Thirst With Sheryl

Sowing and Reaping

The principle of reaping and sowing applies to Christians & non-Christians. This principle is irrevocable and there is no escape. It is a law of life. Charles Stanley, a well known American Southern Baptist pastor and writer, says that there are 3 principles that are considered to be true in all circumstances when it comes to sowing and reaping.
We reap what we sow
We reap more than we sow
We reap later than we sow
Let’s take my example of the butterfly bush seeds. I sowed seeds and reaped a bush.  The bush was way more than a couple of seeds and the bush did not appear until a year later.  So again, we reap what we sow, we reap more than we sow and we reap later than we sow.

Default

So, what is your default mode?
Do you have a plan for when the extremely challenging times come?
When it feels like your world is upside down?
When all Hell has broken loose?
Do you turn to the substance or turn to the Spirit?
What’s in your defaulted heart?
Is the word tucked in your heart?
Ps 119:11 NIV says I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
Will your defaulted mind be filled with bleak or harmful thoughts that take you back?
Remember thoughts become words and words become actions.  
2 Cor 10:5b NIV says we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

A PowerFull Sip

You see, when we are dealing with menial tasks, or even the challenging ones, at times it may slip our minds that the Holy Spirit is with us, and is living in us.
1 Cor 6:19 TLB says Haven’t you yet learned that your body is the home of the Holy Spirit God gave you, and that he lives within you? Your own body does not belong to you.
At times we try so hard to get into the presence of God, but the truth of the matter is, that it is impossible to get away from Him.  He is in constant pursuit of us;
In Joshua 1:9 TLB the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
In Matthew 28:20 TLB says I am with you always, even to the end of the world.

The Merge

The Holy Spirit reminded me that there is enough time in the day.  In John 11:9-10 Liv says: There are twelve hours of daylight every day, and during every hour of it a man can walk safely and not stumble. 10 Only at night is there danger of a wrong step, because of the dark.” I believe God is saying that where He is, there is light and in darkness he is not there. So there are 12 hours of daylight to do the Lord’s work. So how do we do this? Is it possible?
What if we fellowshipped with God while working, cooking, tending to our fur babies, cleaning, bathing, shopping, driving, & gardening, which are all things we do during the daylight. I believe God never intended it to be a separation of secular and non-secular

Self-Consciousness

Have you ever felt self-conscious in any way, in any situation, or around certain groups of people?
Think and be honest with yourself.
You see, by being self-conscious you have a heightened awareness of yourself, especially how others perceive your appearance or actions. 
Additionally, Self-conscious people may be overly aware of, and sensitive to attention from others, and may feel anxious or embarrassed at times.
 

The List

Do not take for granted the prayers that have been answered, the challenging situations that you came through, the healings that have taken place with you, the financial binds that he brought you threw, shoot even the waking up this morning and knowing you head from your tail…take a look at them all. Who is responsible? Our creator, our healer, our deliverer, our friend, our guide, my road dog.  Now, why wouldn’t you want to get to know Him better?

Know the Difference

To Christ, the truth is God who presents and reveals Himself to us, and our response in loving Him and obeying Him. Therefore, I would say, the truth is not the facts you learn as in a courtroom, but what you do in building your relationship with Christ.
Know the difference.  

Self Examination

Self-examination time:
Who are you envious of? Who are you discontented with? Resentful towards? Jealous of?
Who are you angry with? Bitter towards? Have conflict with? Who gets on your last nerve?
This is a time of self-examination. Be transparent with God because he already knows; Our God is Omniscient.  
You might want to do this once you are done with listening to this podcast. If you think you need this self-examination, you need it; if you think you don’t need this self-examination, you need it.  2 Corinthians 2:11 says, "for we are not ignorant of Satan’s devices". In this verse, Paul is warning the Corinthians about Satan's schemes and evil intentions to outwit them and take advantage of them, i.e. spiritually oppress them.
So, instead of grabbing your sheet of paper right now, do so once this podcast is over. Think back on the last couple of days or even weeks of your actions, reactions and the things that occurred. Ask the holy spirit to replay anything that might have been even remotely close to envy or strife. Be receptive of what the Holy Spirit shows you. Then, it is at this time, that you should write it down.

The Big OPP

So let me introduce you to oppression and his big brother the big OPP ( a.k.a. the opportunity to proceed passes you by!)
Now Oppression is trying to stop you from being all you can be!  Oppression does not want you to be free. Oppression wants to keep you hostage. Oppression stops you from maximizing your potential; oppression wants to limit your destiny; Oppression crushes the human spirit and Nobody has a right to your spirit, but God; Oppressors do not want you to have or get knowledge; Hosea 4:6 says we are destroyed for the lack of knowledge.  Oppression wants to take over God’s place in your life.
The Holy Spirit wants to remind you that you are free. John 8:36 NLT says if the Son sets you free, you are truly free! But you have to know that God tells you that you are free & you have the right to be free.

Gifts and Callings

To be called by God is to be chosen by God for certain purposes.
So, every person in the body of Christ has a calling, regardless of their screwed-up past, imperfections, insecurities, doubts, impaired social skills, physical disabilities or mental health issues.
Just as the head, neck, shoulder, arms, make up part of the human body & have a purpose, we collectively are the body of Christ. Each one of us is part of his body.
We are all important in the body of Christ. God put our bodies together in such a way that even the parts that seem the least important are valuable.