Embracing Hope

God's plan is daily unfolding in each of our lives. We serve a good, good Father and He has a good plan for you. It really doesn't matter what may be transpiring in your life right now, you must trust that God has everything in control. Every situation we face works to develop, change and shape our character and build our faith. Each experience God pushes us to be confident in hope and place our trust in Him. You must remind yourself in the hard times that God only has His very best planned for you.

Sometimes, you may be at a place that you feel you've been asking God God to move in your behalf. Maybe you've been waiting for His promises and you have grown weary in the waiting. Romans 12:12 declares, "Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying." I encourage you today to hang on to hope that God will move in your circumstances, in your family, in your finances. 

God knows where you are. He understands your feelings and your frustrations.  We must stand in confident hope as we continue to lay our burdens at the feet of Christ. He is the answer and we can trust Him. "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28.

Positive Believer

I want to be a positive believer. You ask: it this really 'a thing'? Yes it is. It is very serious that many believers today that attend churches across the continents are living negative minded. However, I must point out that positive minds produce positive lives. Negative minds on the other hand, produce negative lives. 

There was a Roman solider in the New Testament whose servant was very sick. This soldier asked Jesus to heal him. It was very common for individuals to ask Jesus to pray for the sick and bring healing.  However, in this instance the Roman soldier confirmed his strong belief in Jesus that if He would just speak the word, his servant would be healed. In Matthew 8:8, the Word confirms what the soldier said, "The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed."

Jesus marveled at the soldier's faith and sent out His word to heal the servant. The soldier’s positive mindset coupled with his faith—brought positive results. He expected healing, and anticipated Jesus would do what He said. And that’s exactly what happened. 

Too often, believers cry out to Jesus to heal us, to change our circumstances, and deliver us from chaos, but we don’t fully expect the good things to happen. Instead we fail to trust and believe and we allow our minds to focus on the negative aspects. Did you know that doubt and unbelief war against our minds and steal our faith? We must not allow our minds to turn negative.

God’s Word is positive and uplifting. It is my responsibility to become the kind of believer who honors God with positive thoughts, a heart of faith and puts 'life' into daily action.

What Do You See

The Bible is clear that whatever our senses experience will affect our whole body and spirit. So what we experience with our senses actually affect our spirituality, our relation to God. What we see, read, and listen to can either negatively or positively affect how spiritual we are.

Knowing that light and darkness have no common denominator, no reason to share experiences, Matthew 6:22-24 teaches, "The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore, the light that is in you is in darkness, how great is that darkness! No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."

Many today try to serve God and still walk in darkness. God said these two have no fellowship with each other, it cannot be done. You have to make a decision to follow hard after God and be careful what your senses see, hear, and experience. Because the "lamp of the body is the eye", therefore what you see lights your path, and leads you in that path. If you choose to look at perversion in movies and internet entertainment then that is what will drive you and the path will not lead to God. If you choose to soak up music that is not uplifting to God, then your spirit will be driven by the world's view. If you read books and magazines that are not godly then those values will push you to darkness, not light.

We must beware and heed the warning of Scripture that says we choose the path we take by what we decide to "see". We direct our own lives, with our choices. Joshua declared, "Choose you this day who you will serve."

Born in Calling

Do you realize there is a calling on your life?  You have purpose. Often God calls out to us to walk in His ways. He desires to lead us and direct our choices.

God has actually birthed "calling" within us, yet sometimes we run the other direction. We flee the scene. We panic and chase other avenues of satisfaction and desire in our lives. Yet, God still calls. His calling is never-ending and sure.

Ephesians 1:18-19, "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints". God desires that we know how to walk before him in strength and confidence. His desire for you is that you would understand your rich inheritance in the Kingdom and the importance of your calling here on earth.

God's primary call to you is simply to follow Him and be faithful. As we walk after the heart of God and pursue God in obedience and maturity, he then fulfills his calling on our lives. He imparts His power to accomplish the calling placed within us before we were born.

It is imperative that we ponder that we are chosen and called of God to maintain a personal relationship with Him and practice faithfulness. As we grow closer to God, we hear His voice with clarity.

Your Protector

Do you realize that our Sovereign Lord watches over us at all times? He protects, guards and keeps us in every hour.  Often, when we are need we fail to place our trust in Him.  There are words to an old chorus that flow through my mind when I read Psalm 121:  "I will lift my eyes up to the hills where my help comes from, Maker of heaven and earth." 

Often, we rely on our own strength and capabilities, when we need to look to the mountains and realize that God is our help. We have become so independent and self driven that we sometimes forget to lean on God for He is our strength.  We walk empowered, yet fail to remember our empowerment comes from the Maker of heaven and earth.

If we can learn to depend on God again, we would conquer every foe that comes against us. Sometimes, we falter and fail.  But God promises in Psalm 121: 3-4, "He will not allow your foot to slip, your Protector will not slumber.  Indeed, the Protector does not slumber or sleep."

Start today and lean on God for clear answers to the troubling circumstances of your life. Speak to Him in a quiet place and share your intimate heart with Him. Then, let Him have control and lead you to a brighter tomorrow.  God is always watching over you and will not allow your foot to slip.

