Don’t hold back today!

When we embrace God and His purpose wholeheartedly, it is easier to stay passionate about our faith, our spiritual disciplines and every other aspect of our spiritual walk. All our actions and activities flow from our love relationship with God, rather than from an obligation to fulfill a Christian requirement.

We possess a love for others, for church, for reading our Bibles, for praying and for giving and serving. We love what God loves and desire to do what He does; it is the natural outflow of our hearts.

Today, don’t hold anything back and choose to love Him wholeheartedly!

“But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.” (Numbers 14:24)

Advertisement

We are prophesying daily….

Did you know that you prophesy all the time? Prophesy is simply speaking the vision before you see it. It’s talking about your future.

Kids do this all the time. A little boy will say, “I’m going to be a fireman.” He imagines himself as a fireman. He uses your garden hose to pretend he is putting out fires. And when he grows up, he goes into training to be a fireman and begins his dream job. All of the years he spent growing up, he was prophesying his future until he began to live it out. Kids have no problem speaking something until they do it.

Then we become adults and we throw all that out, or we do it negatively.

The words you speak about your life might be positive and based on God’s promises, or they might not be. If you are saying things like, “I’m going to have a terrible year,” or “I’m always sick and tired,” those words don’t line up with what God’s Word says you can have.

Now, you might be thinking, “Well, it’s true! I am always sick and tired!” That may be your reality today, but it’s not your future. Jesus teaches us that we need to have confidence that through Him we will have what we don’t yet see (Hebrews 11:1, NIV). That’s the definition of faith, according to Him.

So when you speak positive things over your life like, “I am healthy. I am prosperous. I am full of joy and peace,” it’s not that you are being dishonest. You’re just speaking the language of the spirit. You are prophesying over your life, or in other words, you are telling your life what it is now because of Jesus.

God is searching for you!

“The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”—2 Chronicles 16:9

Throughout the Scriptures and throughout the history of the Christian church, we find that God has done unexpected things with unexpected people. He has done extraordinary things through ordinary people. The Bible tells us, “The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him” (2 Chronicles 16:9). This verse doesn’t say God is looking for strong men and women; it says God is looking for people whom He can be strong on behalf of. As I have often said, God is not looking for ability as much as He is looking for availability.

When God was looking for a man to lead the nation Israel, whom did He select? He chose a boy named David who was watching over a flock of sheep. When God wanted someone to lead an army to defeat the Midianites, the enemies of Israel, whom did God choose? He chose a cowardly man named Gideon who couldn’t even muster up the courage to show himself publicly.

It’s almost as though the Lord goes out of His way to choose someone and then raise up him or her. Then people will have to stand back and say, “This is the work of the Lord.”

One thing is clear in the Scriptures: The individuals God found to carry out His work didn’t necessarily look like they would amount to much. He chose people who, at first glance, didn’t even to appear to have what it took for the task at hand.

Would you be a person who would say, “Lord, I don’t have much to offer. I’m not a towering intellect. I’m not a great orator. I’m not very talented. But what I have, Lord, I offer to You”? Then you watch what God will do.

Who You Are in the Spirit?

Could you imagine waking up one morning not knowing your name or anything else about yourself? It is probably one of the most terrifying feelings since there is an enormous security in knowing who we are. The safety of knowing our identity is a major reason why people are so reluctant to change. They are secure in what they know and very fearful about what they do not know. However, there is a whole other side of you that God wants to reveal to you today!

Just as it is important to know who you are in the natural, it is just as crucial to know who you are in the spirit. When you came to Christ, your spirit was born again and a new creature was born. With that new birth came a need of knowledge, to reeducate your mind to understand who this new creature is so that the perfect will of God can manifest in the flesh.

God has made us more than conquerors through His Son, Jesus, but the benefits of that truth will never manifest until we convince ourselves of it. Unfortunately, most Christians don’t know the wealth waiting for them in the riches found through our Heavenly Father; and that’s exactly how the devil wants to keep it. His goal is to make us stay in ignorance of who we truly are in Jesus to stop us from attaining the rights and freedom that we have as sons and daughters of the King of kings!

Romans 12:2 says it this way, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Paul didn’t pray that we would receive something new from God, but so that we would renew our minds and to make manifest what we ALREADY have! God did not change us only in principle at the new birth, but we are now, in our spirits, a totally new creation. Are you ready to attain this knowledge and take the first step of faith towards what God has already provided for you?

No more excuses!!

Do you ever see yourself as the man at the pool of Bethesda giving excuses for while your breakthrough hasn’t come? Blaming others for what you don’t have? Giving all the reasons why you can’t get what you need? Now think about what Jesus told that man. My personal opinion is that Jesus was trying to tell him that his excuses and his reasons and his blaming others is the reason that he is not healed yet then he proceeded to tell him how he can be healed. I believe when he said these words..”pick up your mat and walk” that he meant pick up your cross and walk which is whatever is in front of you. You pick up that mat and go on!!! Remember God is with you and he will never leave you or forsake you. You are an overcomer! You’re a warrior, a child of God and there is nothing impossible with God, SO quit giving excuses today! Know that God is aware of “your mat” (your need) and He is working. Our job is to trust him and to keep walking!

