"5 We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:5 NLT
What's keeping you from truly knowing your God? Is it pride? Is it distrust? Is it past hurts or hangups? Fear? Seriously, have you ever just sat and thought about it? What is keeping you from the only one true good thing that you can always--and I mean always--depend on?
If you would only allow yourself a moment to truly see your God the way He wants you to see Him--it would be worth it's weight in gold. "Just wait a minute!" you may be saying. "Only a moment? It surely would take more than a moment and I don't have the time or energy to spare!"
I have to ask you--do you NOT have a moment to spare? Are you happy with the life you are experiencing now, this very minute? When you wake up in the morning, are you dreading your day? Do you have any joy or happiness? Do you have what I call the "Eeyore" approach--"Oh well, it's going to be a bad day anyway." "Oh, well, if something is to go wrong today, it will be with me."--to life?
Excuse my bluntness, but knock it off! Your God is just a moment away and He wants to bless you so badly. He is just waiting for you to ask Him. You need to capture those negative thoughts, thoughts that say, "God doesn't really care. If He did, He would have taken care of this already." "I'm a lost cause." "It'll hurt too much." "I will have to give up too many of the things I love." "My life is too full now, I just don't have the time." These are just excuses. These are the lies of the wicked one who wants to keep you in bondage with him. He doesn't want you to be set free. He doesn't want you to have a live, warm, growing relationship with your Heavenly Father. No! He wants you to shrivel up and become dead--break it! In the power of God's holy and blessed Name--break the chains so that you can be set free to be the beautiful creation that God has already designed you to be.
"11 And the LORD will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail." Isaiah 58:11 ESV
Our God is not dead--He is ALIVE! He wants you to be alive IN & with Him. Are you ready for the journey of a lifetime? Just turn around and cry out to Him--He will be there in an INSTANT! And then just praise Him. You're going to have a blessed day!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday, January 16, 2012
Battle Lines
5 Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you.” Joshua 3:5 NIV
Consecrate. That's not a word you hear much today. But back in the days of Joshua, consecrate was used frequently, usually with reference to faith.
What does it mean? Well, what it means is to set aside. To make clean--holy. To purify.
So when Joshua told the people that, what did they do? They went home, took off their clothes and washed them and then bathed themselves. For you see, in those days, they didn't wash their clothes or themselves everyday. Water was hard to come by--a precious commodity. And what water they had was used for drinking. They may go weeks without washing. So, to go home and do that was a form of honoring. It was also a form of sacrifice. Because in order to do the washing, they would have had to give up their drinking water. And then they would abstain from everything that would take their focus--their thoughts--off of their God.
How this verse spoke to me today was this--I--we--need to consecrate ourselves every day to be ready for our Lord. Every day we should spiritually clean ourselves, set ourselves apart for the glory of God--to be ready for His return. We allow so much to contaminate our bodies, spirit, heart and mind. We need to set ourselves apart from this world. People should be able to look at us and even if they don't know us, know that we are different. Know that there is something about us that is not of this world. That it makes them want to come up to us and say, "Hey, whatever it is that you have, I want it. Please share it with me."
Joshua was instructing his people the above verse right before they were going to go into battle. We need to prepare ourselves to go into our battle. Every day. Every day we are battling for our consecration. For our purity. For our holiness. The world--Satan--loves to take it from us. But we can't let him. Time is too short. We don't know when Jesus is coming back, but we need to be ready. We need to be ready so when that day, that hour, comes, we can say, "Welcome Lord! Hallelujah! I've been waiting for this day forever!" Instead of saying, "Please Lord, not today. I've been dreading this day. I'm totally not ready."
Every day is an amazing day. Every day is a gift from the Lord. Use it and treat it as such. If someone gave you a gift, would you leave it out in a place that it would get dirty or broken, or forgotten? No, if you truly treasured it, you would place it somewhere where it would be protected, a place of honor. Doesn't God deserve the same?
Will there be some sacrifice in doing this? Yes, there will be. But my prayer for you today is that you assume the heart and spirit of the people of Joshua. That you will not let fear to take away your birthright. That no matter what, you will keep yourself holy and pure. That the fear of the Lord, is greater than the fear of this world.Our God is a mighty General! A fortress that no evil can EVER topple.
"13 Moses answered the people, 'Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.'” Exodus 14:13-14 NIV
Consecrate. That's not a word you hear much today. But back in the days of Joshua, consecrate was used frequently, usually with reference to faith.
What does it mean? Well, what it means is to set aside. To make clean--holy. To purify.
