Author: carriedinthecross

I am a young woman who grew up in British Columbia. In BC was all I ever wanted; I had my poodle (Max) and all my friends, Saturdays at the Vancouver Aquarium and Sunday afternoons at one of my favorite beaches it was paradise. But God had a different plan for my life and my dad's job landed us in Alberta and now where I remain, in small town Souris Manitoba. The transitions from paradise to prairie were difficult and I will admit that now 10 years later I still refer to home as Abbotsford BC. Through this crazy pathway trek across Canada I have had one true constant, God; and though none of it was easy, everything that has happened in my life has formed in me a true lasting friendship with the one I call Immanuel. Because no matter how far from home we are God is with us, and thanks to God I have found an almost completely over looked beauty in Manitoba. If you open your eyes you will see that God has planted wondrous things everywhere you go.
Which stream
Christianity · Devotional · dreams do come true · encouragement · free · guidance · Jesus · lent · Love · power of God · searching · still fighting · The Bible · True Joy

Which stream

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Lent day 12

Which stream should I choose in life? With which path should I go? I say ‘why should I be stuck in a stream at all! Forced to go with the constant flow.’ If all streams lead to the ocean, then someday won’t I be free? But along the pushing path that others forge, will I forget to be me?
If God reaches down His hand from Heaven and traces a small path away from the crowd for me, then shouldn’t I follow that path with eagerness? Then shouldn’t I go willingly? The path has only room enough for one person, and I fear to travel alone. Yet if Jesus is with me, then I do not go alone. The hero often stands by herself, when the true battle begins to wage, but with the Spirit as my sword, Faith as my shield, I will not be afraid. I will follow my path to a greater ocean. Away from the pushing crowd, I will swim this special causway, I will not be drowned. If God has a path just for me, then why would I swim to the same sea, as every other fish in the stream and lose who am and sacrifice my dream? I will follow this path alone, with the cross before me and Jesus leading me home. – LVB

From the time we hit first grade we are being pushed toward a path. People say that each of our paths are unique, but if you are following along with the rest of the world then you are just another part of the crowd. Only Jesus gives us uniqe and individual paths, but they often lead us to be on our own. The path to Heaven is narrow and hard, the path to hell is wide and easy. Which path are you on? If you see the narrow path open up before you will you follow it? In my mind I see the narrow gate like a hidden entry that only reveals itself to the few who choose to look for it. If you aren’t seeking Jesus then you won’t find the path to Heaven. Which path are you walking? Would you like to switch and find the narrow gate? Then ask Jesus into your heart. You don’t need the sinner’s prayer specifically, you can come to Him with your own words and your heart open to find Him. Maybe you’ve lost the path and have been wandering in a fog. That’s not hard either, you can get back to the right path by asking for Jesus to help you. The answer is always Jesus. It doesn’t matter what the question was. If you talk to Him and look for Him you will find Him, because He wants to be found.

Only traveling through
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Only traveling through

