old behavior, those old lusts, that old way of thinking and doing things will get you snagged in a trap planted by the enemy so you become a servant of sin again. Don't do it. Hold on to the freedom you have. 

John 8:36 says, "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." That's pretty clear! If Jesus Christ has set you free from sin, you are free. You can celebrate your liberty in the act of love demonstrated on the cross at Calvary. Look at your life. Examine your thoughts and motives. Are they pure? Do you seek to honor Christ? Are you living in a way that would please the Father? Are you listening to Holy Spirit as He leads and guides and directs you?

Galatians 5:13 says "For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another." In other words, we have been called to liberty, freedom in Christ, but we should not take advantage of our liberty and start indulging our flesh. We are to come away from that old sinful nature and walk in liberty. We are to lovingly serve one another. There are so many needs all around us. Let's take the time this weekend to look for ways to serve and love others. Let's remember why we celebrate 4th of July in America and then remember why everyday should be a celebration of our freedom from sin. Jesus saved us and by His grace and mercy He keeps us. Let's love each other and help one another Home.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend whether you celebrate or not. If you are working, I pray you are safe and have a great work day. I hope you get some time to rest and relax. I am glad to have a long weekend to recuperate from all the sleepless nights and around the clock care I gladly gave to my baby girl. I am wishing you all a wonderful weekend as we kick it off together. May something I have shared today be strength for your journey and light for your way. God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens

Three Free Resources | Bible Study

Every week on Wednesdays, it is my hope to bring you a Bible study. Today I want to talk about how to study the Bible. There are many different ways to study the Bible; countless devotions, books, and resources available for those who desire to learn more. Today, I want to share a few of my favorite free Bible study resources. No matter how you study the Bible the most important thing is that you study God's Word deeply and often. 

One of my favorite ways to study the Bible on my phone is with an app called YouVersion. This valuable tool is very convenient to study Scriptures anywhere. Some of the features I like about this app are the ability to do studies alone or with friends regardless of where they are as long as they have the app, too. I enjoy the ability to highlight favorite scriptures in any color I choose. There is a myriad of topical studies to choose from. The keyword search feature helps when you don't know exactly where in the Bible a verse or passage is located. I am a KJV girl but it is nice to have the verse comparison tool to read the same verse in multiple translations. Another cool feature on this app is the badges. It's fun to see a reward for reading the Word and doing Bible study plans throughout the year. I really enjoy the ability to create an image with the verse of the day. It can be saved or shared on social media and with family and friends. I especially enjoy listening to the Bible be read to me while I am working or driving and cannot read the text for myself. For several years now I have read the Bible through in a year and this app has given me a variety of plans to do that.

Bible Gateway is another fantastic free resource. You can quickly look up verses with key words. The commentary section is excellent and they also feature translation comparisons for verses and passages. There are reading plans, devotionals, keyword searches, and audio Bible features, too. I have used this resource a lot and refer to it often when preparing lesson plans for my students. It is a resource I highly recommend for those wanting to explore God's Word in an in-depth way.

Our Daily Bread is the third and final free resource I will talk about today. I have been reading through their small and compact devotional booklets for decades. Each booklet has three months worth of devotions and prayers with prompts for extra reading if you want to study further. These are great for those pressed for time or new to studying the Word. The website has free articles, videos, and you can even join their email list to get free uplifting content. You can donate to this ministry and it is an excellent one to sow into. Their mission statement is "To make the life-changing wisdom of the Bible understandable and accessible to all."

No one is paying me to say anything about these resources. These are by no means the only resources available. I enjoy using these when I want to look something up, dig further on a specific topic, or read what others have said in their commentaries. Whether you use one of these, all of these or none of these; the important thing is to daily break the bread of God's Word. It's vital to study the Bible for yourself because even pastors who study at great length can misquote a verse. I have sat under anointed men and women of God and heard some big blunders that I would not have caught if I was expecting to be spoon-fed the Word of God every Sunday morning. It's important to know the truth for ourselves and the only real way to do that is to study it for ourselves.

JOSHUA 1:8    "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."

2 TIMOTHY 2:15    "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

Friends, no matter what version of the Bible you read, or where you are in your faith journey, keep studying it. You grow closer to God, know His expectations of you, understand His character, know His Will for your life, and the more you read and learn, the sharper your spiritual sword will be to fight off the enemy! God bless you!!

Hugs,

Bridgett