God Restores…

My friends let me remind you today that God knows where you have been, what you have been through, and where you are now. He knows what your flaws are and loves you in spite of your imperfections. His tender love is far-reaching and complete. Your past sins do not define you. Your painful scars do not define you. Your present sufferings do not define you. They are just shards of brokenness that God will use to lovingly refine your beauty. The transformation from broken into beautiful is neither easy nor instantaneous. It demands a yielded heart and can be quite painful, but it comes with great reward. God will need your broken pieces—your scars, shame, insecurities, disappointments, betrayals, and failures.

Do you have some of those? Are they tucked away in a safe, do-not-enter part of your heart? You might find it hard to hand over hurts. I get that. It’s hard for all us too. But difficult as it may be, it’s time to hand them over and let our masterful Lord create a stunning work of beauty in you and He’s going to need all of your broken pieces to complete the restoration. Let Him have it all now!

Here I am to worship….

John 4:24~ God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.

The more we know about God, the more we appreciate Him. The more we appreciate, the deeper our worship. The deeper our worship, the more God is glorified.

This melding of spirit and truth in worship is best summed up by Jonathan Edwards, the 18th century American pastor and theologian. He said: “I should think myself in the way of my duty to raise the affections [emotions] of my hearers as high as possibly I can, provided that they are affected with nothing but truth.” Edwards recognized that truth and only truth can properly influence the emotions in a way that brings honor to God. The truth of God, being of infinite value, is worthy of infinite passion.

Faithful

I know as followers of Christ it can be frustrating to not hear a clear word from the Lord, especially in times of distress. We call and seemingly there is no immediate reply. How do we respond when, amidst deep discouragement, we don’t receive the instant divine feedback we’ve been conditioned by our culture to expect? At times like these, it’s helpful to remember a simple but powerful fact that God is with us always. Always. (Matthew 28:20) If you are attempting to serve Him faithfully and fully in faith, He is pleased with you, even if you see no immediate results and have no earthly reason for confidence (Hebrews 13:16) We are “sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1) because we place our trust in God, who has demonstrated His trustworthiness based on His divine character.

We must be patient and trust that God is in control. In the meantime we have God’s word, the Bible, to instruct and enlighten us as much as God chooses to reveal. We may not see the dark cloud’s silver lining, but if we are following God faithfully, we should harbor no guilt or fear. Instead be confident in the wisdom and love of our Lord, whose loving sacrifice of His Son cleanses us of all sin and fills us with His Holy Spirit, full of mercy and grace.

Show me the path…

“Show me the right path O, Lord, point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me.” ~ Psalm 25:4-5

I love how David writes show me the right path. First off he is saying show me the right path God. What he is saying is when we need guidance in our lives we should say God show me the right path in how I should approach this. Too often we we want to take our approach to how we should handle a situation and then want God to fix our mess. Doesn’t that just seem a little backwards? Now granted we may get in situations and need His help, but first and foremost we need to be seeking His guidance, His directions, and as David wrote show me the right path O Lord. Once again my brothers and sisters be encouraged and seek God for His guidance.

Next David continues with teach me. It is not enough that we know His ways, but that He instructs us. How does He do that? He instructs us by His Word. Friends God is our schoolmaster. He teaches us daily and we need to be glad to learn daily. We must realize that we don’t ever get to a point where we have it figured out and can say we can walk on our own. Instead we need to know that everyday we depend on God to help us get through by leading us. As you can see the end of verse 4 and the beginning of verse 5 link together. They link together in that how He leads us and teaches us is in His truth which is His Word.

Friends we can’t rely on our mind or our heart to guide us. One reason is our heart is deceitful above all things (Jeremiah 17:9). We can’t rely on our mind to lead for there is a way that seems right to man and that leads to death (Proverbs 14:12). So it is quite obvious we must be lead by God’s Word and use His Word to lead our hearts and minds as well.

As Christians we must totally rely on God to guide us. For this guidance we need to be lead by His Word which is the truth just as David wrote lead me in your truth. Friends when you are approaching big decisions seek God’s face and if it takes all day for a response wait. Don’t just give God 5 minutes or a few seconds, wait till you hear from God. Just as David wrote He is the one who gave us our salvation and why is it we can’t wait? Why can’t we just wait to hear from Him? Shouldn’t waiting on a response from God be important to us and vital as the food we eat? As it is written man can not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from God. ~Deuteronomy 8:3

Are you a thermometer or a thermostat?

Have noticed yourself and your mood and feelings change depending on the person or people that you are around. If someone who is negative all the time and you are around them consistently, then it can affect your mood and feelings. That’s what a thermometer does!

But a thermostat Sets the Tone for those around it! I want to be an inspiration and shine Jesus’ light into the darkness in order that many will be able to find their way out. To help bring God’s children home to Him!

Do you want to be a thermometer or a thermostat?

Be a Thermostat! Shine Your light, His love to everyone God places on your path each day! You never know what battles others are fighting so Be Kind, Keep Shining and Set the Tone everywhere you go!

God bless you! Stay at the feet of Jesus!

Are you a thermometer or a thermostat?