Author: jill autrey dorman

The burden of Merit…We can’t get religious enough. We can’t be good enough. We cannot do better for God. Jesus did it for us. 

/ jill autrey dorman / Leave a comment

Photo by cottonbro

“The fact is that sin is a bigger disaster than we think it is and grace is more amazing than we seem to be able to grasp that it is. No one who really understands what Scripture has to say about the comprehensive, every-aspect-of-your-personhood altering nature of sin would ever think that anyone could muster enough motivation and strength to rise to God’s standard of perfection. The thought that any fallen human being would be able to perform his or her way into acceptance with God has to be the most insane of all delusions. Yet we all tend to think that we are more righteous than we are, and when we think this, we have taken the first step to embracing the delusion that maybe we’re not so bad in God’s eyes after all.”   Paul Tripp

  1. You better pray everyday
  2. You better read your Bible every day.
  3. You better join the choir, teach Sunday school, be a missionary, or do some kind of ministry.
  4. You better tithe.
  5. You better be at Church every time the door was open. (This one was easy because my Dad was a Pastor.)

 So, if you are out there trying to earn your way into relationship with God it is a burden that you need not carry and when you realize this Truth it is actually a relief. Then you can start to actually do and say the things that please God by letting His Spirit live in you.

It can be a rough ride and not a pretty sight, but Jesus did not come and die for us because it was comfortable or pretty. He did it because he understood and still understands that it is HE who brings life from sin and death, and it is Jesus in you that will produce “good works and fruit.”

Your behavior will change because Jesus transforms our hearts and out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, the hands serve, and the love overflows. I know, because I spent years trying to be good enough and failed and then as I lay all of that down I began to change.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

The Burden of Anger

/ jill autrey dorman / Leave a comment

Nostrils flaring like a dirt pawing Bull

oxygen to a flame it boils in its cauldron.

Feeding the raging fire it utterly consumes

annihilation of all in its path Anger has taken root.

 

The burden of Anger like a ton of bricks on your back

As it scalds  your eyelids and your face is marred.

Anger screams , “you deserve justice and I will give it!”

 yet it is only you who is poisoned and you who goes black.

 

Photo by cottonbr

Three words…

/ jill autrey dorman / Leave a comment
Photo by Pixabay

…all civilizations, and ages both on earth and heaven hinges on them
…they profoundly transform those who hear, say, and believe them
…they annihilate shame, guilt, burden, loneliness,depression, and death
…they provide supernatural joy, freedom, and hope
…they expose and destroy all lies, suffering, and evil
…they hold all the mysteries of creation, time, and purpose
…they drag “lies” kicking and screaming into the light and banish darkness
…they wreak havoc on all evil authority and authenticity
…they redefine success and sincerity and sacrifice
…they are immediately understood and leave their mark when spoken
…they hold in their meaning all beginnings and endings
Three words…
“He is Risen”

These words of prayer…

/ jill autrey dorman / Leave a comment

The bowels of the earth are thundering.

There is no longer safety in the past. There never was.

These words of prayer are for God. I know they please Him.

“…on earth as it is in heaven…”

There is only strength to take one moment at a time.

“…give us this day our daily bread…

We have been caught unaware of fragility like a vapor in the mist.

My shield of Faith feels like a furnace because all the earth is on fire and no water to be found.

Yet I am keenly aware of the scent of flowers, grass, and dirt.

“… deliver us from evil…”

…for thine is the glory forever and ever…”

God does not slumber. Jesus is Risen. His Love never fails.

Amen.

Photo by Alex Conchillos

I am a Contender

/ jill autrey dorman / Leave a comment
Photo by Rodolfo Clix

  Many people assume that faith means having a heart full of peace and quiet confidence in the Lord. I must tell you that I have not had quiet confidence lately. I have had a sad and sorrowful few days. I have been exhausted in every way. I have not had beautiful prayers rolling off my tongue. I have had a restlessness within me. I have NOT hidden my suffering or weaknesses which is absolutely the thing most Christians are either taught to do or somehow believe they must ONLY reveal to the unconverted world some formula or portrait that the walk of Faith means you won’t suffer. This is not to say that there is no relationship between faith and peace. There most certainly is, however the more extraordinary fact is as believers we often find ourselves in the position of having to fight for dear life just to recall the basics of our faith. As Jude wrote, we must “contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to those who follow Christ.”

One author said, The fabric of things break down; there is a failure of all human resources. But it is out of this very failure that the Lord speaks. To deny that suffering of all kinds has not only a legitimate but a central place in Christianity is to deny the gospel. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” teaches Paul in Acts 14:22.

So friend, if you are feeling the strain of your journey. If you are grieving or sick or alone in your hardship I would like to encourage you as I have been encouraged through God’s Word that day after day I must take heart, put on the armor of righteousness, and face the enemy who would destroy my Faith if he could but he cannot because Jesus and Cross of Jesus which is the ultimate suffering is where the battle was fought and His resurrection is my strength and can be yours as well.

Quote credits: Mike Mason

What Shadows Our Steps

/ jill autrey dorman / Leave a comment

Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich

her grey eyes so clear and intelligent

the unforeseeable future shadows our steps

her heart bleeds because others cannot see

the vast dark storm that will soon split the world in two

her ears hear the masses humming along

so immersed in their own lives that they are blinded

because she is old they do not listen

in the name of God receive the Salvation of Jesus

while you still can!

Getting “likes”…

/ jill autrey dorman / Leave a comment
abstract board game bundle business

Photo by Pixabay

I am passionate about the following:  my relationship with Jesus Christ, my marriage and family, friends, my nursing career, and last but not least my writing and other arts.

It is the world of the internet and social media that has prompted me to examine the reports from the creators of Facebook and other mediums  in regards to the human need to be heard and apparently ” liked. ” These young men and women stated they they knew when they designed facebook, twitter, etc.,  they would be tapping into the actual chemical function of the human brain. There is an effect on our brains when we get likes on any media, selfies, blogs like this, twitter, instagram, and on it goes. I do not believe wanting to be liked is something to be ashamed of. It is in fact the core element in our being that connects us to God and others. However true self worth comes from our identity in Christ if we are his followers. This longing to be accepted wains as one ages so now days I am not so bothered by likes or dislikes…

To be validated about something I am passionate about, a gift or talent that I long to share is not wrong but I can see many have been manipulated by these companies which can be easily observed by the crazy things people will do to get “like”. 

Here is how I know if what I am doing is going down an ego rabbit hole. The Bible teaches us that the things from above, in other words Godly goodness is easy to recognize.  Godly wisdom, Godly gifts and “likes” are first pure (no other motive), peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full or mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere.  James 3:17