Finding Confidence in Christ - Encouraging, empowering and inspiring women to trust God and embrace their identity in Christ
Faith

How to set goals God will bless

Kelly Kirby Worley
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Kelly Kirby Worley
Hi, my name is Kelly. I am an artist, writer & Jesus girl with a passion for helping others discover and embrace their identity, value and confidence in Christ.
Kelly Kirby Worley
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godly goal setting

Happy New Year, friends! I’m curious to know how if you have a specific routine or goal-setting process you follow at the beginning of each new year. When I worked in the corporate world, my superiors typically set goals, and it was my job to implement a step-by-step plan to ensure that I met those goals. Being a performance-based overachiever, I never settled for less than exceeding, not just achieving my boss’ expectations. I wish I could say the same is true for my writing career.

I love to write about the things God teaches me as I read and study Scripture. Rather than taking my writing seriously, I make the mistake of treating it like a hobby, but I’m determined to do things differently this year.

Goal setting is a spiritual responsibility

While studying the Scriptures recently, the Lord reminded me that goal setting is more than a method to help us achieve our dreams for the future; it’s a spiritual responsibility for every believer in Christ. First, in Matthew 25, where Jesus uses the parable of the talents to emphasize faithful stewardship and the tragedy of wasted opportunity. Then again, in 1 Timothy 4 where the apostle Paul stresses the responsibility that accompanies spiritual gifting.

Why is goal setting important to changing my life?

I always begin the year with fresh vigor and good intentions, but my lack of follow-through in setting SMART goals is the primary reason I’ve had few accomplishments to celebrate in my 10-year career as a writer.

Maybe you, too, are finding it difficult to make plans for the future while sitting in the uncertainty of our current circumstances. But without clear goals, we’re just coasting through life, reacting rather than living.

Since this is an area of weakness for me, I fasted from social media during the last 40 days of 2020 to eliminate distractions and reserve that time as a season of infilling and direction from the Lord. I learned the Bible has a lot to say about goal-setting. Today I’ll share three biblical reasons why goal setting is essential to changing lives.

1) Goals are statements of faith (Matt 9:29)
2) Goals focus my energy (1 Cor. 9:26 NCV)
3) Goals build my character. (Phil 3:12 TEV)

Godly goal setting begins with prayer

Every person is born with a God-ordained, predestined purpose that goes beyond our natural skills and abilities. When we successfully fulfill that purpose, we make a positive difference in the world and help grow God’s Kingdom. (Eph 2:10) As a woman who loves Jesus, I won’t settle for less than pursuing His goals for my life, and neither should you.

The first step in the believers’ goal-setting process is to pray; ask for God’s help to identify, set, and accomplish His writing plans for me in 2021. I want to be a good steward for Jesus and do what I can to make this world a better place. Setting goals in the early stages of our writing career will help us achieve them faster and more often than those who fail to take the processing Pray-oritizing and pursuing God’s goals for our lives seriously. So I’m taking a step of faith this morning and starting the new year with a prayer, asking for God’s help, and I invite you to join me:

Father, my heart desires to please You, to lead the people I know and love to You so they can see and experience the depth of Your love and amazing grace. I cannot do what You’re calling me to do without Your help, so I’m following Your instructions that say if I lack wisdom, I can ask You, and You will give it generously without finding fault. (James 1:5) Your Word promises that You’ll teach me, show me how to go, and counsel me with Your loving eye on me, and I’m trusting you to do just that. Thank You, Father, than you never call us to do anything You haven’t already equipped us to accomplish through Your strength. In the mighty and precious name of Jesus, Amen.

How do I know my goals are worthy of God’s blessing?

2 Chronicles says that the Lord strongly supports those whose hearts are completely his.  So let me ask you: How important is it to you that the Lord strongly support what you are doing? If it is important, then your heart must be completely his. When you embrace what is important to him, you bring your heart into alignment with his. When your heart is completely his, you are blessable.

What kind of goal does God bless?
  1. Will this goal honor God? (1 Cor 10:31 CEV; 2 Cor 5:9 NIV)
  2. Is this goal motivated by love? (1 Cor 16:14 NLT; 1 Cor 14:1 NLT)
  3. Will this goal require depending on God? (Proverbs 16:9 MSG)

To illustrate the process, I’ll share one of my goals for 2021, to write one new blog post each week with all content themes cohesive across my social media platforms.

