I would like to dispel any misconceptions about what it means to fear the Lord. Because it can change your life. If you’ve followed my journey you have probably seen me go all over the place. However, as I come back to Jesus and my christian walk with him, with new eyes and a fresh and proper perspective, it has given me peace, stability, purpose and restored my identity. Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” So, contrary to popular belief, fearing God is not about cowering in terror before a vengeful deity. It’s about revering and honoring the awe-inspiring power, wisdom, and goodness of our benevolent and loving God. It is about recognizing our place in the grand scheme of creation and humbly acknowledging the sovereignty of a divine being who loves us endlessly and unconditionally. When you fear the Lord, you are tapping into a mighty source of strength and resilience that sustains you through life’s storms. So, if you are open to it, even a little, I urge you reconsider your perception of what the fear of the Lord means. Be open to embracing it not out of obligation or fear, but out of a genuine desire and a gratitude that you get to be in awe of Gods profound love for you and that this fear thing could be the salve to your depression, insecurity, fear, anxiety, your unanswered questions and your loneliness. Embrace it as a timeless principle that transcends generational divides and offers profound meaning and significance in our ever-changing world. Drop a comment if you know how good it is for your soul to reverently fear the Lord. I love you, Mandy
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Hello Friend, Welcome! Today, I want to talk about the God-shaped hole that exists in all of us. Ever since you and I were born, there was this God-shaped hole inside of us. This points to the fact that only God can and was meant to fill this hole. The fundamental orientation of the human heart is to seek God, the peace, the connection, the love, the validation, the power, the pleasure and the truth that only he can bring. The problem however, is that many people, myself included, were not taught this so, instead of chasing after God, they spend some or most of their lives chasing after other things until they either become exhausted, frustrated or in so much pain that their incessant chasing either leads them to depression, panic attacks, addiction, financial turmoil, great suffering, suicide or, hopefully, back to God. Many of us, do not look to God to fill our God shaped holes. Why? This could be for a number of reasons. Perhaps you had a bad experience with religion or with someone at church and, as a result, you don't want anything to do with God now. It could be because you don't believe in a God that exists in a world of death and destruction. It could be because you are falling prey to the many distractions and counterfeits prowling around the world offering you instant gratification at any moment which are blocking you from God. Your reason for not chasing after God could be different than all of these. Maybe you are chasing after God. Praise God! You have free will and can do what you want. We can chase after men, women, romance, attention, validation, drugs, alcohol, money, pleasure, wealth, power, prestige, position and knowledge, but is it ever enough? Does it actually make you feel truly satisfied and fully content? Or, when you are being really honest with yourself, do you always feel like there's something missing? I wanted nothing to do with God when I went off on my own to college and could finally make my own choices. I spent years chasing alcohol and then fell on my knees in 2006 after a life changing encounter with Jesus that led me to chasing after God for many years. But then I started chasing the attention, validation and affection of men and fell away from my walk with God. Thankfully, I have come back to Jesus and know, through experience, that nothing can fill this God shaped hole. For today's devotional I want to focus on how many of us, me included, have tried to find answers in the bottle and how that is just not the answer. Ephesians 5:18 says, "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit." For years, like I said earlier, I got drunk on the spirit of alcohol. I used it to escape, to mask how I actually felt, to give me false courage, to make me feel confident and to make me feel better. But all alcohol ever did was offer me a counterfeit and a distraction. Every time I reached for the bottle, I was shortchanging myself. I was leaning on the wrong spirit as a crutch that was keeping me in bondage to lesser and lower things like fear, self-doubt and insecurity. Here is what the spirit of alcohol does:
The Bible teaches that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. Abusing alcohol harms both your physical and spiritual well-being. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." I struggled with the spirit of alcohol for many years. But, when I truly realized I was powerless over it and how much it was taking from me, I asked Jesus to come in and save me. Jesus came immediately. He gave me his power. He saved me. I gave up the bottle and Jesus gave me the Holy Spirit. It is now my job to believe that that I am no longer under the shackles of the spirit of alcohol and to never get under it again. Therefore, I now live in the Spirit. The one true Spirit of God. And let me tell you, it is so much better. In fact, there is NOTHING BETTER. Proverbs 20:1 says, "Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise." If you need help putting down the booze first off I want to say it is possible. Many people struggle with alcohol. No matter what your present situation is, you can change. Trust me, I seen the impossible happen and have been through it big time! There are many things that can support you in the journey and you are worth the help. Even if you have fallen down seven times, get up the eighth time! Jesus has relentless patience and power. You don't have to and cannot do it alone. This is not an exhaustive list but may I suggest the following as sources of help and inspiration: a local detox program, celebrate recovery at your local church, a 12 step program like Alcoholics Anonymous, ask Jesus to help you, call a trusted friend and let them know you are struggling or reach out to me and book a session. I love you! Mandy Resources: Celebrate Recovery: https://welcome.saddleback.com/sections/get-care/celebrate-recovery/ Alcoholics Anonymous: www.aa.org Book a mentorship session with Mandy: https://calendly.com/mandytardifcoaching/privatecoaching?month=2024-04 You become what you focus on and think about. So, if you want to become an excellent wife one day and desire for your marriage to be a Godly, healthy and happy one, I believe it is imperative for you to study, focus on and think about what it says in Proverbs 31:10-31. Today will be more of an introduction to the next 11 weeks, as we dive into Proverbs 31 together and allow God to change us from the inside out. Sound exciting? I am excited! Now, before I launch in, I want to talk about some important things. First, I would like to address the history behind this well known Proverb and why it even exists. Then, I would like to explain why studying this particular Proverb is wise and how it will support you in becoming an excellent godly wife. First, the history... If you did not know this already, Proverbs 31 has often been used as a standard for being a good, godly, Christian woman. It is said that it was written for King Lemuel's son, in hopes that it would guide him to live a life that was prosperous and also pleasing to God. (Found in Proverbs 31:1-9) This Proverb was also used to encourage the king's son to choose an excellent woman of high regard as his wife. (Found in Proverbs 31:10-31). Ok, so that was the brief history, now, the why and the how... Studying Proverbs 31:10-31 can be very beneficial for you as a single woman if you are aspiring to become an excellent wife, like I am, as it offers timeless wisdom and guidance on various aspects of virtuous living and marital excellence. Here are three reasons why and how studying this Proverb is important in becoming the one.