So when Joshua told the people that, what did they do? They went home, took off their clothes and washed them and then bathed themselves. For you see, in those days, they didn't wash their clothes or themselves everyday. Water was hard to come by--a precious commodity. And what water they had was used for drinking. They may go weeks without washing. So, to go home and do that was a form of honoring. It was also a form of sacrifice. Because in order to do the washing, they would have had to give up their drinking water. And then they would abstain from everything that would take their focus--their thoughts--off of their God.
How this verse spoke to me today was this--I--we--need to consecrate ourselves every day to be ready for our Lord. Every day we should spiritually clean ourselves, set ourselves apart for the glory of God--to be ready for His return. We allow so much to contaminate our bodies, spirit, heart and mind. We need to set ourselves apart from this world. People should be able to look at us and even if they don't know us, know that we are different. Know that there is something about us that is not of this world. That it makes them want to come up to us and say, "Hey, whatever it is that you have, I want it. Please share it with me."
Joshua was instructing his people the above verse right before they were going to go into battle. We need to prepare ourselves to go into our battle. Every day. Every day we are battling for our consecration. For our purity. For our holiness. The world--Satan--loves to take it from us. But we can't let him. Time is too short. We don't know when Jesus is coming back, but we need to be ready. We need to be ready so when that day, that hour, comes, we can say, "Welcome Lord! Hallelujah! I've been waiting for this day forever!" Instead of saying, "Please Lord, not today. I've been dreading this day. I'm totally not ready."
Every day is an amazing day. Every day is a gift from the Lord. Use it and treat it as such. If someone gave you a gift, would you leave it out in a place that it would get dirty or broken, or forgotten? No, if you truly treasured it, you would place it somewhere where it would be protected, a place of honor. Doesn't God deserve the same?
Will there be some sacrifice in doing this? Yes, there will be. But my prayer for you today is that you assume the heart and spirit of the people of Joshua. That you will not let fear to take away your birthright. That no matter what, you will keep yourself holy and pure. That the fear of the Lord, is greater than the fear of this world.Our God is a mighty General! A fortress that no evil can EVER topple.
"13 Moses answered the people, 'Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.'” Exodus 14:13-14 NIV
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Rope Tugging
"Nothing, you see, is impossible with God." Luke 1:37 MSG
Do you recognize this verse? I discovered it again this morning in my devotional time. The angel was sharing with Mary that she was chosen to be the mother of Jesus and of course she had voiced her reasons why that wasn't possible and then the angel told her that her cousin Elizabeth was in her sixth month of pregnancy even in her old age because, "Nothing, you see, is impossible with God."
I don't know about you, but I have read and heard that story so many times. And it is a beautiful story of stepping out and up in faith. But what hit me this morning though was the fact that with my God, nothing, NOTHING is impossible. Do you notice that the angel didn't say, "Some things, you see, are impossible with God," or "Hardly anything, you see, is impossible with God."? No, he stated that "NOTHING".
Wow! What a powerful God you, I serve. What a powerful God that loves you, me. What a powerful God that wants to have a relationship with you, me. What a powerful God that receives you, me so unconditionally.
So please have hope. Know that no matter what the circumstances are that you are in, your God is greater. No matter what lie Satan is telling you, your God is greater. No matter how long you've been under attack, your God is greater.
All you have to do is remember to cling to Him. Cling to His word. If you can visualize this, His word is like a really thick velvet rope, kinda like they use to have in the castles, that when the king or queen needed a servant, they would tug on this huge rope and the bell would ring somewhere and all of a sudden, there was the servant.
Well, when you need to have the Lord come to you--for praises or groanings--all you have to do is tug on that rope that connects you to Him, and He will come. He will come in person, or in Spirit, or with His holy Word, in visions, in dreams--oh, He has many forms. Just know He will come. Nothing is impossible. He is the God of the POSSIBLE. And then, remember, to PRAISE Him.
What's keeping you from tugging on the rope?
"1 Don't think that the Lord is too weak to save you or too deaf to hear your call for help!" Isaiah 59:1 GN
Do you recognize this verse? I discovered it again this morning in my devotional time. The angel was sharing with Mary that she was chosen to be the mother of Jesus and of course she had voiced her reasons why that wasn't possible and then the angel told her that her cousin Elizabeth was in her sixth month of pregnancy even in her old age because, "Nothing, you see, is impossible with God."
I don't know about you, but I have read and heard that story so many times. And it is a beautiful story of stepping out and up in faith. But what hit me this morning though was the fact that with my God, nothing, NOTHING is impossible. Do you notice that the angel didn't say, "Some things, you see, are impossible with God," or "Hardly anything, you see, is impossible with God."? No, he stated that "NOTHING".
