Thirst With Sheryl

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. 

Worry, Fear, and Dread

The Oxford dictionary defines worry as to give way to anxiety or unease; allow one's mind to dwell on difficulty or troubles. If you notice part of the definition defines worry as unease and statistics show too much unease can lead to dis ease or disease. Furthermore, we all know that worry is the opposite of faith. Increased worry can turn into Fear.
Fear is defined as an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous. The acronym for fear is FALSE EVIDENCE APPEARING REAL.  
According to Cambridge dictionary, Dread means to feel extremely worried or frightened about something that is going to happen or that might happen.

The Laugh of Faith

We live in a fallen world, and many Christians who go through, forget that God has already won the battle for us.  We spend too much time in our thoughts looking at what is taking place at the time, instead of looking forward to the finish line or victory that has already been won for us.  Yes, you may have had to wait days, weeks, months, seasons, years, shoot, you may still be waiting; but know that God will flip the script if He hasn’t already.

Conditional If-Thens

The if then statements in the bible follows this similar pattern; the "if" part is advice from the Lord, and the "then" part is the promised results of following or disobeying that advice.
 

My Release From Self

Sometimes we can become so entangled in our anxieties & stressors, that we forget or become so distracted that all we can think about is our wants, our needs. Which means we become that “self-centered, selfish, self-absorbed, and self- seeking” person that all people including Christians hate to be around.
What can we do about this?  Listen to find out more!

The Concerned Gardner

This concerned gardener has gotten a lesson & a reminder that the way I tend to my flower planting, I need do the same with my concerns.  The Holy Spirit knows that gardening is very dear to my heart and therapeutic, so he used that scenario to give me this lesson. He knows just what to do.

Weight Removal

In Hebrews chapter 12, verse 1 the author likens this verse to a race. The NLT version reads as such: Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.  
The Challenge
So, I want to challenge you, the listeners; we know that it is impossible to please God without faith; we want to avoid “the sin” that so easily trips us up, which is unbelief; because we know that unbelief means you lack faith, and consequently in the book of James 2:14 he wrote that faith without works is dead.
So, this challenge is for you the listener to identify the weights/distractions/hindrances that have gotten in the way of your race. 
When you identify them write them down, on a piece of paper and then ball it up and throw it in the trash as an act of faith; as if you are giving this hindrance to God.
Ps 55: 22 says to cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you. Finally, Trust that God will see you through.
Ps 56:3 says When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. 
That’s it! That is your exercise! Because if we continue to hold on to our weights or hindrances, before we know it, we will be so entangled, we won’t even realize that we are headed for “the sin” unbelief. 

Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth Part 3

There is a correct way to analyze scripture and an incorrect way to analyze scripture.  God puts structure on how to read the bible & how to correctly analyze it. So, to reiterate again, if you do not consider before the cross and after the cross, more than likely you will end up somewhere not seeing something correctly.
I invite you to listen for a few tips I use for rightly dividing the word of Truth.

Dividing Rightly the Word of Truth Part 2

OT/Old covenant/before the finished work; NT/New covenant/after the finished work.  The blood that was shed not only dealt with sin, but also the sinner! In light of this, we need to study the bible as it pertains to the finished work, so that we can rightly divide the Word of Truth. What was so before the cross, changed when Jesus shed His blood on the cross.