Tag: be encouraged

PREPARING FOR A STORM

Mar 4:37  And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship so that it was now full. Mar 4:38  And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?  Mar 4:39  And he arose and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. Mar 4:40  And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?  Mar 4:41  And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

     I often write about peace in the middle of the storm.  Because there is almost never a day that goes by without someone asking for prayer because they are in the middle of some kind of storm. All around us, people are suffering and dealing with great big problems.  However, we should never think that Jesus is asleep in our boats. He is ever vigilant, always looking out for us.  Just because he hasn’t answered, or calmed the storm, doesn’t mean he doesn’t care.  He is waiting for the right time to calm the sea.

There are things we can do before the storm comes. Think about what people do when a Hurricane is heading to their location. They go into preparedness mode. They get batteries, bottled water, and supplies in case of power outages. They put boards over their windows to protect the glass from flying debris.

We can sense that something is brewing on the horizon. The enemy will often give himself away before he sends a massive storm. We can prepare ourselves to be ready for attack by putting on the whole armor of God. (EPH 6). We can pray for God to help us face what is ahead of us. Ask for him to make our path straight and for him to light that path. Get in the Word and allow him to prepare us to be strong. Prayer is the final step to prepare us for the storms that try to come into our lives. We can declare that the storms will not overtake us. We can declare that God is our deliverer.

Isaiah 54:17 -No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

God doesn’t want us to fear the storms that blow into our lives. Sometimes it looks really scary, like a tornado would look. But God is always there to see us through the storm. So hold on and keep believing that he will one day calm the storm.  He will speak peace at just the right time.

Trust in the Lord and do not look at how things appear to be; we walk by faith. We can overcome any storm if we walk in faith; God will direct our path.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

NOT DOUBLE MINDED

James 1:6-8 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.  7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

We are to walk in pure faith.  If we allow our faith to waiver, we can become double minded. Have you ever been at a crossroads in life not knowing which way to go?  It helps sometimes to seek direction with someone who is wise. When I am trying to decide which way to go.  I can normally see both sides of a situation, so it is easy to get confused.  But I have to take a step back and get past the sympathy, empathy and the emotions of the situation, before I can logically decide.

When we ask for God to do something, we believe he will …until circumstances start looking the opposite way. Then if we are not careful, doubt will creep in and cause us to waiver in our faith. God moves for those who believe, but when we doubt he will not move for us.  We need pure faith not mixed with anything else.

Take the mustard seed for example. Many say if we have a little bit of faith that is all we need. But it is not about the size as much as the mustard seed is pure.  It grows when planted but will not mix with any other herb. Therefore, mustard is pure.

The seventeenth chapter of Matthew has a story of the disciples that tried to cast out the devil but could not. After the man brought his son to Jesus, he cast out the demon and the boy was cured.

 Matt 17:19-21 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?  20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. (21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

A mustard seed grows quickly. It produces fruit quickly. And also makes a bush large enough for the birds to nest in or to hide in from predators. Our pure faith can grow a tree for people to take shelter in when they need God. We can have faith for others when they cannot have faith for themselves. Like the people who peeled back the roof and lowered their sick friend to Jesus.  The man was too sick to have much faith on his own, but they had faith that Jesus was going to heal him.  Jesus did.  This is why we ask others to pray for our situations.  Sometimes we lack faith because we are too close to a situation. It is easier to have faith for others than for ourselves.

The twenty first verse says this kind goes not out but by prayer and fasting.  In other words, we need to have a close relationship with the father.  We need to have our God Focus. Fasting is not about doing without food, it is about having power over our flesh. When we deny our flesh, we gain control over our impulses. It is about strengthening our spiritual man. The closer we walk to God, the less control our flesh has over us.  

We are in constant battle flesh vs spirit.  If we are strong in faith, with pure faith, we too will have power to cast out devils. But if we were weak in faith and it is not pure faith, then our fleshly ego may get in the way. If we walk in pure faith we understand that things God does through us has very little to do with us.  Let me say that again, the things God does through us has very little to do with us. It is all about Jesus. It is up to us to learn how to have PURE FAITH and to not be double minded.

