Day 83: Comfort Zones

“Everything you want is on the other side of fear”

- Jack Canfield

Joshua 1:9

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

We as people love our comfort zones, we love routine, we love knowing what is going to happen and when it’s going to happen. We can rest knowing that something is certain, we find peace in our contentment. We get so complacent in these comfortable places  that stepping outside of them is frightening. We are so wrapped up in our own comfort that we get stuck there. It’s like we’re closing ourselves off to a world of opportunity. Comfort is sometimes crippling, because we don’t know how to have faith, we don’t know how to trust someone other than ourselves, we lack the ability to take risks. We are at an age where we are stepping out of the comfort zones we have been in our entire lives and taking a risk to live the life we are destined to live. If you’re an artist you probably feel this a bit more. We must learn to take risks, and sacrifice, especially as Christians. We have to be willing to give everything up before we see a replacement, that is where faith comes in. We have to get out of our own circle of stagnation. It is only when we step outside of what we know that we start to learn, it is only when we take away the comfort that we grow. Last week we talked about taking a leap of faith. Well in order to take that leap of faith we have to step outside of our comfort zones. We all have to go through a time when life is uncomfortable, and that may look different to each of us, but as we grow we start to find comfort in the Lord. As we grow in Him we start to live fearlessly and courageously. It says it right there in the scripture be courageous, have no fear, don’t be dismayed. God is with us every step of the way. He commanding us to be courageous and strong.

2 Timothy 1:7

For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

What keeps us from stepping outside of those comfort zones many times is fear.... Most of the time it’s fear... All of the time it’s fear. We are afraid of what will happen, where we will go next. But we must know that God is on the other side of fear. As long as we have faith in Him, as long as we have a relationship with God there is nothing to fear.

I can tell you from experience that God has done more for me outside of my comfort zones than I could ever imagine. I just had to stop fearing and step out on faith, and He was there and has been there guiding my steps every since. God has taken me places I never thought I’d go. Done things that I could never imagine. All because I decided to step out of my comfort zone. I stopped looking at what seemed certain. I let go of the plan that would allow me to live a comfortable and trouble free life. Being in an uncomfortable position pushed me to not only trust Him, but dive deeper into my relationship with Him. It allowed me to see and understand God in a completely different and new way. It allowed me to see my need for Him. It allowed me to understand that God is in control, He has always been in control and will always be in control.

-Dyamond

Comfort zones are detrimental to our spiritual health, and growth.

Reflection

1. Are you afraid to step outside of your comfort zones?
2. What are you afraid of?

Prayer Time

Allow your answers to the above questions guide your prayer. Talk to God about your fears and then give them over to Him. Find comfort in knowing that He did not give us a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind.

I love you, I hope you have an amazing day or evening. Make sure you share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 84!

Day 82: Burdened with Sin

Psalms 31:10

...my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away.

Psalms 32: 5

I acknowledged my sin to you and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.

We all know that we are born into sin, we live in a broken world. We are not perfect therefore we have a need for a savior, Jesus Christ, and that savior is the only one to save us from our sin. Today let’s talk about sin, not sin in general but our personal sin. David says that it is his iniquities that make him weak, iniquity is another word for sin.  David knows that his own sin is what causes his spiritual weakness, as sinners we cannot fix this alone, we become our own stumbling block when we keep allowing ourselves to choose to sin knowing that it is detrimental to our spiritual health.  

In the next chapter David says that he acknowledges his sin and he will confess it to the Lord. He’s not going to try and hide it, but he is going to take his iniquities before the Lord knowing that forgiveness is in Him, salvation, and redemption is in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To acknowledge something means, to admit to be real or true; recognize the existence, truth, or fact of. Knowing and acknowledging something are two different things, we can know something but that doesn’t mean we will acknowledge it as truth. We know we are sinful, we know our sin is causing us to go down a terrible path, this is facts, it’s what we know, but will we admit it? Are we willing to go before God as we are and say, “I’m a sinful mess.” sometimes it’s as simple as that. Can we find the courage to confess our sins to the only one who can forgive them. Sometimes it’s as easy as saying, God help me. God won’t judge us, but he will forgive us. There is this beautiful thing called grace and God is full of it.

