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Toni Smothers

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How Full is Your Cup

1/26/2016

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​How Full Is Your Cup?
By, Toni Smothers
 
Trials abound in the ministry and sometimes we feel pressed on every side by troubles. But, we are not crushed and broken by disappointments. Even though we may become perplexed, we don’t give up or let our faith waver. We know in our heart of hearts that God never abandons us - Although sometimes we may forget it, we are never really at the end of our rope.
No matter what dreadful thing may occur around or to us, we always have hope. Christ has won the victory over death, we have eternal life as our inheritance. As children of God, we have the assurance that even death submits to the power and glory of God. I praise him for that incredible promise.
I envision even the smallest corner in the darkest closet in Heaven as a glorious place compared to anything that has ever or will ever exist here in our lifetimes.
While lavishing in imaginings of the grandeur and blessings of Heaven may be kind of neat, we must never let the future detract us from the present. The Bible teaches us that through suffering we share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in us. But, is it? Is the life of Jesus truly showing in each of us?
I don’t believe we were saved to spend the rest of our lives yearning for eternity. Yet you can find many who will say that they have to endure this life until God calls them home. Their self-imposed endurance test keeps them diligently doing rather than gratefully experiencing. So is your cup half full or half empty today? Do you spend most of your time doing for others so you can show God how faithful and self-sacrificing you are? Those who do are probably missing many of the blessings God has for them.
God is the only one who understands true faithfulness. He is the only one who has made the ultimate sacrifice of his son’s life for us. Even our noblest efforts are as filthy rags compared to what he has already done. He doesn’t want that kind of futile effort from us. He just wants to love us and be the center of our lives. Fellowship with God does not have to be a far off goal to become real only after death. His spirit is very real and immediate.
Sometimes we get so busy doing for God we forget that He just wants us to spend time with Him. We go around spinning our wheels and leave little or no time for just waiting and listening for Him. His still, small voice is always with us, guiding, comforting and sustaining. God is present, now, today, as we live and breathe. As I write His message, He helps me choose the exact words that will communicate with your hearts, as well as your minds.
We need only accept that it is actually possible and true that He is here with us today – Just as He always is. We need only let our hearts believe, without question or rational explanation, that our Father wants to be that involved in our lives! He is not simply to be summoned periodically throughout our days when we pause to acknowledge Him with our prayers or good deeds. He wants to be so much more intimate with each and every one of us then we can ever conceive of in our grandest imaginings.
How close is your heart or your own emotions? God is closer. How well do you know yourself? God knows you far better. How many hairs are on your head? Even you don’t know that - your Heavenly Father knows that answer. This incredible reality is often too huge for us to fathom, but it is still true.
I think that we are meant to live in multiple realities. We are our children’s parents, our parents’ children, our friends’ friend, our students’ teacher, our husbands’ wives, and on and on. We are not easily defined. But above all that we know ourselves to be in this life, God knows us as His children and that means so much more than all the rest.
No matter how much adversity or evil we come against, we can always have the comfort and the council of our Father. We can also have His celebration and companionship in our times of joy. He is always, always, with us!
So all of our accomplishments, our risks, humiliations and trials, are really just opportunities for God to demonstrate His power, presence and love in and through us. We must not let anything steal that truth from us because we are meant to live joyfully in that knowledge.
We all have faced problems in our relationships or in our work or our homes that have seemed overwhelming at times. We temporarily forgot who faces those problems right there and then with us.
It’s true that God didn’t promise us an easy life, but he did promise to send us the Holy Spirit. Once we acknowledge Him, invite Him to take up residence within us, we live in two distinct realities for the rest of our lives. We live among the lost and hurting world in a state of blessedness that can only be experienced. It can’t be explained or adequately verbalized. But I can tell you this much, that state of blessed communion with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, can turn the hardest that life delves out into wonderful opportunities to show the world God’s Glory through us as we respond.
If we accept that we are sinners in need of forgiveness and that we are predestined to adoption as children of God, purchased and redeemed by the blood of Jesus, and sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, who guarantees our inheritance into heaven, then we are truly saved. No more is necessary to obtain that eternal life in Heaven after death. That’s just part of the good news, however, because if we allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us and direct our lives, we can also understand and therefore claim the joy of our salvation, which is to live an abundant life in the here and now. There’s such tremendous joy in being God’s child. I can’t emphasize enough how vastly different the presence of the Holy Spirit as a daily reality can make in our lives today and for the rest of our days here on earth.
Other than Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, I can’t imagine a more precious or perfect gift - The power and indwelling delight of the Holy Spirit’s presence. We must never silence God’s small voice by our nonsensical busyness. God blesses us according to our willingness to receive and share, and not for any other reason. That power and tremendous joy remains ever ready for all who will receive it. So my prayer for each of you today, is that you will also claim the joy of your salvation.
You know, as spirit-filled children of God, we leave the optimists of this world in the dust because our cup is not only half full; it is full and overflowing with the love of our Heavenly Father.
 
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IT'S GREAT TO WAIT

1/8/2016

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It’s Great to Wait
By, Toni Smothers

Did you know that there are sixth grade, 12 year old children, who are sexually active? And, an astounding sixty percent of teens have had sex, twenty-five percent have contracted a sexually transmitted disease (STD), and twenty percent of the girls have become pregnant by age eighteen. Why?