A Move of God

Do you really want a move of God? in your life, in your church, in your family, in this nation?

In the book of Acts, the Church met daily for prayer and the Word of God. They desired a powerful move of God and prayed often for it. And consequently, in Acts 2:46, "the Lord added to the Church daily". There is an outpouring of God's Spirit that awaits the cup of the Church, yet the Church today does not make itself available to the pouring in and the moving of the Spirit. It seems things have taken precedence over being full of the Spirit of God. Our priorities have become distorted.

The early Church gathered together with "purpose". They often had prayer meetings and believed God for mighty miracles. When they faced persecution, affliction, bondage, and imprisonment, the Church got themselves together with one heart and prayed for deliverance.
The early Church was a radical Church that trusted God for everything.

When the early Christians gathered they did not complain about how long the preaching was or about the rainy weather, but they were hungry for a move of the fullness of the Spirit of God. Scripture promises, "they who hunger and thirst for righteousness shall be filled". God stands ready to pour His Spirit on your life, your spouse, your children, your grandchildren and to a thousand generations--but you and I have to be hungry.

Grateful

God has Sovereignly watched over you and guarded your life. He has given you favor and He has protected you from harm and danger. He knows your downsitting and your uprising. We should therefore, be thankful for the goodness of God. And because of that gratitude of heart, we should in turn do good and generously bless others that are strategically placed in our lives. We must cultivate a heart that is grateful and pay forward blessings on others around us. "And do not forget to do good and to share with others for with such sacrifices God is well pleased." (Hebrews 13:16)

On every turn and every crossroad, God has a plan for you. He has opened doors for you and He has situated people in your life 'on purpose'. Jeremiah 29:11 - His plan is not to harm you, but to give you hope and a future.

God has generously given you wonderful friends and a family that loves you. But even if you never had a father or a mother, were orphaned, or homeless, you certainly have a heavenly Father to which you can cry out in times of need and comfort. God said He would be your Daddy, your parent. He promises He will be there for you (Jehovah-Shammah) and He desires that you talk with Him everyday in prayer.

Often, we take our blessings for granted and complain about our present circumstances. If things do not go our way, we talk way too much about how they should be different. But if we look around we will always find someone that is hurting and less fortunate. We must press ourselves to be willing to share our blessings and our benefits with others, reflecting a daily thankfulness in our heart toward God for all He has given. Father, I am grateful for Your Incredible Love.

Weapon of War

Your enemy is driven back by the Word of God spoken from your mouth. This is your weapon- a powerful, two edged sword able to pierce dividing asunder of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Speak God's Word and hide it in your heart daily. It will serve to combat the enemy.

2 Corinthians 10:3-6 declares, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled."

The Word will drive back the sinful nature. The Word will purify your thoughts and keep your actions holy. The Word is your greatest weapon against the enemy. So drive back your enemy with the Word of God read and spoken daily over your life!

Sovereign

Sometimes we think of God on our level when He is far above our ways. Scripture in 2 Samuel 7:28 declares, "O Sovereign LORD, you are God. Your words are trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant." Face it: you can count on God with certainty. He does not waiver or lie, but He performs the good things promised in His Word. He is Sovereign, One who has supreme and permanent knowledge, and authority over your life.

Whatever you will face this week, know that God is in control. Place your life in His Hand with a prayer of commitment and ask God to help you with your decisions, attitudes, responses and relationships. Ask Him to guard your heart and the words of your mouth.  Ask Him to help you to bear the fruit of the Spirit, so that others might see a reflection of Christ in you. Ask Him for direction and wisdom to assist you in pursuing the road to your destiny. Ask for His blessing on those around you and to enrich your relationships with substance.

Then, trust Him for answers and ask Him to open doorways for your future. Have faith and believe in Him for the impossible. Pray daily for the miraculous and trust that God will show you mighty things. Then, wait and watch for God to answer incredibly.  When He does, praise Him and give Him glory.  God is Sovereign and He will prove Himself faithful over and over again.

Overwhelmed

Most of our lives are extremely busy, but let me tell you about the best time of the day. Getting up an hour early to have uninterupted time with God will become the best time of the day for you. When others are catching up on their sleep before a demanding day, you have an opportunity to spend quality time with the only One able to fix some things in your life. This time with God will create a dependance on your relationship with Him, instead of your independence apart from Him. 

You may say I cannot get up an hour early! Start somewhere. Get up 15 minutes early. Give God 7.5 minutes of prayer and 7.5 minutes of reading His Word. You will see it make a definite difference in your day.

We do not have to pray only in the morning, but it sure makes the day go better. "In the morning, O'Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning, O'Lord, I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation." (Psalm 5:3) 

Revitalize yourself with an early morning time with God. If you wait until evening, your life just may get too busy and push God out of your day. So plan it, look forward to it and cultivate a heart that is passionate to talk to God and hear Him talk to you. I do not know what I'd do without God. He is my dearest friend, the only One who completely understands and gives perfect advice. Adjust your schedule.  Plan your meeting with God, don't put it off. I guarantee it will become the best time of the day.