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Lent day 10

Like it or not, we are part of the world around us. -Pat Terry

I like the world around us less and less. There is so much evil and sin. Today I saw that a kid’s show meant for six year olds and up has had adults, with clearly nothing else to do with their time, going on the internet and discussing how the two little boys that are the main cheracters are probably gay and if they aren’t, should be. Little kids. Forced by adults to be something they are not. Friendship has been killed by this way of thinking. When I was a kid, not very long ago, two little boys walking down the street holding hands meant nothing, now it is forced to mean something. Caring about your friends is seen as a sexual desire and pure innocence is left hanging for the vultures to pick at. On an add for another show meant for children I saw covens, people being possessed and animal sacrifices used to increase dark magic. This show was intended for eight years old and up.
It’s hearbreaking if not simply outrageous to see what is happening to our minds and the minds of those around us. Sometimes it feels like there is no hope or escape for or from thos darkness as it gains ground over the world. But God. God told us to be not conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our spirits. Our bodies may be stuck in this world, but our souls are from another world, our souls are Heaven bound and belong to Jesus who died for them. The battleground between carnal body and eternal soul is in the mind. The mind can convince you that evil is good and that there is no such thing as sin. That’s not true. The mind can be a safe haven from the darkness if we give it to Jesus and let Him have dominion. It can also be a place of desolation if we let it be beaten down by what goes on around us. Like it or not we are part of the world around us. But we don’t have to be sold out to that world. We are supposed to be strangers to this evil planet and to help show others the way out, the way to Jesus. Thank God that, as Larry Norman once said, we are only visiting this planet. Our home is in Heaven and we aren’t supposed to be comfortable here, we are supposed to long for our eternal home.
Gaurd your mind and fight for it’s sanctity, because it is the final ground to fight on and too many of us forgo that front and let it be taken by the enemy. Take heart and have hope, Jesus has a plan, He has a future, He has not forgotten or forsaken you and someday, if you hold true, you will be with Him in paradise.

Oil on my head
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Oil on my head

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Lent day 9

Let a righteous man strike me- that is a kindness; let him rebuke me- that is oil on my head- Psalm 141:8

David was a man after God’s heart. That doesn’t mean he never screwed up, it means that he repented when he did. He was human and made human mistakes, however he truly loved God and wanted to make things right with Him as fast as he could when he sinned. Few true followers of God commit sins on purpose, and when we do sin we try to repent quickly. I like the second half of that verse the best: let him rebuke me-that is oil on my head.
David was a shepherd, so he would have known that oil on the head of the sheep was there to fend off flies. We do this on the bellies of our horses on the farm too. To him being rebuked by a righteous man was the same as having insect repellent placed on his head. It warded off the attacks of evil emotions and desires. He didn’t take being rebuked by someone closer to God than himself as an offense, rather as a kindness. David didn’t shy from a corrective word from the pulpit, he knew that being close to God was greater than his feeling of self importance.
May we all have a spirit that thirsts after righteousness, because we long to know God’s face.

My precious treasure
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My precious treasure

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Lent day 8

I rejoice in your word, like one who discovers a great treasure.

I saw this today on facebook. I didn’t look at which passage it was and now can’t find it so forgive me for that.
Treasure. What a strange thing it is. We covet treasure and search for it and cling to it. Treasure is something greatly cared for and longed for. We treasure our family. We treasure our spouse. But do we treasure God? Do we treasure His word? When you think of who you could not live without, where does God fall on that list? We played a game once as a family. If you could only keep three books that you owned which three would they be? My mom immidiately said the Bible, she knew that she needed the word of God above all else. Now imagine a world where the Bible meant death if you carried it, so you hid it under your clothes and shared it with great caution, but you kept it despite it’s dangers because you cherish it. Some people in other countries are forced to do this. People who will have the biggest mansions in Heaven, because they have loved God the most. I don’t know if that’s true, God probably gives the same mansion size to everyone, but I think it would be fair if God gave them more. We are so used to freedom that we don’t cherish it, but I fear a day is coming when we will have to hide our Bibles too. Will we? Do we treasure the word of God? Do we seek after it like a precious Jewel and write it on our hearts? Is God precious to you?

He is with you
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He is with you

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Exodus 33: 14
My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.

I love home. Unless I am traveling, and even then I feel a sense of joy driving up our road, there is no place I would rather be. But work takes me away some times, and though I always appreciate God’s financial provision, I miss home. Tonight I am away for work and things started off sort of rough. Feeling sad and just wanting to be back home with those I love hit me pretty hard tonight. Then this verse came up on my phone: My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. It was like God was giving me a big hug.
You see. We forget sometimes that God loves us. We forget that He wants to be with us. He follows us wherever we go and surrounds us with His presence. When we pray we are speaking right to Him, and He is listening. The distance is never too great, the hour is never too late- He is always near by me, hearing my fears and needs. Why? Because He loves me. He loves you too. And wherever you are, wherever you go, He sends His presence with you.