Puberty starts a lot earlier than it did years ago. Currently, hormones begin raging at 10 to 11 years of age. Primetime media has significant underlying sexual content as the norm. Sex saturates the music industry. Peers exhort a very strong influence. Teens think that digital and oral sex are not real sex and so they can’t get a STD doing it. Then there’s alcohol and drugs at parties, which ends up in non-characteristic choices, as well as in date rape. Alcohol and drugs give guys more courage and makes girls more willing or so doped up that they don’t even know what’s going on.

The cliché is often, “If you love me, you’ll have sex with me.” Ah, but where’s the respect? Love is long and deep and wide and it can’t be copied on a one night ride or a short lived relationship - That only leads to guilt and broken hearts. Respecting your partner, committing your life long goals and dreams to them is the way true love grows into maturity. And sex has no place outside of marriage.

So in this kind of environment, how do teens keep their faith and lives uncontaminated?
It’s not like you can go hide under a rock until you become the right age for marriage. Every day, some outside influence is trying to make you think that having babies and STDs is run of the mill. Also, most teens think, “It couldn’t happen to me.” But, believe me, there are no such exemptions. We reap what we sow.

Listen to what part of the 119th Psalm says: “Happy are people of integrity, who follow the law of the Lord. Happy are those who obey his decrees and search for him with all their hearts. They do not compromise with evil, and they walk only in His paths.” (v. 1-3 NIV)

Easier said then done, right? But, God wants only the best for you and He wants you to remain pure. Remember, God’s Word, the Bible, is the only sure guide for living a pure life. The 9th verse of Psalm 119 both asks and answers a relevant question. “How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word and following its rules.” … Is it easy? No way - Is it right? Absolutely!

We are drowning in a sea of impurity. Everywhere we look, we find temptation to lead impure lives. What does a young person do? We cannot do this on our own but must have counsel and strength more dynamic than the tempting influences around us. Where can we find that strength and wisdom? By reading God’s Word and doing what it says
                                                                                                                        2

Most people, young or old, resist rules because we think they will restrict us from doing what we want. At first glance, then, it may seem strange to hear the psalmist talk of rejoicing in following God’s laws. But God’s laws were given to free us from doing what might cripple us and keep us from being our best. God’s guidelines help us follow his path and avoid paths that lead to terrible consequences that can destroy our future. Check out 2 Samuel 13:14-22 for a nice example of devastation as a consequence of impure relations. 

Keep that precious gift of your virginity for the most wonderful person yet to come, your spouse. And if you’ve already fouled up, pour out your heart to your loving Father, beg for his never ending mercy and make a decision today that you will reclaim sole access to sexual intimacy for your husband and abstain from sex from here on out. May God bless your choices and your hearts. Stay pure. It’s great to wait!
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We Are His Vessels

1/7/2016

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To think that we already have a kingdom that cannot be shaken, lodged invisibly within our hearts, makes me want to share that joyful knowledge. God deserves our reverence and willingness to share with and serve others.
We are eternal spirits, temporarily residing in this world, but our real citizenship is in heaven. We all began in a different kingdom than the Lord’s. We were slaves to the powerful influence of spiritual darkness, in a realm devoid of authentic love or truth. We were rescued, however, by our great and loving Father, God. We have been delivered into the kingdom of the Son of His love and we have been permitted to partake of the inheritance with all the saints.

Once we were subject to human instability, inadequacies and a fool’s perspective. But by God’s mercy, the rock solid provision of His grace and our repentant revelation as to our wretchedness, we now belong to His excellent light.

When circumstances change, when trials and trouble threaten, His Grace strengthens us and our faith is not shaken. God’s Holy Spirit is always available and always sufficient. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. When we received Jesus as our Lord and Savior, the full resources of His kingdom became our own. We are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.

As we mature in knowledge of His Word, we receive a gradual appropriation of His kingdom provisions through faith. We are called to serve our King, but we can do so only by His provision. Any attempt of ours to try to serve Him, to give it our best efforts, would be achieved by the flesh. Our best performance simply won’t cut it. We cannot attempt to serve or even to love for that matter. It is through His instinct to love and His merciful desire to nurture that we obtain His empowering resource – We actually become His vessel that can do nothing other than share and  serve.
​
Hebrews 12:28, Philippians 3:20, Colossians 1:12-13, Romans 3:24, 5-2, Hebrews 13:8, John 1:12, Ephesians 1:3
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    Picture
    “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” —Matthew 5:14-16
    Bible Sprout

    Author: TAS

    Bio: Toni Smothers has written articles for “Total Health”, “Let’s Live”, “People In Action” and “The North American Mentor” magazines.  She is a member of the Faithwriters.com writing community and was previously the editor for the teen section of their on-line magazine. She has written many programs, sermons, and skits and has edited several websites. Additionally, she has answered hundreds of questions for GotQuestions.org, a biblical resource site. Here is just one of their many testimonials: "Thank you for this insightful website! I was able to look up many questions I have asked over the years since becoming saved. The site is easy to navigate and gave me so much biblical background for answers that I feel my armor has been strengthened. You and your staff be encouraged to continue to speak the truth for God's glory." When Toni is not writing, she can usually be found cuddling with her 5 pound, furry, Chihuahua muse, “Princess Sweet Pea.” Toni Smothers studied homeopathy extensively and became a proficient layman. She wrote about homeopathy for “Total Health” and “Let’s Live” magazines. Smothers describes her experience befriending a refugee family from Laos in her article published in the travel magazine, “People in Action.” Additionally, “American Mentor” magazine has published some of her poetry. Smothers drew upon her fun experiences as a youth pastor to provide the needed insight to function as the editor of the teen section of “Faithwriters” magazine and she is a member of the Faithwriters.com writer’s community. 

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