Category Archives: Bible Study

Bible Study, Christian, Inspiration

What the Bible tells us about Mindfulness


There are many scriptures in the bible that give us examples of how we should be mindful in our thoughts, actions, and deeds.  They also tell us how we as Christians  should  fill our minds with the knowledge and things of Christ.

To be mindful is to be present and to have focused thoughts.  But what should we be mindful of?

Col 3:2  says “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on this earth”.

With all the chaos in the world,  we have the peace in knowing that the things of this world  or only  a moment,  but the one promised to us is eternal. ~Dr. stella

 

Bible Study, Faith, how to, Inspiration, personal excellence, purpose

True Pride vs A Prideful Nature


How to Recognize Pride vs. A Prideful Nature:

 

True Pride:

 

True pride that has its way in you is unable to hear and respond to the voice of humility.  Therefore it has an insatiable desire to dominate, be seen, acknowledged & recognized. The serpents of jealousy, envy and lack and scarcity slither around in true pride robbing it’s host of inner peace and confidence.

 

This pride gets easily frustrated & anger flares up when it’s plans are thwarted and people stand in its way of getting what it wants.

 

It is fueled by unbridled ambition that puts things before people.  The non-essential before the essential, and will do anything, often void of moral conscious, to get what it wants.

 

This pride is like a spoiled child and is seldom content or deeply satisfied…always wanting more.

 

A Spiritually Discerning Person with a Prideful Nature:

 

Know this: Even as a human being seeking to love, serve and honor God you will experience prideful flare-ups.  Often times you will think you have passed a godly character development class in earth school only to find yourself taking a refresher course ;  ).

 

The difference between a person who lives in service of pride and one who seeks to put God’s ways of love and service first and experiences occasional moments of prideful flare-ups is this:

 

As soon as pride shows up the spiritually discerning person will feel the burn of whatever action, thought, or word associated with the prideful moment within their biology.

 

Feeling the discomfort this person will choose to return to God as quickly as possible.  Identifying and adjusting their thoughts, words and deeds to keep themselves aligned with the higher good of all concerned, which flows form their intimacy with God.

 

The spiritually discerning person sees pride for what it is and seeks the higher ground of humility, love and gratitude.  They are also able to forgive others when they have prideful moments.

 

Basically, the truly prideful person is enslaved to pride as they continually choose it over the ways of their godly nature.

 

The person who has a prideful nature or tendency as humans do, yet is not a proud person, is one who rejects prideful flare-ups and quickly makes amends as they choose God over their prideful moment.

 

Begin again, and again and again with even more congruency today than yesterday.

 

Align your actions with your God given natural state of being filling your responses to life with love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness and self-control.

 

Authentic transformation beings with ruthless honesty and the ability to adjust and choose God’s abundant grace which always offers the opportunity to begin again.

“Dear God rescue us from the weak moments of the flesh which rob us of the knowing that we are enough IN YOU. We lack nothing, as St. Teresa of Avila says, when we have you. Fill up those spaces within our interior castle which are void of the remembrance that humility, love and confidence make up the foundation for lasting inner peace and life satisfaction.”

Because of His Love,

Lauren <><

Bible Study, Christian, Faith, how to, Inspiration, personal excellence, purpose, Stress relief, tips for purpose driven life, wellness

God or Man? Flip Your Authority

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI5i-7cCHl4

“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4

 

Too often we give more authority to circumstance than we do to

our God given ability to overcome, learn from and move 

through perceived challenges in life. This week remember

that GREATER IS THE ONE who lives in YOU than 

the one or thing in the world.

 

Your experience of rising and 

falling depending upon how the world judges you is in 

direct proportion to the power YOU give to the outside

circumstance to define your worth, value and capability. 

If God is for you…who or what can be against you? Flip

your authority today: Give more authority to the strength of God

within you than you give to the opinions of people around you and

or specific outcomes. Failure is just a label we place on an

undesirable outcome.  Think about this for a moment, if

you truly believe that God has plans to prosper you and not to

harm you, to give you hope and a future then whatever pops

up before you can be flipped into positive forward momentum.