We cannot allow our souls to rot in a sinful hole because we are too shameful or too embarrassed to go to God, or we’re too full of pride. We all sin, believe it or not. After David gets done confessing to the Lord he says, “...And you forgave me.” We’ve talked about carrying burdens of many things, but too many of us are carrying the burden of sin, we are carrying the burden of death and it’s making us weaker and weaker everyday. We have to take especially these burdens to the Lord, because it will literally save our lives. Sin does not belong to us either, just because we were born into sin and into a broken world does not mean we have to bear the burden of it. It does not mean that we have to carry our sin around with us, Jesus died for humanity, he came for that sin. Stop carrying it around drop it and leave it at the foot of the cross. When you drop it, don’t pick it back up. Often times we go back and pick up our sin. No, we have to leave it there, we have to let it go down to the grave with Jesus and stay there. It does not belong to us. Drop it and leave it!

When God offers forgiveness and salvation in exchange for your sin, take it! Accept His forgiveness, there is no shame or condemnation in the Lord.

Reflection

1. Are you burdened by sin?
2. Are you willing to acknowledge that sin and confess it to the Lord?
3. What is on your heart that you need to confess to the Lord?

Prayer Time

Allow your answers to the above questions guide your prayer. Talk to God about whatever is on your heart. Confess your sins to Him, allow him to purify your hearts and accept his forgiveness. Pour your heart out to the Lord, lay all your burdens at his feet, and know that you are forgiven.

Maybe you never had the chance to submit your life to Christ or you want to rededicate your life to Him. I believe that now is the time to do that. Take all that sin and confess it to the Lord, whatever it is, surrender it to Him. Know that He can take it, and you will find freedom in His house. He loves us so much that He wants us to be bear and with Him for all eternity. Forever in His holy temple.

If you made the choice to follow Christ, rededicate, or to submit your life to Him fully, Go to Romans 10:9-10

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

And repeat these few words,

Jesus I declare that you are my Lord and Saviour who died for my sin and was raised three days later. I repent of my sins and I give my life to you. I believe in my heart that you are the true living God. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus name, Amen.

Congratulations! The angels in heaven are rejoicing right now. Get plugged in to your local church, and bible study. If you have any further questions feel free to contact me, Thedyamondjbackup@gmail.com IAmDyamondJ on all social media networks.

Be sure to come back tomorrow for Day 83 and everyday for the rest of the year!

Day 81: But...

Whenever you hear the word “but” at the end of a statement you can be sure that it is not the end. Whatever the speaker is saying, there’s more to the story, there's more to the statement. Bottom line, it’s not over.

Psalms 31:14 (expanded passage Psalms 31)

But I am trusting you, O Lord, saying, “You are my God!”

David has been going through it, prior to this statement he is listing everything going wrong in his life. His adversaries are coming after him, he is in a state of grief and weakness, he is just having a hard time. Before he starts this list of unfortunate events he says, Lord be gracious to me. Then he goes on to tell God what is going on and how he is greatly distressed. My favorite part in this chapter and many of the other chapters is when David says, “but…” we know whatever will follow that word will not be as bad as what preceded it. We know that David has hope. David goes on to say, “BUT I am trusting you,...” This excites me so much because David knew that even in His distress, even when his adversaries were coming after him. There were men trying to take his life, literally trying to kill him. But David says, “but I trust you Lord, You are my God.” They're all coming after me, I’m in pain, I’m weak, my soul is distressed, but I trust you. You are my God, you are the one I look to even in all of this you are bigger, my life is in your hands.

We can learn something from David here, we can get so caught up in what is going on in our lives. We get caught up in the pressure, the pain, the frustration, the tears, the stress. We start to think that there is no way out. But, my friends there is, we have to remember that there is always a but, it’s not the end. There’s hope, no matter what it looks like we have to say, “But I am trusting in you, You are my God.” I am trusting in you because my life is in your hands, you have gotten me thus far and I i’m trusting that you will bring me all the way through. Sometimes all we have is trust in God, we have no other choice, we know, we hope that God is and will bring us through whatever it is we are going through. For some of us this means taking a chance on God, taking a leap of faith. Trust me when I say, He won’t let you down. There’s always a but, there’s always an answer. But we have to look up from our sorrow and our heartache and the bad situation we are in and look to where we will find hope. We have to look to Christ, we have to put our trust in Him. We know that this is only for a moment, there’s always a ‘but’, so we know, this is not the end. It’s not over.

Psalms 30:5

For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

Genesis 50:20

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

Psalms 73:26

My flesh and my heart may fail,  but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Reflection/Prayer Time

Whatever is on your heart today pour it out to God, know that whatever you are going through there is always a but, it’s not over, this isn’t the end. Talk to God about whatever stood out to you the most today.

I love you, I hope you have an amazing day or evening. Make sure you share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 82!

