What if This Quarantine Could Change Your Life? ~ by Amy Vest Cox

I have a question - What if this quarantine could change your life?

Get this – Jesus is with you, He is working, and He has a plan in all of this! If you will seek the Lord for His plan and lean into what He has for you in this time, He will do amazing things!

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”  Romans 8:28

I want you to encourage you to embrace these 3 things in this social isolation time:

1. Personal time with Jesus - 

 What matters more than anything is your own personal relationship with Jesus through faith in Him – walking with Him in a real way, like you do with a friend. I want to encourage you to spend personal time in His presence reading His Word to you, sharing your heart with Him in prayer, and writing down what He is showing you. This is a special opportunity to grow closer to Him.

 “You have said, “seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, O Lord, I will seek.”’  Psalm 27:8

2. Strengthening your soul - 

 This is an amazing time to be filling your heart and mind with things that will strengthen your soul. Ask yourself, “What will help me know Jesus more?” and go for it! This can be, of course, time in the Bible – as well as listening to messages about Jesus, reading books that encourage you in Him, worshipping to music, or calling a friend to encourage each other in the Lord! 

 “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…”  2 Peter 3:18

3. Serving others - 

You have a unique opportunity to serve others in this time. Asking the Lord where He wants you to serve Him and letting Him guide you with result in exciting things! This can be texting others to encourage them, helping your family member with something, etc. The Lord will use you in your unique mission field in this time!

 “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”’  Matthew 25:40
 

I am excited for what the Lord will do in you! You can come out of this time stronger, more in love with Jesus, and having seen Him work more than before you entered into it!  

You are Loved ~ by Amy (Vest) Cox

Dear Sisters,

Sometimes we just need someone to remind us of this truth:

You are loved.

Let's listen to Jesus:

"...I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you." ~ Jeremiah 31:3

"The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing." ~ Zephaniah 3:17

"For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you." ~ Psalm 86:5

"But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness."  ~ Psalm 86:15

"'I have loved you,” says the Lord." ~ Malachi 1:2

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." ~ John 3:16

"In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." ~ 1 John 4:10

"Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." ~ Gal. 2:20

May your day be blessed beyond measure as you soak in His endless love for you!

Grateful to be loved by our Jesus together,
Amy

Question - We love hearing from you!

What is one thing that distracts or hinders you from your relationship with Jesus?

Please share in the comments section below!

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Loving the Lord Videocast #3 - Mastering Media for the Glory of God from Loving the Lord Ministries on Vimeo.

Consider Jesus ~ by Amy (Vest) Cox

“Consider Jesus…” (Hebrews 3:1)

These words keep ringing in my heart.  As they do, the Lord is applying them in a transforming way that echoes in my life.

Take a moment to let these words sink in.

“Consider” in Greek means = "to observe fully:—behold, consider, discover, perceive."

Picture considering something for purchase.  What do you do?  You look at it, think about it and different aspects of it, and take deep interest in it.

Who does this verse call us to consider?  Jesus!

When you consider Jesus – Who He is, what He said and promised, what He has done and is doing – you begin to see more and more in His Word that His:
- power is limitless
- love is unchanging
- wisdom is perfect
…and so much more!

The reality of who He is colors every other area of your life – and it is life changing.

For example - If I am fixing my eyes on, thinking about, worshiping Him for, and living in faith in His love and control over all things, I will struggle less and less with fear about the future and embrace today more and more as His best for me.

Can you see how this affects our lives?

Jesus changes everything, and when we fix our eyes on Him, everything begins to change, too.

Isn’t this exciting?

I love analogies and the Bible is full of them.  Hebrews 12 compares our Christian life to a race.  If you have done any kind of running, you will understand the pictures in these verses.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,  looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.”~ Hebrews 12:1-3

I was in a race with my brother and some friends and it was a wonderful experience.  I noticed this as I ran – when my focus got too much on my running friends, the weather, or feelings of tiredness – my performance changed.  But, when I focused where I should, I was able to plug along and embrace the race.

It is similar in a much deeper way in our Christian life.

We can love Jesus so much, and yet our mind can slip to spending most of our time considering things other than Jesus.

When I look within or without and consider myself and my weaknesses, circumstances, relationships, or feelings – I grow weary, faint, and discouraged.

But, when I look up and consider Jesus and His strength, His Word, and His work – I am encouraged, strengthened, and spurred on to run with and for Him with all of my heart.

Jesus invites us to lift our eyes from:
- our need to His sufficiency
- our weakness to His strength
- our sin to His grace
- our pain to His comfort…
and then run with patience the race He has for us, knowing He is with us every step.

This is the life that He is calling us to, friends.  Let’s receive His grace to fix our eyes on and consider Jesus.  As we do, our lives will be transformed.