What if you take a moment this week before any potential threat

to your sense of safety and ability to overcome and you remember

this simple thought: God has overcome all that I feel has overcome

(or potentially overcome) me in my life…He sees all and is more

than capable of doing more than I can ever ask or imagine for

my ultimate good in this world, I am safe and connected to the

One that is greater than circumstance.

 

Because of His Love,

Lauren <><

Bible Study, Christian, Faith

Edge God In Podcast 1: The Religion of Evolution

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Edge God In Podcast 1: The Religion of Evolution

Dear Lord,

Give us the gift of understanding as we approach the very controversial topic of our existence. This is a hard topic to explain so give us the revelation of knowledge to understand that which you would have for us. We know that the Bible gives us answers to all our questions and needs and ask that you open up the answers in this area. Let us also take this knowledge to grow our kingdom and fulfill our purpose here in this life.

EdgeGodIn.com

Scriptures to Explore

  • Genesis 1:1,2
  • Numbers 6:24-26
  • Ecclesiastes 1:9

Bible Study, Faith, Inspiration

The Spirits Intercession For Us


 

“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.† ~Romans 8:26 KJV

Sometimes we have so many prayers and intentions that when we have a quiet moment with the lord we don’t know where to begin.  It becomes overwhelming and this leaves us feeling like we forgot to thank or ask him for this or that.

The scripture above in Romans is so powerful because it tells us that God already know our prayers before we approach the thrown.  He knows all our wants and needs.

 I have found that when I center myself in quite meditate, I not only get the answers to my prayers, but also to the things that I should ask and thank him for.  What a great gift meditation is which God himself instructed us to do.

 How blessed we are to have the powerful God we serve whose spirit itself intercedes for us!

~Dr. Stella

Bible Study, Faith, Inspiration, Uncategorized

Praise and Thanks


I experienced the gift of an answered prayer this week and I am thankful.

Psalm 118:21 – I shall give thanks to You for You have answered me. And You have become my salvation.

As I thank the lord for this gift, I have also been in deep thought about the large amounts of asks I send to the thrown of Christ. They are plentiful.

What a blessing to know that we have someone to go to who answers our prayers!

But have we been as dutiful to thank him like we should?

Let us not forget to take the action to always follow these answered prayers with praise. The lord has been gracious to us and heard our voice, so we must remember to praise and thank him for giving us the desires of our hearts.

Winston Churchill once said: We make a living by what we got… but a life by what we give.

How true it this for our eternal life to come!

Dr. Stella

Bible Study, Inspiration, Uncategorized

Gods Love


The one thing that we are constantly searching for is Love.  But who and what is the source of this emotion? And what does “love” look like?  The answers are throughout the bible, but I have shared five scriptures  that demonstrate the ultimate love of God.

  1. He sacrificed his only son to save us.
  2. He made us more than conquerors.
  3. He loves us when we are deep into our trespasses.
  4. He died for us even though we were sinners.
  5. He saves, rejoices, and quiets us.

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

Romans 8:37-39 – No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Ephesians 2:4-5 – But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved …

Romans 5:8 – but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

5) Zephaniah 3:17 – 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.

God’s love is our example and foundation.  Be happy in knowing this!!

~Dr. Stella

Bible Study, Christian, Faith, how to, Inspiration, personal excellence, Stress relief

True Freedom in Christ


 

“It is for FREEDOM that Christ has set you free, stand firm then and do not allow yourself to be burdened by the yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1

Dear God,

Thank you that my greatest source and fuel for happiness in this life occurs behind closed doors, when no one is watching…the prayers, dances, songs and free expressions of who I am before you alone.

I am willing to consider the freedom that Jesus Christ of Nazareth had when he walked the earth.  Known as the Prince of Peace, he was not concerned about status or the opinions of other people.