ARE WE SO DIFFERENT?

It is easy to allow the way things look to throw us into a lethargic and almost depressed state of being. Trouble is all around us pressing in, it feels like there is no hope. BUT GOD is there and is not moved by how things look.  He is not moved by the plans of the enemy. God will destroy the plans of the wicked that are against us.

If God be for us, who can be against us? God is on our side. Maybe I should say we need to be on God’s side. Many times, people have been asked to choose who they are going to serve.

Elijah stood on Mt. Carmel and told the people they needed to choose. Then he gave them options.

I Kings 18:21 “And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.”

This is where the prophets of Baal tried to get their false god to send fire from heaven. They cried and cried from morning to night. Cutting themselves and trying to persuade their god to act. But nothing happened. Then Elijah prayed a simple prayer and the one true God answered with fire. He proved himself to be God. We say we believe in God, yet we put everything else first. He wants first place in our lives. Can we give him that spot?

Joshua 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Joshua stood boldly before the people. They were once again serving false gods of other people. These Israelites were born and grew up in the desert. They were survivors of the ones that God delivered at the Red Sea.  But the miracles their parents saw were just stories to them.  They were not personal to them. Still, they experienced enough to know that God is real.

I often would sit in judgment of the people in the Old Testament when it came to false gods. I would ask how they could bow to a statue and say it was god? Are we so different today? God revealed to me that we are no different as a whole people.  We bow to sports figures, actors, and singers, we worship our homes and material possessions. We worship the earth. We worship creation more than the creator.

God knows how flawed and weak we can be, he knows we are easily distracted. He also knows he has given us the power to be different and not be driven by our emotions and desires. But we have to learn that we have the power to choose. Life doesn’t control us. It may throw us for a loop every now and then, but we can control our reaction to what it tosses our way.

This is a lesson the children of Israel didn’t learn, and they had to wander the desert until they died. All because of their unbelief. Do we really want to spend our lives in a desert when we could be in the promised land? We are not meant to live in the stress and fear of this life.  We need to figure out how to see God for who He is, not the god of the box we put him in. We limit him with our words and preconceived notions of who He is. It is time to set aside the idea of who we think He is and get to know Him, really know Him.

He desires us to know him in an intimate way. He wants our worship and praise, not for what he does for us, but because He is the one true God. He sacrificed everything for us so that we could be free. We have no reason to fear or look to anything or anyone else. If God be for us, who can be against us.

Romans 8:31-32 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?  32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

NOT OUR UNDERSTANDING

I am thankful for my wonderful family. I am blessed to have many wonderful friends. I am not only thankful on Thanksgiving Day for them but every day. I hope each of you had a good day with those you love. Since I spent time with family, this blog will be short.

PROV 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.  7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.  8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

God wants our whole heart. He wants us to trust in him. It doesn’t matter what is going on he wants us to trust in Him. It is easy for us to lean on our own understanding.  Sometimes we get in God’s way because we lean on our understanding instead of waiting for Him. Our understanding can be tainted with our flesh. We may feel like something is not that bad. If God’s word doesn’t line up with our understanding, we are wrong.

This is why the word says to not be wise in our own eyes. We need to see things the way God does; through His eyes. Our wisdom can be tainted with many things like our experiences, our hurts and our influence from the world.

If we acknowledge the Lord in everything we do, he will guide us.  He will make everything fine. The word tells us to fear the Lord and depart from evil. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. We can be wise by fearing the Lord and walking in his path.  It will be life and health to us.

Take a couple of moments to think about your life, is there anything that seems right in your eyes that you know is not according to God’s word.  If so walk away from it. Ask God for help. In all your ways acknowledge him he will direct your path.

Have a good and safe holiday weekend!

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

ONE MOMENT

Life would be amazing if everyone was as happy as they appear on social media. For the most part, we only post the good stuff. But it is only a snapshot of our lives.  It only shows who we are in that moment. One moment is not a complete picture.