Wow! What a powerful God you, I serve. What a powerful God that loves you, me. What a powerful God that wants to have a relationship with you, me. What a powerful God that receives you, me so unconditionally.
So please have hope. Know that no matter what the circumstances are that you are in, your God is greater. No matter what lie Satan is telling you, your God is greater. No matter how long you've been under attack, your God is greater.
All you have to do is remember to cling to Him. Cling to His word. If you can visualize this, His word is like a really thick velvet rope, kinda like they use to have in the castles, that when the king or queen needed a servant, they would tug on this huge rope and the bell would ring somewhere and all of a sudden, there was the servant.
Well, when you need to have the Lord come to you--for praises or groanings--all you have to do is tug on that rope that connects you to Him, and He will come. He will come in person, or in Spirit, or with His holy Word, in visions, in dreams--oh, He has many forms. Just know He will come. Nothing is impossible. He is the God of the POSSIBLE. And then, remember, to PRAISE Him.
What's keeping you from tugging on the rope?
"1 Don't think that the Lord is too weak to save you or too deaf to hear your call for help!" Isaiah 59:1 GN
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Messages
"I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me." John 17:20-21 NIV
This is an amazing prayer that Jesus is praying. What stuck out to me was the word "will". Jesus is praying for all believers and then says this:"I pray also for those that "will" believe in Me through their message..."
The "their" He is referring to at that moment was His apostles. Today it is us. He has commissioned us to be His apostles of today. So it is our message that will bring more believers to Him.
Our message isn't just our words, No, our message is a whole lot more. Our words are a very important part of that message, but if we just focus on the words, we only have an incomplete package. No, in order to have it complete, people would need to see His message act out in our life style, our actions and ourselves.
Jesus was very earnest in this prayer. If you read on, He prays, "May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." WOW! Did you pick up on a very important fact? Please, reread the verse. "...have loved them even as you have loved me." Jesus is telling us that His Father--our Father--has loved us--you, me--as much as He has loved Himself!
Isn't that mind boggling? With all my warts, short-comings, failures, my Heavenly Father loves me as much as He loves Jesus--my Brother that is beyond perfect? That is amazing! So humbling amazing!
How does that make you feel? What are your thoughts? Does that help you realize and receive the fact that your Father in Heaven loves you so unconditionally? That you can't earn His love? That He loves you ever so completely.
In case you need further proof, verse 24 states this:"Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world."
Jesus wants you! He wants you to be in Heaven with Him. And again,"because you loved me before the creation of the world." And what did we learn a couple of verses before? That our Heavenly Father loves us as much as He loves His Son. So now we learn that He has also loved us since the beginning of time.
Can it get any better? I think not.
"Praise be to the Lord,
For He showed His wonderful love to me." Psalm 31:20 NIV
This is an amazing prayer that Jesus is praying. What stuck out to me was the word "will". Jesus is praying for all believers and then says this:"I pray also for those that "will" believe in Me through their message..."
The "their" He is referring to at that moment was His apostles. Today it is us. He has commissioned us to be His apostles of today. So it is our message that will bring more believers to Him.
Our message isn't just our words, No, our message is a whole lot more. Our words are a very important part of that message, but if we just focus on the words, we only have an incomplete package. No, in order to have it complete, people would need to see His message act out in our life style, our actions and ourselves.
Jesus was very earnest in this prayer. If you read on, He prays, "May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." WOW! Did you pick up on a very important fact? Please, reread the verse. "...have loved them even as you have loved me." Jesus is telling us that His Father--our Father--has loved us--you, me--as much as He has loved Himself!
Isn't that mind boggling? With all my warts, short-comings, failures, my Heavenly Father loves me as much as He loves Jesus--my Brother that is beyond perfect? That is amazing! So humbling amazing!
How does that make you feel? What are your thoughts? Does that help you realize and receive the fact that your Father in Heaven loves you so unconditionally? That you can't earn His love? That He loves you ever so completely.
In case you need further proof, verse 24 states this:"Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world."
Jesus wants you! He wants you to be in Heaven with Him. And again,"because you loved me before the creation of the world." And what did we learn a couple of verses before? That our Heavenly Father loves us as much as He loves His Son. So now we learn that He has also loved us since the beginning of time.
Can it get any better? I think not.
"Praise be to the Lord,
For He showed His wonderful love to me." Psalm 31:20 NIV
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Shhhhhhhh!
13 But Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and see the LORD’s salvation He will provide for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you must be quiet.” Exodus 14:13-14 HCSB
"You must be quiet." Other versions say, "You must be still."
I don't know about you, but those four words--at times--are the hardest words to heed.
