We are connected

Eph.  1:5a  (NLT):  " His  unchanging  plan  has  always  been  to  adopt   us  into  his  own  family  by  bringing  us  to  himself  through  Jesus  Christ."

Sisters,  we  were  created  to  be  in  God's  eternal  family.  Just  as  you  were  born  into  a  natural  family,   God  wants  us  to  be  in  a  church  family.  No  matter  how  you  were  brought  up,  or  who  has  hurt  you sweet  ones,  know  that  in  order  for  you  to  grow  in  God  and  live  a  fulfilled  life  on  this  earth  before  entering  into  the  next  you  need  people  to  rely  on.  God  is  a  relational  God,  and  he  created  us  to  be  in  a  family,  which  means  we  need  to  show  love  to  others  and  find  our  circle  of  friends.   We  should never  exclude  others,  but  just  as  Jesus  had  12  disciples  that  he  was  always  around,  and  two  or  three  that  he  confided  in  most,  we  need  to  do  the  same.

Love  your  brother  (or  sister)
The  bible  says,  "And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. No other commandment is greater than these."  Mark  12: 30-31 NLT  Why  did  God  say  this?  Was  it  because  if  you  don't  love  them  you  can't  get  into  heaven?  No,  but  think  of  it  like  this;  Just  as  a  parent  wants  siblings  to  get  along  and  it  pleases  them  when  they  do,  so  the  Lord  loves  to  see  his  children  getting along  and  fellowshiping  with  one  another.  Another  analogy  is  this;  Have  you  ever  tried  to  loose  weight   or  maybe  just  wanted  to  get  into  shape  and  tone  up  some  areas?  Have  you  tried  going  to  the  gym  by  yourself  and  found  it  difficult  to  get  motivated  into  going?  You  needed  to  find  someone,  or  maybe  get  a  trainer  to  keep  you  accountable  into  staying  in  shape  or  working  out  right?  Well,  the  same  is  true  with  God.  If  you  don't  have  people  you  are  in  communication  with,  and  that  you  are  being  held  accountable  you  will  not  grow  and  your  spiritual  muscles  will  grow  weak.  Guess  what  happens  when  you  don't  workout  your  muscles  or  keep  a  routine?  If  I  was  to  walk  up  an  punch  you  in  the  stomach,  that  would  hurt  right?  Well,  imagine  you  have  been  working  out  and  I  go  to  punch  you  in  the  stomach,  what  do   you  think  is  going  to  happen?  It  would  hurt  a  little  bit,  but  I  would  hurt  my  fist  worse  right?  Why?  Because  you  have  been  working  out,  and  when  you  have  people  around   you  encouraging  you  to   grow,  and  you  are  learning  from  one  another  that  is  when  you  can  defeat  the  enemy.

A  three-stand  cord
In  Ecclesiastes  4:12  it  says, " A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken."    When  you  have  a  small  group  of  friends  that  each  of  you  are  relying  on  one  another  to  look  to  Jesus  it  is  hard  for  Satan  to  defeat  you.  Imagine  you  are  in  a  race,  and  your  goal  is  to  win,  you are  looking - even  mentally  speaking -  at  the  finish  line  ahead  of  you.  As  you  make  it  half-way  around  you  see  your  family  and  close  friends  on  the  side  cheering  you  on,  and  in  that  moment  right  before  seeing  them  you  were  starting  to  really  feel  pain  and  thought  about  giving  up.  But  when  you  saw  them  cheering  you  on  a  spark  lit  inside  you,  and  you  realized   that  you  could  do  it.  You  could  really  win!  That  is  why  God  says  to  get  in  communion  with  a  church  and  a  small  group  of  people,  so  that  in  those  times  when  it  gets  hard  and  you  feel  you  can  not  go  any  further  you  can  hear  those  family  members  of  God  cheering  you  on  saying,  "A  little  bit  farther,  you  can  do  it,  you  got  this!"

My  beautiful  sisters,  no   matter  what  you  are  going  through  today,  know  that  you  have  fellow  sisters  that  are  cheering  you  on.  Don't  give  up!  Even  though  the  doctors  said  you  have  that  disease,  even  if  it  looks  like  you   are  not  able  to  pay  that  bill,  even  though  you  made  the  mistake  of  giving  away  your  virginity,  or  maybe  you  are  feeling  excluded  because  you  have  chosen  to  protect  it.  Don't  give  up!  Keep  moving   forward,  keep  up  the  faith!  You  are  doing  good,  and  you  have  people  that  love  you  and  are  with  you  every  step  of  the  way.

Till  we  meet  again,
Be  blessed  my  beautiful  ones....
Angie