We often feel like we do not measure up to other Christians.  We watch as other people do what we know we are called to do, and it is intimidating. But we need to remember first that we should not compare ourselves to others for two main reasons.  One, if we see someone we aspire to be like, we will feel inadequate and never wish to try to do what we are called to do.  If we feel superior, we run the risk of being self-righteous and judgmental, and not seeking God’s plan for our lives because we can do it on our own. If it is truly a calling of God, it will not be a cakewalk, especially at first.  It will always be something that causes us to step out of our comfort zones.

That being said, we should never look at someone else and wonder if we will ever get to where they are because we are looking at only one moment in time. For example, I know I talk a lot about my grandfather; he was a powerful man of God. By the time I was born, he had been preaching for almost twenty years.

I never knew the man he was at twenty-two that said he couldn’t even testify. He knew he was called to preach.  He said he would study a testimony, and when he stood up, he would go blank.  I can sort of relate to the story. When I see the red light on a video camera, I go blank; that is why I must read everything.  He said one night, he got up to testify and God took over; he was on the floor for about twenty minutes.  After that, he never had any trouble with what to say. He had learned to yield to God and His plan for his life.

Walking out God’s plan is not easy. If it were easy, we could do it on our own; we wouldn’t need God. I didn’t see the young man who went to the woods with his bible and prayed for God to give him a revelation. I didn’t see the moments of hardship, moments of triumph, or any of the things he walked through to make him that powerful man of God. I only saw the result.

We can’t look at someone else and compare where we are walking right now.  Who knows what our walk will look like a year from now, five years from now? Only God knows what he is going to do with our lives. Only God knows what he will allow in our lives to make us stronger.

We look at that person who is anointed to sing and we are often in awe. We think, “Oh, to sing like that,” but we are only seeing one moment. We do not see all the times they hit their knees in prayer that God would give them an anointing to stir people’s hearts.  We don’t see the countless hours of practice and planning.  We don’t see the work involved; we only see that one moment.

We see a prayer warrior cut loose with a prayer that gives you goosebumps, and you feel like fire is going to fall from heaven.  Their words are precise and powerful.  They intercede with precision.  We stand in awe of such a prayer.  We feel like we are puny and cannot even pray. That is only a moment in time. We do not see all the hours of prayer that gave them the ability to move heaven.  We do not see the painful things that they have walked through to get them to the place where they pray with such bold authority.

On the other hand, we should not judge someone by the moment that they make a mistake. It is easy to look at them and judge them for not having better control. But we don’t know what they have endured and what made them make the choices they made. We may make the same choices under the same circumstances.

I Cor 10:12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

This verse is a warning to not think that we are so perfect that we could never make a mistake. When we get to the point that we are so holy that we cannot make a mistake, God has a way of allowing satan to come in with just the right temptation to cause us to fall. I don’t ever want to be found guilty of judging someone in their one moment of weakness.  Because we do not see all the times that they are strong. Judging someone for one moment in their life is like judging a book by one sentence. That one moment is not the full picture. Just like one sentence cannot give all the details of a book.

Peter denied Jesus; in the moment that he did, some would judge him to be unworthy of God’s forgiveness.  But Jesus didn’t let one moment of weakness define Peter.  He gave him the keys to the kingdom.  Jesus called Peter a rock. Jesus knew how strong Peter was and would be in the future.

It is easy to get caught up in one moment and forget that life is a journey.  We are not meant to stay stuck in a moment.  But we are to make the most of every moment we have been given. We are supposed to forget the things that are behind us and press forward.

If you find yourself in the middle of a regretful moment where you’ve made a mistake. Do not let it define you. If you find yourself in the middle of trying to step into a new calling. Don’t let it hold you back.  It only takes one moment of faith to propel us into the future of who we are and are becoming.

TIMING

Ecc 3:1  To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

Capturing a beautiful sunset on camera is all about timing.  If the sun is out too much all you get is a white dot.  If you wait too long you miss it completely.

Opportunities to be in God’s timing to help someone is often the same way.  Do you ever wonder why he sends us to strangers so often.  So we will not interfere with his timing.  When trying to help a friend or family sometimes we get in God’s way.  But if we are going about our normal day and God places us in a situation that we know is his timing to help someone, it is easier to do so without all the things we do to get in his way.