This week I will explore letting go of my need to be seen, acknowledged and recognized in order to feel successful, loved and enough.

Fill me with an expansive Spirit of joy and laughter so that a levity around all things begins to emerge in all that I do and say.

I am grateful for another day to practice letting go of the non-essentials and nurture what I value most in this life.

Have your way with me in spite of myself…your way has never left me empty handed in this life.

“Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion. You do not regard a person’s status but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.” 
Mark 12:14

“A man is enslaved to whatever has mastered him.” 2 Peter 1:19

As you reflect on your own relationship with the world, what has mastered you in your life? Is it your environment? Opinions and reactions of other people? The need to be seen, acknowledged, and recognized?

Is it your behavior? My clients, who are seeking freedom from compulsive behavior, will often say, “I just can’t help myself.” This reveals a type of personal enslavement due to allowing some food, substance, situation, or person to master them over time, which in some cases results in a biological addiction.

The stress hormone is linked directly to your emotional state of mind and heart. Extended emotional stress often leads to personal enslavement, which usually walks hand in hand with unhealthy outlets. The key to freedom in situations like this lies in your ability to accept where you are at, accompanied with a desire for positive personal transformation and a choice to take a step in that direction.

Dear God, I choose this week to align my thoughts, words and deeds with my highest good and the good of all concerned. Through the power of the Holy Spirit I ignite my ability to choose my responses to life remembering that I hold the key to victimization and empowerment AND what I chose to think about sets in motion my reality. 

All things are possible for me, shrinking back and allowing myself to be burdened by the yoke of slavery to unhealthy masters is not how you created me to show up in this life. I choose you and all things good, right, true, beautiful and praise worthy. #faithwalk #freedominChrist #biblestudy 

Because of His Love,

Lauren <><

Bible Study, Christian, Inspiration

God Breaks the Bars of Enslavement


The definition of being enslaved is to cause someone to lose their freedom of choice or action.  The thought of losing freedom in any form is cause for alarm, because it limits ones ability to be free and to produce the increase that God has promised.

“And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land. And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke, and deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them.†—Ezekiel 34:27

God has promised us increase by breaking the bondage of doubt, depression, fear, stress, inability or anything else that lessen what is ours.  Acknowledge that you are free and that you can secure your land and all that is promised through Jesus Christ.

Know the he is lord and watch how he breaks the yokes in your life!

Thanks be to God!

~Estella

Bible Study, Christian, Faith, how to, Inspiration, personal excellence, purpose, Stress relief, tips for purpose driven life

How to Hear the Voice of God


 

God Spoke & He Continues to Speak.

This verse comes from the Old Testament; it is Samuel’s response to hearing God speak his name. It took three times before Samuel actually responded to God as he thought that Eli, who was the priest taking care of him, was calling him in the middle of the night.

How many times has God spoken to us and we look for other options as to where the guidance is coming from? I have found that God speaks in sound bites, small impactful statements of guidance that rock our world. “Dear God may there be less lag time today than yesterday in my ability to hear and respond to your voice of guidance which says, ‘this is the way, walk in it.”

My first book, Hearing His Whisper, came from several years of Samuel’s prayer: “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.” I would put a question before God and listen. Then I would guess what I thought God may say which ultimately opened up my ability to grab the sound bites coming in. At first I questioned them as Samuel did: Why would God speak to me? Is this really His voice or mine? As I increased my confidence in the simple truth that the ONE who calls me into fellowship with Himself if faithful and He will do it. “Less of me more of You, Dear God” because the desire of my heart.

I invite you into the daily practice of Samuel’s prayer: Speak Lord, your servant is listening. Ask, seek, knock and listen for God’s sound bites in life. The quicker you respond the quicker you will find your ability to hear becomes.

“Dear God, where would you have me go today? What do you want me to think and say. I am on your time, not mine, for your purposes, not mine. Fill me up with all that you are so that all that I am this week makes you recognizable on earth.”

Because of His Love,

Lauren