faith

How Can Empty Be Good?

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

“Very early that Sunday morning, the women made their way to the tomb, carrying the spices they had prepared. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Jesus’ mother Mary. Arriving at the tomb they discovered that the huge stone covering the entrance had been rolled aside, so they went in to look.
But the tomb was empty. The body of Jesus was gone!”
Luke 24:1-3 TPT

The Tomb was empty

Dictionary.com defines “EMPTY” as:

  • containing nothing
  • having none of the usual or appropriate content
  • vacant
  • unoccupied
  • deprived of contents, to discharge
  • without knowledge or sense; frivolous; foolish
  • without force, effect, or significance; hollow; meaningless
  • without knowledge or sense; frivolous; foolish

Synonyms for empty: dry, vacant, uninhabited, unfilled, unoccupied, hollow, deserted, devoid, desolate, bare, blank, barren, flat, worthless, meaningless, idle

So how can empty be a good thing?

A search of the Dictionary of Bible Themes regarding “Empty” or “Emptiness” returned the following:

“Scripture stresses the emptiness of human life without God, and notes that Jesus Christ chose to empty Himself in order to redeem humanity.

Human life can be empty Ruth 1:21; Ecclesiastes 1:2; 3:19; Ecclesiastes 12:8

Human attempts at fulfillment are empty

  • Work does not satisfy Isaiah 55:2 Psalms 127:1-2; Ecclesiastes 2:17; Ecclesiastes 6:7; Haggai 1:5-6
  • Pleasure does not last Job 20:5; Proverbs 21:17; Ecclesiastes 2:1-3, 25
  • Wealth does not satisfy Ecclesiastes 5:10; Ecclesiastes 4:7-8; Luke 12:15; 1Timothy 6:9-10
  • Material possessions are unreliable Luke 12:18-20; Job 8:13-15; Job 15:31; Psalms 49:10,12,16-17; Proverbs 11:4; Ecclesiastes 5:15; 1 Timothy 6:7
  • False religion cannot save Isaiah 57:13; Judges 10:14; Isaiah 44:17-18; Isaiah 45:20; Isaiah 46:7; Jermiah 11:12; Acts 14:15”

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What’s Your Price?

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

“Then one of the Twelve, the one called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?” And they set out for him thirty pieces of silver.”  Matthew 26:14-15

What amount of money, fame, prestige, influence, authority, or wealth would it take for you to sell out Jesus Christ? For Judas, it was 30 pieces of silver. What’s your price? Do you have a price?

We live in a society where we are so interconnected… we have the ability, in the blink of an eye, to post, snap, tweet, share, pin, link, blog, ping and tag any and every thought, idea, or belief to family, friends, colleagues and strangers around the world.

But what if our family, friends, colleagues, and strangers don’t agree with our thoughts, ideas, and beliefs? What then? At what point do you stop posting, snapping, tweeting, sharing, pinning, linking, blogging, pinging, and tagging? 

What if somebody completely disagrees with you and doesn’t like what you have to say? What if those strangers don’t like what you have to say? Do we change our stand, for the sake of harmony? Or do you stand? Are you willing to lose the approval of strangers for your thoughts, ideas, or beliefs? What about friends, family, and colleagues? Are you ready to maybe have your feelings hurt?

I imagine that most here are thinking… well if I say something uncomfortable and a stranger doesn’t like what I’m saying that I am not going to change what I stand for. I get that.

What about colleagues? What about your livelihood? What if what you spoke was “not allowed” or considered improper or politically incorrect or deemed intolerant by your employer? Are you okay to lose your income for what you believe? Will you continue to stand strong in your beliefs? Remember, we’re talking about making your living and your income. Continue reading →

Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

I bought a book a couple of months ago, “Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table” by Louie Giglio. I was intrigued by the title and the back cover description as it was in line with the book that I had recently published. https://titus345.com/my-books-2/Who-do-you-think-you-are/

From the back cover:
“You don’t have to let negative thoughts control your life. You don’t have to allow the enemy to influence your thinking. You have power through Jesus Christ to take control of your thoughts and emotions. Jesus invites you to a table the He has prepared for you – a table where the enemy is not invited.”
My original intent was to have this book as my summer study. I mean seriously ten chapters – 194 pages, just the right size for a summer study.
Oh my… was I wrong. This book has taken me through the summer and just into the fall to get through it all. It is so jam-packed with simple, yet such profound wisdom… so much needed in my life that I found myself reading and rereading the same pages… and some paragraphs. I found my thinking in these pages.
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Perspective

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

glass ball on wood clip art

The difference between a bad day and a good day is simply just a difference in perspective. We have the ability to change how we think, to alter our perspective, and so change how we feel and how we act on any given day, or in any particular circumstance.
Many of us spend so much of our lives trying to discover our purpose, why we are in this life.  Asking questions like: “Why am I here?” “What am I supposed to be doing?” “What does this life mean?” “What is the point of all of this?” “Is this all there is?” And then there are those questions that we already know the answers to… “Why can’t I just be happy?” “Why do I feel so empty?” “Why can’t I have it all my way?” “Who am I really?” “Why isn’t it all about me?”

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The Fruit of The Spirit

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23 BSB

Love – When I asked the Lord to reveal to me His Love, He said, “I already have, now go and love those who have been cast aside!” and He brought me to those in need of a simple touch of His love.

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Oranges Make Orange Juice

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

“For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” Matthew 12:34

“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.”
Matthew 12:35

“But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them.” Matthew 15:18

What do those verses have to do with Orange Juice? Let’s take a step back. If you were to take a whole, unpeeled orange and squeeze it with all your strength, what would the result be? Right… the result would be orange juice; it wouldn’t be tomato juice or apple juice. Because an orange, or any fruit for that matter, can only give up what it contains on the inside.

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It Is Finished

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

From the book: “Without this Cross, there is no tomb. No “He is risen.” No “firstborn from among the dead.” No Savior with the keys of death and hell dangling from His belt. No Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End. Before we can celebrate where He is not (i.e., the tomb) and why He is not there, we need to backtrack to where He’s been, how He got there, and what His presence there accomplished.”

This is the first book that I have read by this author. I found myself enthralled with his ability to paint such vivid scenes with his words. I found myself reading and re-reading the same day over and over again. I found myself in his plain straight-forward word pictures bringing to the fore that which is ugly, detestable, and foul. I found myself starting up at the Cross and simply asking myself, why would He do that… for me?

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A Train is Coming

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

Let’s say that you live in a fine house with your charming family. Let’s say that your house is adjacent to some train tracks. For many years, you and your charming family have been living life – working, playing, loving each other, enjoying the fruits of your hard work and the love of your family, friends, and neighbors. You’ve had some difficulties, but all-in-all life has been pretty good.

Now let’s say I hear there is trouble headed your way. A runaway train careening down the tracks at a hundred plus miles per hour is definitely going to derail and crash right through your content home and happy life.

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Kingdom Authority

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

Throughout this book, Pastor Tony Evans shows us about how satan’s priority is to derail the blessings and purpose of the believer. Satan and his demon can bring disruption to your life to such a level that you end up broken and beat down… unable to carry out the destiny God has in store for you.

Contrary to popular belief, satan cannot be defeated by thinking good thoughts and speaking positive affirmations. The only way to defeat satan and his disruptive power is through the authority we have through the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the Cross.

In this powerful book, Pastor Evans walks us through reclaiming what the enemy has stolen and fix what has broken in our lives and situations and learn to walk in Kingdom Authority.

This is a powerful book and definitely will go to my “read again” stack.

Disclosure: I received this book free via NetGalley. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html.