Don’t wait for the movie
Christianity · lent · The Bible

Don’t wait for the movie

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Lent devotional 6

Don’t wait for the movie.

(I do have a point to this so bear with my beggining example)
In re-reading the Fellowship of the ring I have been reminded of the saying, “I’ll just wait for the movie.” Using LOTR as my example, the movies were all good, but in comparison to the books they seem like sad rip offs. No offense intended. The books have so much more to them right down to the description of the clothes. On top of that there are many, many, many scenes in the movie that are twisted and contorted out of context and sequence, so you lose much of the story line and plot.
People treat the Bible in this same way, (not that I am placing the two on the same shelf. One is fact. One is fiction. One brings amusement. One brings life.)
People act like movies about the Bible, devotionals or writings on the Bible, novels involving the Bible and so on, are fine reolacements for the actual thing. Many of these are good, but they are not intended to replace the original manuscript. As CS Lewis once said, “these things are good supplements, but they don’t replace the actual food.” In this he was speaking of his own writings, saying that they are fine additional studies for the Bible but do not and can not replace the actual thing.
There are many good movies and even TV shows done around the Bible and I, along with many others, applaud them. But again we’re getting the problem of people using the shows and movies as a replacement for the word of God. And like how the Lord of the Rings movie took sections of the book and change them and even added to them for the movie, which took away from great parts of the actual book, these movies on the Bible do the same thing. There is nothing wrong with that, as long as people remember that they are just creativly licensed copies and that there is still a need in their lives for the actual book it’s self.
Don’t wait for the movie. You’ll be missing out on the wonder and truth of the Book.

Disclaimer:
I am in no way criticizing or condemning these movies and TV shows. I believe they are good, and that we are blessed to have them. I also encourage you to rent and buy good movies and TV shows on the Bible as they will be a pleasent addition to your walk with God. My point is simply that they are not a replacement for the Bible itself.

The lie of pride
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The lie of pride

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Lent day 5

Someone who is not willing to admit their weaknesses can only show their dark side to others.
Pride. One of the greatest and yet underrated sins. We fall and fail and struggle due to pride, and it is pride that often causes people to not follow Jesus, or to only follow Him in name- calling themselves Christians yet living as though they don’t know Him at all. Pride makes us weak but decieves us into thinking we are strong. Pride says that we have no weaknessess and are strong enough on our own. And when we believe that lie then all we can be is dark. The kind of pride that makes you think that you are always right, even when it’s obvious that how you are acting is wrong. The pride that says you are justified, even though deep down you know that you are sinning. The pride that says you don’t need God’s rules, just His best friend status. God said that there is no love in pride because He knew the evil pride would bring. When we see someone who is conceited and full of themselves, that person tends to irritate us, why? Because in truth pride is annoying to those around it. It’s harmful to those in it and around it. And it’s just sad, because pride shows the weakness of the pridefilled person. We all have moments of pride. Some are healthy moments where we feel pleased in an accomplishment, others are harmful moments where we feel better than someone else because of something good in our lives. The only way to fight pride is to acknowledge it and pray for God’s deliverance from it. We may have to do this everytime the feeling rises. But everytime God will help us, that’s who He is, and He is pleased with is for trying to do our best to serve Him.

Um. Lord. That’s a really large mouth.
Christianity · encouragement · free · guidance · Jesus · lent · power of God

Um. Lord. That’s a really large mouth.