For example: We may have been praying hard for a friend for family member. The subject may come around to Jesus in a conversation. In our enthusasism we can come on too strong with too much information and they may react the opposite way from how we had hoped.

But with a stranger, we will listen more to the prompts of God and only say what we need to say. This reminds me of a well intentioned man that I knew growing up. He would go out and pound on anyone that would listen about how they needed to be saved. He was right in his theology, his zeal and desire to help people. But he went about it the wrong way and often did more harm than good.

My grandpa tried to help him tone it down a bit. He would tell him, “No where in the word does it say, skin my sheep. No where in the word does it say drive my sheep.” Pastors are called to lead the flock as Jesus our good shepherd.

There is a time and a season for everything. I am excited about the season the body of Christ is about to walk into, it’s going to be amazing.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

TAKE IT BACK

My friend Bonnie and I recently took a drive looking at fall leaves and ended up in a beautiful town in West Virginia.  I was surprised at all the witchcraft and demonic stuff that was in that town.  I am not talking about Halloween decorations. (Although, that is another topic. God doesn’t want us to celebrate evil or put horror movies before our eyes to get into our spirits) I am talking about the items for sale in the bookstore, for example. We asked if they sold bibles, and the clerk informed us there may be one in the religious section. In that entire section of 4 racks of books, there were 3 small shelves about 3 feet long with Christian literature.  These books were placed with the back to the back of the shelves so that the front of the books was facing outward. And there was one watered-down version of the bible.

The rest of the religious section was all about the occult and witchcraft. These books were on the shelves with only the spines exposed because they had so many different ones. They had tarot cards and all sorts of demonic things. We cannot fully blame the bookstore because stores just stock what sells. They are all about profit. But I blame the church. We have let down and allowed the enemy to get strongholds in places.  People turn to witchcraft because they want power to not feel helpless.  They want the power to not feel worthless. In the absence of truth, they turn to the lies of the enemy. He tells them that they can control their lives and have power if they do this spell or that incantation.  He tells them that there is a difference between a white witch and the dark ones who do evil. I tell you, it is all evil.

Gal 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, (20) Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,  (21) Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

The enemy will always try to copy what God is doing. But God has power he will pour out on his children to equip us to feel strong in our weakness. We are strong in him. Power to walk out a life of victory and not defeat.  They need someone to show them that the only real power is the power of God, that lives in us. Then show them that they can have that same power too. But they are going to have to see us walking in victory.

It is possible for the church to turn this around, but we have to walk in the authority and power that God has given us. We have to be the church God created us to be for this time period. God knew how evil would abound. He is not shocked. He has a plan; we just have to trust in him.

We can take back our towns, city, state, country, and even the world through intercessory prayer. Our weapons are mighty through God. He empowers us to pull down the strongholds.

2 Cor 10:4-5 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

GOOD BONES

I enjoy watching home improvement shows. I love to watch them take something that looks like it needs to be lit on fire and in the magic of television, within an hour, it is beautiful again. These old houses that need to be reclaimed and refurbished are often said to have good bones. As long as they have a solid foundation, there is nothing that cannot be fixed.

The church has been in a state of disarray. It looked like it was all over and sin was going to abound until it was destroyed.  But a fire is coming, not to burn the church to the ground but to get rid of all that is not of God.  It is time for “THE CHURCH” to be on fire for God. 

I often think about the valley of dry bones and how Ezekiel was told to prophesy to the dry bones. He prophesied to the bones and they lived again.  God is gathering the winds of change and will raise up his bride to be glorious, it is time for her to become without spot and wrinkle. We have to start speaking not about how bad things appear but about how God wants them to be in this time in which we live.

Do not believe everything you see; the enemy is out to deceive us into believing his agenda.  But I have read the back of the book and satan loses.  Tim Sheets calls him the “forever loser.” I often smile when I think about that phrase. It doesn’t matter what the enemy tries; he loses.  How frustrating it must be for him when one that he thinks would never turn to God suddenly breaks down in tears, under the presence of God and they cry out to Jesus. “Jesus save me from myself, save me from my sin, save me from the powers of evil.”