Now, maybe you don’t want to hear this, (I certainly didn't at first), but I do not believe there is some perfect soulmate that will magically make us happy and complete us. In fact, I believe and in my experience, the one, is God, Jesus and The Holy Spirit. Nobody on earth, no matter how great they are, will ever be able to be what the Godhead is for you. So, instead of trying to find this perfect one, your number one focus should be (and gets to be) to first love God with all our heart and all your soul just like it says in Matthew 22:37-38. 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. Honestly, when I truly realized this whole twin flame and soul mate thing was not true, it came as a bit of a disappointment for me at first. You see, I grew up on Disney films and thought there would be this perfect Prince Charming that would come in and sweep me off my feet one day. I thought, when I met him, my real life would start and I would be truly happy and complete for the rest of my life. So, as you can imagine, as I matured in Christ and actually read what the Bible said about marriage, my dream had to die. Now, this is not bad news. Yes, all the lies and my disillusionment did have to die but I then realized, this was good news because, who wants to put pressure on another human to be everything anyway?! No imperfect human can complete us. No man can make us happy. Sure, our future husband can strive to do things for us that will bring us happiness. But we cannot rely on another human to fill our God shaped hole. Only God can fill that hole. Amen and Hallelujah! Now I don't want to assume, but more than likely your version or you past version of “the one” only exists in a fictional world. Because in reality, the one we will eventually marry will be an imperfect human. This person will be someone you choose for various reasons. For instance, they are compatible with you, you have good chemistry with them, you feel safe with them, etc... but mostly, you will choose this person because they are someone who is both ready to be in a marriage partnership and someone who can come alongside you to love God with, know God with and glorify God with. Trust me, this is all good news. God's word is good and studying it is the best thing we can do so we can ultimately live the most fulfilled life on earth as possible, knowing things will never be perfect until God's glory covers the earth. I created this Proverbs study at the age of 47, the age I am right now. I have never been married and I am not going to lie and tell you that this has not been a hard pill to swallow. In fact, it has been really difficult to keep believing in the promise God showed me about my future as a wife one day but more than that, it has been very hard to be patient. And, I must say, I have not been the perfect patient little christian. This is why I am studying Proverbs 31. My heart has been renewed and transformed once again and I am just smitten with God and all He has done for me. And I am especially grateful that, before I ever walk down the aisle and say I do, God is giving me the proper perspective on marriage and the time to prepare myself to become the best and most excellent wife possible, right now. I am so excited to embark on this journey through Proverbs 31 with you. God's timing is perfect and I can genuinely say that I praise God for my singleness. My journey has brought me to my knees many times and has made my realize that I have been believing a lie about marriage for a long time. I got caught up in the world's view on love. Somewhere along the line, I thought the whole point to life was to find someone to love me and choose me and when I found this perfect man, who would sweep me off my feet, I would finally be complete and happy. This is so not true. Like I said, the most important thing is to love God with all our heart and soul. And this is not a command meant to add another thing to our to do list and make us feel stressed. This is because it is so good for us. Loving the Lord, praising Him for all that He is, worshipping Him for his goodness and holiness just brings health and healing to our whole beings. In loving God and experiencing His love for us, we don't have to wait for someone else to heal us or make us feel complete. We get to be on that journey even if we never get married. But, because I still believe I will be a wife one day, I am so excited to study God's word and what it says on how I can become an excellent wife. Woo hooooo! I am calling this study "Becoming The One: Preparing to Be an Excellent Wife." My intention is that it will prepare you to become the one who will be an excellent, joy-filled and valued wife one day. So join me next week as we go through Proverbs 31:10-11. Love, Mandy Proverbs 31:10-11
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Author: Mandy TardifI hope you are inspired, filled with hope, built up in your faith and enjoy these stories, bible studies, devotionals and art based on my life and adventures with Jesus. ArchivesCategories |