Day 80: Push Yourself

1 Samuel 30:6

And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

Sometimes in life, there will be no one there to push us forward, there will be no one there to hold us accountable, or pick us up. It is in these moments that we must learn to strengthen ourselves in the Lord. We must learn to push ourselves, we must learn to hold ourselves accountable.

When I was a youth pastor I would always talk to some of the youth department and they would say something like, “When I want to sin, I just picture your face, or I just talk to you about it.” My response would always be, what about when I’m not there, one day I won’t be able to pick up the phone, what then? I wanted them to learn to depend on God more than me. I wanted them to be able to push themselves, and pray for themselves when no one else was there to do it for them. I did not want to be a crutch to them.

-Dyamond

As we grow in Christ we must make sure that we are dependent solely upon God, so that we do not have to run to anyone to get in contact with Him. Our pastor’s and peers are great, but sometimes we are going to be alone, sometimes they won’t pick up that phone. We have to push ourselves even when we are distressed like David, we have to pray for ourselves. I love that the Scripture says, David strengthened himself in the Lord. We don’t just find that strength on our own. We learn to go to God ourself for ourselves and get an overflow of His strength. Whenever we need it, we know that we can turn to God. No one can do for us what God can. We have the opportunity to have a relationship with God and be intimate with Him same as the next person. We just have to know that we are capable of praying for and pushing ourselves. It doesn’t make us selfish or prideful, it means that we trust and depend on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Philippians 3:12

I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.

We also have to push ourselves when we are tired when we are ready to give up, when it’s too painful when everything is telling us to quit. We have to push ourselves. If we want that blessing, if we want that life of eternity with Christ, we must push ourselves to keep going even when we think we can’t take it anymore.

It’s like working out, when we workout we are working towards those summer beach bodies, and we have to push through the pain of the workout if we ever want to get our bodies summer ready. That means we have to run an extra mile even when we’re out of breath, do twenty more crunches when our abs are burning, do a few more chin ups when our arms feel like they can't lift anymore. It hurts, we’re breathing heavy, doing whatever we can to ease the pain, but we still feel it. We even feel it a couple of days after. But we keep going to the gym, we keep running, we keep lifting, because we want that body. We have a goal in mind, and we can’t stop until we reach it.

It’s the same when we are pressing towards the goal of perfection, when we are pushing towards whatever it is God has for us. There will be some pain, there will be reasons to quit, but God is bigger. Our faith is bigger than our weakness. Our faith in God surpasses our pain. We have our eye on a greater prize, and with that in mind. WE CANNOT STOP! We have to push, we can’t quit we have to keep going. Even when those muscles are sore from yesterday’s workout, keep going.  Because when all's said and done, all the pain, the heartache, and the tears and sweat will be worth it. It’s like spiritual fitness.

Reflection/Prayer Time

Know that you have the ability to encourage yourself, you have to push yourself when no one else is around. Find your strength in the Lord and keep moving forward. Talk to God about whatever is on your heart today ask Him to strengthen you, look to God first.

I love you, I hope you have an amazing day and start to your week. Share this with someone and make sure you come back tomorrow for day 81!

Day 79: Let's Recap!

It's been a great week, not only did we reach 75 devos, CRAZY!, but we also had a guess writer. Here's a little recap of what went down this week.

Day 72:In the Meantime
We  started the week off talking about patience, waiting on God and what to do while waiting. We focused on Psalms 27:14, 46:10. The two points we made today were: 1. In the meantime, don't jump the gun, and 2. In the meantime, slowdown and enjoy life.
"Don’t miss out on what’s right in front of you because we are too busy to see the blessing before our eyes. Life isn’t always about getting somewhere, it’s about the experiences, and lessons on the way".

Day 73: Where Do We God From Here

Today we talked about jumping, taking a leap of faith. We focused on a few scriptures today: Matthew 7:7, 14:28-31, James 2: 17-18, and Philippians 4:13.

"Sometimes when we feel stuck it means that we have to take a leap of faith to get to where God wants us to go. When we reach the end of a chapter in our lives and don’t know where to go that is where we look to  God for direction, and if He tells us to jump, we have to. If we don’t we will stay in a place where we will be stuck forever. The only way out is to leap, we can’t step we have to jump. Everything we’re looking for, everything we need will be on the other side, leap and watch God allow you to soar. You can do it, put that fear aside, get a running start and JUMP! "

Day 74: Removing What is Dead

Today we talked about dropping the dead weight that is holding us back from reaching our full potential, or keeping us from growing in Christ. We focused on John 15:2.