I know this goal will honor God because the content I write and share brings the good news of the Gospel to others.

The motivation for my goal is a yearning for the people I know and love to come to know and love my Jesus

I can’t achieve this goal without God’s help because I need His spirit to empower me. (Zech 4:6 NCV); His Word to guide me (Joshua 1:8); and the wisdom, support, and resources of other believers.

Friends, the Bible tells us that obedience ALWAYS leads to blessing. As we make our plans for 2021, let’s take the time to ensure they are in alignment with God’s will and worthy of His blessing and favor.

Sending peace, love, and prayers to all!

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Faith

Delight is found through intimacy with Jesus

Kelly Kirby Worley
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Kelly Kirby Worley
Hi, my name is Kelly. I am an artist, writer & Jesus girl with a passion for helping others discover and embrace their identity, value and confidence in Christ.
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delight in intimacy with JesusIf you, like me, have a natural inclination to steer towards a performance-based mentality, you’ll find freedom in David’s divinely inspired words that teach us what God requires of us; He – not us, works in our inner man.

Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. (Psalm 51:6 ESV)

Psalm 51 is a song of deep repentance and sorrow written by King David after his affair with Bathsheba and his murder of Uriah, her husband. Initially, King David was oblivious to the grievousness of his sin. But when the prophet Nathan confronts David, he is overcome with grief and remorse over sinning against the Lord. (2 Samuel 12)

In the first section of verse 6, “you delight in truth in the inner being,” David reveals his understanding that God gladly forgives when repentance is sincere and heartfelt. The Hebrew word used here can mean “something that is covered over, hidden, or concealed.” So we could paraphrase this as “You desire light in my darkness” or “You want truth to expose my secrets.”

In the second part of this verse, “…you teach me wisdom in the secret heart,” David’s asking for something else. He is asking God to give him a radical transformation of his inner self so that he might have wisdom and adopt God’s perspective on all things; he deeply desires spiritual insight to know better in the future.

One of the reasons this verse resonates with me is that it speaks of the Lord taking delight in his children during our times alone with Him. Sometimes there are seasons where for whatever reason, we disengage from the regular day-to-day routine, and we’re spending lots of alone time with God. It’s here, in the fields of isolation, God most often reveals things we’ve stuffed down deep – false beliefs we hold but don’t recognize. Until those false beliefs are brought to the surface and dispelled with God’s truth, they’ll keep us from living in the freedom that is ours in Christ. We see this illustrated with King David, but without the backstory from 2 Samuel 12, we’d miss the fact that it took God’s wisdom, delivered by a prophet, to open David’s eyes to the sins he had committed.

Though we don’t have a personal prophet to convict us when we’ve done wrong, we do have the power and ability of God’s Word and the indwelling Holy Spirit. God works traditionally, enlightening our minds as we read the Scriptures, but He also, as David is expressing, through His grace and goodwill towards us, works in us to make the changes that only He can desires.

God doesn’t want us to obey Him just because He says so. Relationship with His children is why he made us, and it’s His desire for us to have obedience that stems from integrity and revelation knowledge of His will. That’s why it is critical to spend quality time alone with God and His Word. Before we can experience the supernatural power and ability of God’s Word at work in our lives, we have to put it inside of us so that it saturates our thoughts and serves as the foundation for the words we speak and the actions we take.

Friend, I want you to know that spending time alone with the Lord can be the absolute, greatest delight of your life! Further, it’s THE determining factor in your level of joy and peace, especially in seasons of uncertainty. Trust me on this, had it not been for the cultivated habit of spending the first part of every day with God and His Word, I’d never have survived 2020 with my faith intact. So I encourage you, seek Him, seek His face because that’s the only place you’ll find true delight!