What do You mean Lord, be quiet, be still? Lord, You may not be aware of this fact, but You do need my help--no disrespectfulness intended. No, My child, I don't. But you don't understand Lord--I have to be in control! No one else understands this situation better than me and besides I can do it better than anyone! No, My child, you aren't, but I am. All I need for you to do is sit still and be quiet. Trust Me. I know you better than anyone,including yourself. For better or for worse, I will take care of you. I will go to bat for you. Don't you remember? Can you forget the cross? The manger? I've been from the beginning to the end for you. You need to STOP. You need to LET GO. You need to RELEASE.
Your Heavenly Father is your biggest ally. Do you realize that? Do you truly & completely realize that? Do you realize that at times, when we think or feel that we are helping, we are actually hindering? That while we are trying to do it all on our own relying upon our own strength and wisdom, that all we are truly doing is blocking Him from being the protector, Father and Savior that He wants and was designed to be?
When you find yourself in one of those moments, please be humble & wise enough to stop, step back, and pray for God's infinite wisdom to come and cover the situation. To give you the grace to just sit and be still. To trust in His love for you and to be able to listen to Him. It will be the best quiet time you could possibly have!
2 The LORD is my strength and my song;
He has become my salvation.
This is my God, and I will praise Him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt Him. Exodus 15:2 HCSB
"You must be quiet." Other versions say, "You must be still."
I don't know about you, but those four words--at times--are the hardest words to heed.
What do You mean Lord, be quiet, be still? Lord, You may not be aware of this fact, but You do need my help--no disrespectfulness intended. No, My child, I don't. But you don't understand Lord--I have to be in control! No one else understands this situation better than me and besides I can do it better than anyone! No, My child, you aren't, but I am. All I need for you to do is sit still and be quiet. Trust Me. I know you better than anyone,including yourself. For better or for worse, I will take care of you. I will go to bat for you. Don't you remember? Can you forget the cross? The manger? I've been from the beginning to the end for you. You need to STOP. You need to LET GO. You need to RELEASE.
Your Heavenly Father is your biggest ally. Do you realize that? Do you truly & completely realize that? Do you realize that at times, when we think or feel that we are helping, we are actually hindering? That while we are trying to do it all on our own relying upon our own strength and wisdom, that all we are truly doing is blocking Him from being the protector, Father and Savior that He wants and was designed to be?
When you find yourself in one of those moments, please be humble & wise enough to stop, step back, and pray for God's infinite wisdom to come and cover the situation. To give you the grace to just sit and be still. To trust in His love for you and to be able to listen to Him. It will be the best quiet time you could possibly have!
2 The LORD is my strength and my song;
He has become my salvation.
This is my God, and I will praise Him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt Him. Exodus 15:2 HCSB
Monday, December 19, 2011
Busy, Busy, Busy
"7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." Luke 2:7 NKJV
Busy, busy, busy! We are always so busy! And then they add Christmas to the list! The nerve! Can you believe it? What do they expect from me? After all, I'm only one person! I can't wait for Christmas to be over!
Is that you? Do you hear yourself saying those things? Or think them? If so--how sad. How terribly sad.
This should be the one of the most awesomeness times of the year. You are experiencing the beginning of a miracle. Oh, there are so many miracles in the Christmas story--too many to name now.
Just the fact that Jesus came to Earth in the form of a little baby, for you. Just for you. Unlike many babies, He knew when He was going to die and how. He knew that it would not be a pleasant life's journey. Oh, there would be a moment here and there--friendships made along the way, beautiful sunrises and glorious sunsets, close spiritual moments with His Father and angels along the way. But mixed in--the knowledge of never being really accepted, being homesick for home, being misjudged. Yet knowing all of this, He came anyway. For you. For me.
Who has made Christmas the busy, tense time of year? Was it Jesus? Was it God? The Holy Spirit? No. It was us--mankind.
Let's not take away from Him what He's so richly entitled to--to be the first and foremost in our thoughts and lives. Let's not be like the inn--too full to let Him be there. Let's pray for all the clutter, all the busyness, to go to the back of your mind. This leaves room for your Lord to be in the front. For your first thoughts to be from Him and about Him. So that He has room to speak with you. To guide you.
During this last six days before Christmas Day, seek His face. Look for it everywhere and in every place. Let His presence bring order to your thoughts, feelings and life. In doing this, you are insured to having His infusing Peace enter your entire being.
And pray. Pray that if you have lost that joyful, expecting a wondrous moment feeling that only Christmas can bring, to have Him to please bring it back. And then receive it.
Have a CHRISTmas kind of day today!