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Lent day 4


When God prepares a big fish, no boat is big enough to save you.
As the original News Boys wrote in their song about Jonah, “lord how long is this gonna take? Stuck in the belly of a whale.”
God asks some crazy big stuff of us as His people. Not always, but some times, He sends us to speak to people we hate because He loves them. Sometimes He asks us to go where it is dangerous. Sometimes He breaks our bones so we will be in the right hospital at the right time to speak to someone about Him.
I admit a soft feeling toward Jonah. He didn’t want those horrible people of Ninivah who attacked travelers and raided towns and did all kinds of evil to be saved, and he certainly didn’t want to be the one to do the saving. Let them rot, it’s the least they deserve, was his point of view.
Yet God loved the souls of the people and wanted to forgive them and to save them.
We all have people we can’t stand. Some are fellow Christians. Others are lost people in need of Jesus, that doesn’t mean they aren’t terrible people, people who have hurt you or make you feel just sick inside; what it means is that God loves them and wants them to come to Him. I think of Corrie Ten boon speaking to the Nazi Soldier who had beaten her sister. The man had come to know Jesus and had sought her out to ask her forgiveness, and in her heart she said no, she admits to hating him fully and completely and nobody can blame her. But. She prayed and told God that if he wanted her to forgive that man he was going to have to do it through her, cuz she couldn’t do it herself. And he did, and her heart was filled with love for him and compassion. God may send us to Nineveh, but he won’t ever send us alone. He will always go with us, and will help us to love those we would prefer to hate.

Lent day 3 Stop putting your chains back on.When Jesus died and rose again He took our sins on Himself, He set us free from our chains- so why do we keep setting the locks back in place? We claim our sin as our identity, we tattoo it on our arms (or on our foreheads) we announce it with pride, yet it is what is killing us; it is holding us back, tying us down, and making us defeated. Those sins are nailed to the cross, stop tearing them off and sticking them back on yourself, you deserve more, you deserve better. You are loved so much more by Jesus who says to cast your sins aside than you will ever be by the devil who says to keep your sins and to wear them proudly, in fact mr. Do what makes you happy not what the Bible tells you to, aka the devil, doesn’t love you at all. The devil hates you. That’s why he encourages your sins. Jesus loves you. That’s why He tells you to leave your sins behind. Jesus set you free. So be free. Stop being a slave to the devil. Be a redeemed, set free, undefeated, friend of God. For He called you by name.
Christianity · Devotional · dreams do come true · encouragement · free · guidance · Jesus · lent · Love · searching · still fighting · The Bible · True Joy

Lent day 3 Stop putting your chains back on.When Jesus died and rose again He took our sins on Himself, He set us free from our chains- so why do we keep setting the locks back in place? We claim our sin as our identity, we tattoo it on our arms (or on our foreheads) we announce it with pride, yet it is what is killing us; it is holding us back, tying us down, and making us defeated. Those sins are nailed to the cross, stop tearing them off and sticking them back on yourself, you deserve more, you deserve better. You are loved so much more by Jesus who says to cast your sins aside than you will ever be by the devil who says to keep your sins and to wear them proudly, in fact mr. Do what makes you happy not what the Bible tells you to, aka the devil, doesn’t love you at all. The devil hates you. That’s why he encourages your sins. Jesus loves you. That’s why He tells you to leave your sins behind. Jesus set you free. So be free. Stop being a slave to the devil. Be a redeemed, set free, undefeated, friend of God. For He called you by name.

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Stop putting your chains back on.
When Jesus died and rose again He took our sins on Himself, He set us free from our chains- so why do we keep setting the locks back in place? We claim our sin as our identity, we tattoo it on our arms (or on our foreheads) we announce it with pride, yet it is what is killing us, it is holding us back, tying us down, and making us defeated. Those sins are nailed to the cross, stop tearing them off and sticking them back on yourself, you deserve more, you deserve better. You are loved so much more by Jesus who says to cast your sins aside than you will ever be by the devil who says to keep your sins and to wear them proudly, in fact mr. Do what makes you happy not what the Bible tells you to, doesn’t love you at all. The devil hates you. That’s why he encourages your sins. Jesus loves you. That’s why He tells you to leave your sins behind. Jesus set you free. So be free. Stop being a slave to the flesh. Be a redeemed, set free, undefeated, friend of God. For He called you by name.