Sending peace, love, and prayers to all!kelly kirby worley signature

 

 

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Faith

Delight, God’s encouraging word for steadfast faith in 2020

Kelly Kirby Worley
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Kelly Kirby Worley
Hi, my name is Kelly. I am an artist, writer & Jesus girl with a passion for helping others discover and embrace their identity, value and confidence in Christ.
Kelly Kirby Worley
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Delight in Gods Word

Delight in Gods Word

Delight Word for 2020

Do you ask the Lord to give you a specific word to focus on for the new year? I started this practice four years ago, and so far, God’s fingerprints on His chosen word and its significance in my life is undeniable. Right now, I’m in the praying and waiting stage for God’s selection for 2021, and the hints He’s giving me have piqued my excitement to discover His plans for the coming new year!

While I’m waiting on the Lord’s confirmation, I’d love to share how, delight, God’s chosen word for 2020 has divinely played out over the last twelve months. Delight made sense to me from the get-go since spending time with Him and His Word was already my favorite thing to do. But with the unprecedented challenges of 2020 now exposed, I believe God was giving me a heart check and a warning to keep Him front and center in my life.

While we could never have imagined the drastic lifestyle changes, isolation, and fear that would soon grip our country and it’s people, God knew. As I wrestle to find justification for the incredible losses we continue to face, the Holy Spirit reminds me of who God is. He’s so much more than a creator or deity; He’s our Father, who, like us, loves His children but on a much grander scale than we could ever imagine. Therefore, He’d never send us on a harrowing journey without first supplying us with everything we need to make it through to the other side.

Before proceeding, I’ll admit the obvious; God didn’t hand out COVID vaccines or infuse divine immunity into our veins before the epidemic began. But He did and still does, offer us an opportunity to live and abide in Him through our relationship with His Son and the unstoppable power of His written and revealed Word.

My mind is overactive, which means I have to pay attention and be selective with the thoughts I allow to reside there. On my own, I’d be a lost cause, so once or twice a year, I buy a spiral-bound set of index cards to record Scriptures that address my personal, professional, or relational challenges prone to distract me from God’s path. Three different scriptures on my index cards for 2019 focused on the importance of seeking delight in the Lord and trusting Him to respond in favor:

  • Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart (Psalms 37:4 ESV),
  • The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him, (Psalm 37:23 NIV), and
  • You lead me in the path of life; I experience absolute joy in your presence; you always give me sheer delight. (Psalm 16:11 NET)

In the OT, the Hebrew terms most commonly used for delight are hepes, which means to bend or incline towards an object or person, and rasa, which means to take pleasure in or delight. I need no further evidence to support God’s well-documented point; our proximity to the Lord is the determining factor in our measure of pleasure in life.

Don’t get me wrong; I yearn for group worship, spending time with friends, family, and attending outdoor concerts with my husband. However, what I most enjoy has not and could never be taken away, and that is the grace gift of intimacy with our heavenly Father. When we draw near Him by reading, receiving, and obeying his Word, we’re divinely aligned to experience His peace, His joy, and ultimate delight!

Friend, if you’re struggling with loss, loneliness, fear, anxiety, or any other ailment robbing you of the abundant joy the Lord desires for you, hear me when I say, that is not His will for you. While Jesus affirms, we will have trouble in this life; He will never guide us to a place where He will not provide for us. So seek His presence as you pray and ponder over His Word, and He will come through for you!

Sending peace, love, and prayers to all.kelly kirby worley signature

 

 

 

Faith

Dare to believe Jesus

Kelly Kirby Worley
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Kelly Kirby Worley
Hi, my name is Kelly. I am an artist, writer & Jesus girl with a passion for helping others discover and embrace their identity, value and confidence in Christ.
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Dare to believe JesusEvery day began the same way; on my knees with my face to the floor, I wept and prayed, “Jesus, I need you to come and get me. You’ve softened my heart too much; I can’t live in a world where people who say they love you could be so careless and cruel.”

Jesus didn’t take away my pain or remove me from my circumstances. Instead, He told me to seek solace in my Bible and dared me to believe He would do what His Word promises He will do.

Oh, sweet friend, there are no words to express how much I cherish this bittersweet season in retrospect. When I think about the time spent snuggled up with Jesus, I realize how few people experience this kind of intimacy with Him because it often comes at high cost and sacrifice.

In Matthew 16, Jesus explains to His disciples, if any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. (Matt 16:24-26 NLT)

As I let go and yielded all my desires to Him, He poured out His love demolishing my fears of abandonment and rejection and rebuilt my life in Jesus, the only true foundation. Today, I unequivocally declare, I am a different person, a new person, a much better person all because God held my hand and led me through the refining fire of adversity. And you know what, I’d do it again in a heartbeat because nothing in this world is better than intimacy with Jesus.

I can’t help but wonder who might be walking a similar path today, desperate to know there’s hope beyond her circumstances. So, sweet sister in Christ, I’d like to pray for you by name if you comment below. Otherwise, I trust the Lord to deliver.

Dear Father, thank you that you never leave me alone and abandoned to my circumstances. Thank You that You are with me right now, even though I can’t feel you; I believe You are working all things out for my good because You love me. With my mind fixed on You, I ask for Your perfect peace, trusting You and daring to believe the fulfillment of Your promises has already begun. In the mighty and precious name of Jesus, I pray, Amen

Faith

Love, not legalism, is the way to Jesus’ heart
Jesus' NT teaching is crystal clear; love, not legalism, is the way to His heart and the freedom that is ours in Christ.
Kelly Kirby Worley
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Kelly Kirby Worley
Hi, my name is Kelly. I am an artist, writer & Jesus girl with a passion for helping others discover and embrace their identity, value and confidence in Christ.
Kelly Kirby Worley
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I’m a rule follower, pure and simple. Like every imperfect human, I step outside of the lines, but my temporary disobedience dissipates in the face of fear that I might get caught, or worse, punished. While this mentality is okay in general, it is contrary to Jesus’ instruction for obedience to God’s laws.

Legalism

Growing up in a small-town Baptist church, everything I learned about God scared me. I pictured a wise-old man with a long grey beard and stern face always watching and ready to pounce when I couldn’t resist doing a “do-not-do.” Instead of seeking a personal relationship with Jesus, my faith-walk existed of a never-ending, nerve-racking game of Step on the crack; you’ll break your mother’s back.

While I’ve grown beyond the childish games, my thinking still sometimes veers off the course of Truth. But God is faithful in His promise to show us the right way to go. (Psl 32:8) While reading today’s lesson from, The Answers to Your Deepest Longings, an Online Bibles Study with P31 Ministries, He showed me something new and exciting that I’ve never seen before.

The command to “Remember to keep the Sabbath Holy” falls in an uncomfortable gray area for me. Instead of setting aside a whole day to worship God, I choose to begin every day with Him and His Word. Sometimes, when Sunday rolls around and I decide to do a simple household chore or spend time writing, a sense of guilt washes over me. Then a subconscious narrative takes place in my head where I try to justify my actions; it’s an uncomfortable battle of the mind that I rarely win.

God’s Word illuminates Truth

But this morning, the Lord led me to a verse that left me slack-jawed:
“Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.” (Col 2:16 ESV)

I’ve read this verse before, but I somehow missed Paul’s point: trading our freedom in Christ for human-made legalistic rules is useless because legalism does not have the power to save or restrain sin. (cf Gal 5:1)

I dig deeper into Jesus’ NT teachings and unearth 6 reasons why Christians are not required to keep the Sabbath Command:

  1. The Sabbath was a sign of the Mosaic covenant, but we are under the New Covenant (2 Cor 3; Heb 8)
  2. there is no NT command to keep the Sabbath;
  3. the first command to keep the Sabbath was not until the time of Moses (Ex. 20:8);
  4. the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15) did not order Gentile believers to keep the Sabbath;
  5. Paul never cautioned Christians about breaking the Sabbath; and
  6. the NT explicitly teaches that Sabbath-keeping was not a requirement (Rom. 14:5; Gal. 4:10, 11; Col. 2:16, 17 )

Jesus’ message is crystal clear: Legalism and love cannot coexist. Like guardrails on a curvy mountain road, God provides boundaries not to rule over us, but to protect us.

Tears fill my eyes as the image of our loving Heavenly Father supersedes the cold, make-believe God that so many of us turn away from out of fear. God’s Word shed’s light on the lies we believe and sets us free from burdens He never meant for us to carry.

Sending peace, love, and prayers to all!

 

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