"10 Then the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.'" Luke 2:10-11 NKJV
Busy, busy, busy! We are always so busy! And then they add Christmas to the list! The nerve! Can you believe it? What do they expect from me? After all, I'm only one person! I can't wait for Christmas to be over!
Is that you? Do you hear yourself saying those things? Or think them? If so--how sad. How terribly sad.
This should be the one of the most awesomeness times of the year. You are experiencing the beginning of a miracle. Oh, there are so many miracles in the Christmas story--too many to name now.
Just the fact that Jesus came to Earth in the form of a little baby, for you. Just for you. Unlike many babies, He knew when He was going to die and how. He knew that it would not be a pleasant life's journey. Oh, there would be a moment here and there--friendships made along the way, beautiful sunrises and glorious sunsets, close spiritual moments with His Father and angels along the way. But mixed in--the knowledge of never being really accepted, being homesick for home, being misjudged. Yet knowing all of this, He came anyway. For you. For me.
Who has made Christmas the busy, tense time of year? Was it Jesus? Was it God? The Holy Spirit? No. It was us--mankind.
Let's not take away from Him what He's so richly entitled to--to be the first and foremost in our thoughts and lives. Let's not be like the inn--too full to let Him be there. Let's pray for all the clutter, all the busyness, to go to the back of your mind. This leaves room for your Lord to be in the front. For your first thoughts to be from Him and about Him. So that He has room to speak with you. To guide you.
During this last six days before Christmas Day, seek His face. Look for it everywhere and in every place. Let His presence bring order to your thoughts, feelings and life. In doing this, you are insured to having His infusing Peace enter your entire being.
And pray. Pray that if you have lost that joyful, expecting a wondrous moment feeling that only Christmas can bring, to have Him to please bring it back. And then receive it.
Have a CHRISTmas kind of day today!
"10 Then the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.'" Luke 2:10-11 NKJV
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Who's in Charge?
" 26 'Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars,
Stretching his wings toward the south?
27 Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up
And makes his nest on high?
28 On the cliff he dwells and lodges,
Upon the rocky crag, an inaccessible place.'" Job 39:26-29 NASB
God spoke these words to Job when he was in the midst of the storm. He, the Lord, was questioning Job. In essence, He was reminding Job who was God. Could Job speak to the hawk, telling him to spread his wings? Could Job control the eagle? No. Only Job's Lord could do that.
And then to me, it spoke of the power of my God. My God is the only God of all the Gods that has the power to rule the whole world. From the Heavens and above, to the depths of the land and the oceans below. My God is the only one that puts the hope of forever into my soul. My God is the only God that is strong enough and loves me enough to protect me--to put me upon that rocky crag, an inaccessible place, safe from my enemies.
As you go into this last week of this Christmas Season, let's focus of what should be the main gift we could give each other and that the Father yearns to give you--the gift of HOPE. I am not referring to the weak, wishing hope that the world wants to give us. No, we need to grasp the strong, mighty HOPE--the HOPE that means Faith. The HOPE that comes from the Father, Son & Holy Spirit. The HOPE--knowledge, faith, power--that gives your spirit light and strength in dark times.
On that night in Bethlehem--it was not just a baby that was born--it was HOPE.
"24 For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it." Romans 8:24-25 NASB
Stretching his wings toward the south?
27 Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up
And makes his nest on high?
28 On the cliff he dwells and lodges,
Upon the rocky crag, an inaccessible place.'" Job 39:26-29 NASB
God spoke these words to Job when he was in the midst of the storm. He, the Lord, was questioning Job. In essence, He was reminding Job who was God. Could Job speak to the hawk, telling him to spread his wings? Could Job control the eagle? No. Only Job's Lord could do that.
And then to me, it spoke of the power of my God. My God is the only God of all the Gods that has the power to rule the whole world. From the Heavens and above, to the depths of the land and the oceans below. My God is the only one that puts the hope of forever into my soul. My God is the only God that is strong enough and loves me enough to protect me--to put me upon that rocky crag, an inaccessible place, safe from my enemies.
As you go into this last week of this Christmas Season, let's focus of what should be the main gift we could give each other and that the Father yearns to give you--the gift of HOPE. I am not referring to the weak, wishing hope that the world wants to give us. No, we need to grasp the strong, mighty HOPE--the HOPE that means Faith. The HOPE that comes from the Father, Son & Holy Spirit. The HOPE--knowledge, faith, power--that gives your spirit light and strength in dark times.
On that night in Bethlehem--it was not just a baby that was born--it was HOPE.
"24 For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it." Romans 8:24-25 NASB
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