"Once the dead branches are removed, God continues to prune the healthy branches. Meaning he makes sure that everything dead is cut away, making room for more growth. If we want to grow, if we want the fruit we bear to be good, we have to let go of the dead branches, we have to remove everything from us that is dead. That is the only way we will grow, and be able to make that leap of faith. "

Day 75: This One Thing I Ask

Today we talked about David's desire to be near the Lord all the days of His life. We focused on Psalms 27:4.

"I think David knew, He had a knowledge of what real living looked like. He knew that if He had everything and not God He had nothing at all. But He knew that with God he had everything even if that meant his earthly possessions were bare. God can give us anything we want, and anything we ask, but what would that one thing be. David wanted eternity with the one true King. He wanted to be in the presence of the Lord for all His days. That’s what real living is, Out of everything I ask for and out of everything you have given me, here is the one thing I want more than anything,that  is to be close to you. "

Day 76: Don't Judge Me

Today we had a guest writer, Mrs. Ariana Edgar, she talked about not judging others, and having a nice slice of humble pie. She focused on: James 4:11-12, 1 Timothy 2:11, and Matthew 28:19-20.

" We are not meant to think of ourselves more highly than others or go around pulling out specks in people’s eyes, especially when we have a rotting plank in our own! haha! But as a Christ followers we are supposed to pursue holiness and encourage others to do the same in their journey".

Day 77: Faith Based Living

Today we talked about what it means to live like Christ, and why when we are fully devoted to Christ we do not have to prove our Christianity because our lives speak for themselves.

" If we are not bearing good fruit, where are our roots planted? On what foundation do we stand? We must commit ourselves fully to Christ, and continue to make that choice every single day. Everyday we get up we choose to continue following Christ, we choose to dive into His word. We choose to pray and talk to Him, we choose the soil we are planted in. When we do this, and when we start to grow, the fruit from the tree will speak for itself".

Thank you for joining me this week, thank you for sticking it out thus far, stick with me all the way. I love you, I hope you've had an amazing weekend thus far. Enjoy your Sunday and make sure you share this with someone. Be sure to come tomorrow for Day 80!

Day 78: Faith Based Living

1 John 3:18

Dear children, let's not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.

1 John 2:6

Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.

I have found in my life that living is a collection of experiences. We don’t have to talk about living because it is just something we do, we wake up every morning with steady breath and heartbeats, we walk and talk we do things that shows for itself that we are living breathing beings. We don’t have to prove that we are alive, the breath in our lungs as our chest rises and falls is proof of life.

It’s no different  with our faith and this Christ-like life we are living. When we commit ourselves and our hearts to Christ our lives begin to look like His. Our actions become similar to His, we begin to live a life that is fully devoted to Christ and stands as a testimony of His, life, death, and resurrection, because we have committed our hearts to Him. When we are fully committed and devoted to God we do not have to prove our faith. We do not have to prove our Christianity because our lives speak for themselves. It’s the way we love, the way we live, the way we treat others, the way we walk this day to day life. When we are committed to Christ it becomes less about talking and more about the walking. We don’t have to force Jesus into our lives because He is already there.

I have found from experience that the times I was forcing Jesus into my life and trying to prove my Christianity was when I really wasn’t devoted to Him at all. When I had a desire to be a Christian, but no desire to live like one. That presented a problem, I was a sunday only Christian. But Monday through Saturday I had to keep up the image of a Christian. Fooling people into believing that I was a ‘Good Christian. Making sure I talked about God at least three times a day, read a few scriptures, and bragged about my Christian lifestyle. This was because I needed my life to look good, I had to talk about it because I wasn’t living it. It was rough, at times I didn’t even feel like a Christian, I felt like I was doing everything out of obligation, going through the motions. I was being a hypocrite. Not really experiencing God because my ego, and my lack of humility got in the way. See I wanted to be a Christian but I also wanted to be the center of attention, I wasn’t ready to let go of my pride and selfish desires. I wanted to find a way to fit God into my life, not realizing that if I just gave up my pride, my selfish desires that God had my life planned already, I fit into God’s plan, not the other way around.

-Dyamond

All that to say, when we are fully committed to Christ when we make the choice to follow Him with all our heart, and soul, and mind, and seek His face first, then we are living, we will not have to prove that love. Our lives will speak for us, Matthew 7:16 states, “You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act…” We are known by our actions not our words, by the fruit we bear.