The defeated one, the forever loser, I am sure, gets angry every time he loses another one.  It is up to each of us to reach out and pull people out of his hand through intercessory prayer. We are called to reach the lost. The harvest is ready, it is time to go to battle.  Is your whole armor on? Are you asking the commander-in-chief about the battle plan? Are you ready to fight for the souls that are hanging in the balance?

II Cor 10:4-5  (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Where do we stand on a personal level? Each of us has to talk to the master builder and make sure we have good bones. When we ask him to refurbish our lives, he will take out everything that needs to be replaced and will make us new again.

Until next time, BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

CHURCH COME FORTH

Lazarus had died, and the mourners were with the family. In a normal situation, this would be the end.  He had been buried.  But Jesus came on the scene. He didn’t make a big production.  Jesus asked that they roll away the stone that sealed the cave where Lazarus was placed. He simply said a prayer for the sake of the crowd that had gathered, then said, “Lazarus, come forth.” Soon, Lazarus came walking out of the tomb.  He was still bound in his grave clothes and had his face covered with a napkin.  It took others to set him free of his grave clothes.

To look at the modern church, one might say we were all but buried. We were in a coma, allowing sin to enter the church and lull us into a deep sleep.  Jesus is calling us to come forth. He is calling for the warriors to arise and be the army we are supposed to be in this day. Every day, we need to put on our armor and go to battle.  Satan is after the body of Christ.  If he can keep us depressed and stressed, we will not be able to focus on our tasks. He is trying to cause us to not stand for the truth of God’s word.

We can be the church that the world needs by each being fully focused on God and what he asks us to do. We all have a job to do in the body of Christ. The task of seeing that the harvest is gathered before the night comes when no one will be able to work it is up to each of us. We need to do all we can to bring in the harvest before the rapture takes place on the earth.

We are at the stage where we need someone to help remove the napkin from our faces and set us free of our grave clothes. We can be the ones that help the body of Christ to arise and go forth in power. It is time for us to unite against our adversary, the devil.  People’s lives and souls depend on our ability to learn to get along and bind together in prayer and power. There is no greater purpose than to walk in our purpose and see souls saved.

Many souls are hanging in the balance; will they be saved? Will someone go out of their way to reach them? Will someone pray for them to be saved? Will that someone be you?

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

LESSONS FROM DAVID

Part of our daily walk is to make sure we keep our focus fully on God.  In a world that is fighting every second for our attention, it is harder than ever to stay focused. David is one of my favorite people in the bible.  His heart that is revealed in the Psalms is inspiring. He understood most of the time how to keep his focus.  

He talks to God about his worries and the fears of his enemy’s coming against him.  Like we often tell God when we have troubles and feel like everyone is against us. Life can press in causing tremendous pressure.

David also understood the difference between thanksgiving and praise. Thanksgiving is thanking God for what he has done. We praise Him simply because He is God.

Psalm 100:4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

David’s life as a shepherd prepared him to be king. The shepherd provides for the sheep in many ways. They make sure they are on land that has food and water. Shepherds protect them from predators. They anoint them with oil to keep away harmful flies that can lay eggs in their noses.

God is our protector. He protects us from the smallest microscopic thing to something huge that could destroy us. He is our provider; our source for all we need. Because He is our shepherd and He loves us.

God gives us times that he isolates us and gives us peaceful time to reflect. In the isolated times he is helping us to grow and prepare us for a new level. We don’t always understand the isolation, but God doesn’t do anything without a reason. We have to trust His plan.

Isaiah 55:8-9     8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Other times, He gently nudges us to the outside world where we are supposed to make a difference. We are supposed to all be a light to those who are in darkness. It doesn’t matter what we are dealing with or what phase of life we are in we need to look to Him.

I Chr. 16:11 Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually.

Notice this says continually, not when things are bad. Not when we slow down or our lives are falling apart.  It says continually. We need him at all times, not just when things look bad. It doesn’t matter the phase of life we find ourselves in, as His sheep, we know he will take care of it all. We just have to be strong and follow where He leads. He gives us light to shine into the darkness of this world.

Psalm 18:28 For thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.

As we start a new work week, take your light and go light your part of the world.  It is needed now more than ever before in history.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS