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28 Mar Blog

Posted at 10:53h in by Michelle Earney

Are you on Instagram? C’mon and do a little life-on-life with me!

Keep praying and thinking through your story, and

Keep praying and thinking through your story, and thank God for what he’s done for you (and continues to do) and for those who have come alongside you and impacted your story. And, ask him to show you how you can impact others! (Hint: Matthew 28:19-20).

I love y’all!
xo-P❤️

Read: “You’ll remember, friends, that when I first came to you to let you in on God’s sheer genius, I didn’t try to impress you with polished speeches and the latest philosophy. I deliberately kept it plain and simple: first Jesus and who he is; then Jesus and what he did—Jesus crucified. I was unsure of how to go about this, and felt totally inadequate—I was scared to death, if you want the truth of it—and so nothing I said could have impressed you or anyone else. But the Message came through anyway. God’s Spirit and God’s power did it, which made it clear that your life of faith is a response to God’s power, not to some fancy mental or emotional footwork by me or anyone else.” 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

“But in your hearts set Christ apart as holy and acknowledge Him as Lord. Always be ready to give a logical defense to anyone who asks you to account for the hope that is in you, but do it courteously and respectfully.” 1 Peter 3:15 (AMPC)

Thank you to all who have partnered with Life on L

Thank you to all who have partnered with Life on Life in our mission to help every woman know Jesus, love Jesus, and follow Jesus.  Today on North Texas Giving Day, this is the single largest day of giving to our ministry every year. We are so very grateful for you– for your friendship, your prayers, and your donations.

P.S. Did you know? Life on Life with Punky Tolson is under the covering of The Tolson Group, a discipleship ministry based in Dallas, Texas. When you give to The Tolson Group on North Texas Giving Day, you are giving to Life on Life with Punky Tolson, too!

I love y’all!
xo-P❤️

The most powerful form of witness is a simple, per

The most powerful form of witness is a simple, personal story of what Jesus has done in your life.

Take note that I didn’t say, “The most powerful witness is she who has attended the most Bible studies and knows the most about the Bible.”

No, it’s not about how much you know–although if you’ve been here a while you know how important I believe reading and studying your Bible is to your growth–rather, it’s about who you know (Jesus) and what he’s done for you.

👊You are the world’s greatest authority on the subject of what Jesus has done for you and how he’s changed your life. You alone.

👊You are uniquely gifted and equipped by God to impact your particular sphere of influence. Yep, you alone.

Don’t overthink this and don’t over complicate it. 1 Peter 3:14-16 is simply a call to action to be ready to share your story when the opportunity arises during a conversation with the people you already know. So, get ready! 👏

Think it through. Pray about your story. Ask God to show you things you may have forgotten. Maybe pick one or two memories and write them down to help organize your thoughts. And then ask God for opportunities to share what he’s done for you…and the courage to speak up when he gives them to you.

You can do this!

I love y’all!
xo-P❤️

Read: “But in your hearts set Christ apart as holy and acknowledge Him as Lord. Always be ready to give a logical defense to anyone who asks you to account for the hope that is in you, but do it courteously and respectfully.” 1 Peter 3:15 (AMPC)

It takes the devotion of a daily relationship wi

It takes the devotion of a daily relationship with Jesus to become “more than a conqueror” (Romans 8:37). Daily choosing to walk with him in His Truth; to hang in there with him no matter what. Daily surrendering to his leadership and Lordship over your life. Daily saying, “no” to the stubbornness and fears of your flesh, and “yes” to the faithfulness and awesomeness of your God whose name is above all names- even the name of whatever you’re battling.

❌ REMEMBER– this isn’t a legalistic, guilt-tripped kind of daily relationship. ❌

This is a prayer you pray in order to fall in love with Jesus. Ask him for his help! (And he will help you!) And then carve out time in your day. Maybe you read one verse and think on it through the day. Start small. Just start!

Stick 👏 with 👏 Him! 👏

Becoming “more than a conqueror” also takes living loved…Living in the knowledge of the love of Jesus, and living in the experience of the love of Jesus. “But you, beloved…keep yourselves in the love of God” (Jude 20:21). We’ve got to practice the mindset of being profusely loved by God by stating aloud His claims of unfailing love for us! It’s a very personal love. He died for YOU- not just us. Don’t doubt His love for *you.* It’s real. It’s a living and active love.

 He 👏 is 👏 crazy 👏 about 👏 YOU! 👏

And so am I!

I love y’all!
xo-P❤️

“Yes, but…“ is how most of us respond to Jes

“Yes, but…“ is how most of us respond to Jesus. We’ve got more pressing, urgent issues to attend to “first.“ That’s fine. Jesus isn’t going to write you off. But he knows that with that kind of response he cannot count on you.

“Yes, but… “ rarely, if ever, follows through in following Jesus. I’m not talking about salvation. I’m talking about true discipleship— The kind that requires instant action. Jesus isn’t asking us to bail on our family responsibilities. But the commands he gives us, just has he did these three men (in the passage below), reveal our true motives.

As one commentator wrote, “There is a cost to following Jesus. Each one of us must be ready to serve, even when it requires sacrifice.“ *

The church of Jesus Christ has become way too comfortable, way too sacrifice-averse. Too risk-averse.

How about you? Have you played it safe? Comfortable? Where is Jesus calling you to follow him that you keep flinching about. Keep responding “yes, I will, but… Just as soon as… If I can first just…”?

Following Jesus is not for the faint of heart. Hard words. Hard truth. Hard to live it. But Jesus is worth it.
He’s worth everything.

I love y’all!
xo P♥️

Luke 9:57-62
The Cost of Following Jesus

57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
59 He said to another man, “Follow me.”
But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”
62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

It takes patience to let God work it out…to ba

It takes patience to let God work it out…to battle the thing for you and through you, in His time and in is way. His affectionate and watchful care over you will bring you through as “more than a conqueror” (Romans 8:37). And the spoils of the battle will be a very great gain of peace, joy, rest, healing (in ways you’d never imagine), strength (beyond your human ability), and a bone-deep knowledge of the Lover of your soul (in ways you’d never have known otherwise).

Rest 👏 in 👏 Him! 👏

It also takes courage, my friend; a holy courage to let go of and lose the things that are of no great loss in this life. My heart may be broken, my body may be burned, bruised, cut, or even killed…but nothing can separate ME- my eternal life, soul, and spirit from the Love of God that is in Christ Jesus. God’s command is to “be strong and courageous” (Joshua 1:9)- for the Lord your God goes before you and has already fought this battle…and won! Power up your bravery because He’s got you covered. God is good, and He is very good at being God!

Take 👏 courage 👏 in 👏 Christ! 👏

I love y’all!
xo-P❤️

It takes faith to believe in the faithfulness of

It takes faith to believe in the faithfulness of God; to believe in the One who has made the promise to do what he says he will do. If you've been here for a while, you've heard me say this before: We will never trust whom we do not know.

So, get to know God! How? Believe him through his Word! If you want to know who God is, look at Jesus. Follow him. Cling to him. Rely on him. He is the only One who can do anything about everything that concerns you! He is more than able to accomplish it all and more than able to make you more than a conqueror! (Romans 8:37) And he will do it! Believe him! Trust him!

Get 👏 to 👏 know 👏 God! 👏

Truly, we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength (Philippians 4:13).

I love y’all!
xo-P ❤️

Don’t underestimate the power of loving God with

Don’t underestimate the power of loving God with all your heart, soul , mind, and strength (Matthew 22:37). I urge you to start now, and pray for the next 7 days to love God and to love His Word. There is nothing more important— because out of the overflow of that love your life will be transformed,
and you will impact
the lives of others
for Jesus Christ.

Give Him 7 days and
see what He will do!

I love y’all! xo - P♥️

Whatever your circumstances, whatever your battle

Whatever your circumstances, whatever your battle is today, God’s encouragement and promise to you is this: YOU are more than a conqueror!

❌Not just a warrior.
❌Not just a winner.
❌Not just a survivor.

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37 ESV)

You are “more than a conqueror!” It means that YOU and I get the overwhelming and complete victory. It means we do more than just survive the battle; WE TRIUMPH OVER IT. It means that the thing that was formed *against* you becomes the thing that works *for* you (Romans 8:28). Indeed, the very thing that was meant to take you down can be the very thing that sets you free. It means that there is more…so much MORE to this thing that you’re battling than meets your own eye.

But you’ll never get the overwhelming, more-than-a-conqueror victory by trying to figure it all out from your own perspective or battling it in your own strength. There’s only one way to become “more than a conqueror” and that’s the condition to the promise: “through Christ Jesus who loved us!”

YOU… are more than a conqueror, and the overwhelming victory is yours in Christ who loved you so much that He died for you! How can you be anything less, when you put your trust in the One who conquered the grave? With Him all things are possible, for those who believe (Mark 9:23).

More on this later this week...and in the meantime, don’t forget to remember that YOU are greatly and dearly loved by The King!

And I love y’all, too!
xo-P❤️

Are you offended right now? About anything? With a

Are you offended right now? About anything? With anyone? How do we know if we’re offended? Well, like a lot of things, living offended produces offensive fruit: bitterness, resentment, mean-spiritedness, anger, insecurity, retaliation, coldness, a critical spirit, an inner seething that starts to percolate at the mention of a person or event. Some of us have lived offended for so long that we don’t even realize that we’ve been carrying around the offense like it’s a pet rattle snake…even causing others to stumble by getting them to join in the offense nurturing with us.

So, what do we do if we’re offended, and how do we go forward living unoffended? Swipe through for what has worked (and is presently working) for me! ➡️

I love y’all!
xo-P❤️

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