If we are not bearing good fruit, where are our roots planted? On what foundation do we stand? We must commit ourselves fully to Christ, and continue to make that choice every single day. Everyday we get up we choose to continue following Christ, we choose to dive into His word. We choose to pray and talk to Him, we choose the soil we are planted in. When we do this, and when we start to grow, the fruit from the tree will speak for itself.

Live, don’t talk about it, just live.

Reflection

1. Where are your roots planted?
2. Do you find yourself trying to prove your Christianity?

Prayer Time

Think about the questions and answers. Reflect on what we talked about today and respond to God. Give Him every part of your being. If you have not fully committed our life to Christ, I believe that right now is the perfect time to do so. We all must make this choice and no one can make it for us, so if you feel the Holy Spirit tugging on your heart, that gut feeling, whatever it may be pushing you to respond, do it. Maybe you have never been offered the gift of salvation, if that’s you and you want to make that decision, you just have to believe it in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and that He was raised from the dead. Wherever you are, you don’t have to be in a church or religious setting to give your life to Christ. There is no better time than right now.

If you made the choice to follow Christ, rededicate, or to submit your life to Him fully, Go to Romans 10:9-10

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

And repeat these few words,

Jesus I declare that you are my Lord and Saviour who died for my sin and was raised three days later. I repent of my sins and I give my life to you. I believe in my heart that you are the true living God. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus name, Amen.

Congratulations! The angels in heaven are rejoicing right now.

Be sure to come back tomorrow for Day 79 and everyday for the rest of the year!

Day 77: Don't Judge Me by Ariana Edgar

Today we have a guess writer, my Pastor and friend Ariana Edgar (pictured below). She and her husband Matt Edgar (also pictured below) lead Story Philly a church in Center City Philadelphia and just expanded to University City. If you are ever in Philadelphia stop by on Sunday evenings at 6 and 7:30pm.

How many times have we heard people say that sentence? And to be honest, I think a lot of times people use this sentence as a cop-out to live the way they want to live instead of living up to the Godly standard set before us. BUT there is some truth that rings to this catchy phrase.

A massive lesson that God has been teaching me lately is that He is the the ultimate judge… not us.

My husband and I started a church in Center City, Philly almost two years ago. And it is absolutely my favorite thing to do! For me #SundayFunday is the highlight of my week! I love building a flourishing community of people who come together and worship Jesus. I love that our church is such a relaxed, fun and welcoming place to be. All types of people come through our doors and hopefully leave experiencing the love of God.

My role in church, and as a general Christ follower, is to lead others to Christ in every way. Whether that’s leading a team, preaching a message, or doing one-on-one discipleship, I am always pointing people to Christ.

And as I develop, grow and mature in my relationship with God I am understanding more and more that I am undeniably fallible, will mess up, and will make mistakes.

I use to think that I understood God’s ways pretty well and that I was an A+ christian. Meaning I had it all together all the time; that there was no way I could mess up that bad as "So n’ So". I would think differently of "Blahsy Blah" because they’re so proud and they have no clue how wrong they are.

But I AM HUMAN and STILL MESS UP. And the saying is SO TRUE that pride comes before a fall. Even this past month I had to eat a big fat piece of humble pie and it shocked me right back to realizing that I am always, and WILL always be in need of a Savior. And that I can’t afford to hold on to any pride in my words, mind or heart.

So here’s the thing, it says in James 4: 11-12 >>>>

"Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you. God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?”

So heeeeyyooooo!! We are not meant to think of ourselves more highly than others or go around pulling out specks in people’s eyes, especially when we have a rotting plank in our own! haha! But as a Christ followers we are supposed to pursue holiness and encourage others to do the same in their journey.

As a Christ follower & leader (p.s. if you are Christian then you are automatically a leader ) we are meant to do this >>>

1 Timothy 2:11

"I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior."

Ariana translation: Go to God in prayer for everyone that’s on your heart. Be a source of encouragement to everyone around you. And live an upright life making sure that even the little toxins in your life are handed over to God immediately.

And this >>>

Matthew 28:19-20

"Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Ariana translation: Your purpose on earth is to show people the love of Christ, have as many people as you can come to know Him, and have them walk the journey with you, pursuing perfection, until you go home to be with the Father in heaven.

Let’s be people who are constantly renewing our minds in the Word of God, who are seeing Christ as the ultimate example of how to live life on earth, and who encourage NOT judge each other to do the same. Keep yourself humble and know that God always has your back.

Guys... humble pie actually tastes sweet, so eat up!!

Much love,

Ariana

I love you all, I hope you have an amazing day or evening. MAke sure you share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 78!