Tag: encouraging

BUILDING A HOUSE

Psalm 127 Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

I know, I hate to waste my time. Why would you waste your time building a house, that does not have any value? A contractor could invest a lot of time and money in building a house. Now imagine that house sitting on the market.  No one is living in it; therefore, it has no value as shelter or comfort to anyone. The contractor cannot get a return on the investment to put in other projects.  This is the worst-case scenario for a contractor.

Spiritually speaking, we can build all sorts of fancy buildings to have meetings in that we call church.  But if the Lord is not in building the spiritual side of the house (church) it is worthless. True everlasting kingdom things will not be accomplished. People will only be full of coffee from their coffee bar in the lobby. The church needs to be full of the Spirit of God. It is God that transforms lives.

How many times do we miss God’s instructions about how he wants us to build? Every good contractor will have a blueprint.  Our Bible is our blueprint, it gives us instructions on how we need to build His house. Many natural houses get taken out by dry rot and termites. Our church can suffer from the decay of sin. Too, long we have allowed sin to creep into the church. Eating away at the foundation like termites. We have accepted things that are contrary to the word in the name of compassion and tolerance.

The church is not called to conform to the world. We are called to change it. If people’s lives were in good, solid shape they would not need God to remodel them like an old house. Eph 2:19-22    19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;   20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;  21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:   22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

We are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Jesus told Peter that he was a rock, and said, upon this rock, I will build my church.  In other words, you have a solid grasp of what I want you to carry out in the world. You will be solid and not wishy, washy. I can trust you to be solid ground for people to build their understanding of the gospel.

Just like Jesus being the chief cornerstone of any congregation, we need him to be our personal spiritual cornerstone. Our personal lives need Jesus in the center.  We too need a blueprint on which to build our lives. Again, that blueprint is the Word Of God, our Bible. The enemy has tried to alter the blueprints by changing them with a watered-down version of the word. Some of the “new” translations are severely inaccurate. If someone new to building came along and read some of these translations, they would be deceived and not build on a firm foundation. Then the house would suffer all sorts of issues from cracks in the walls to a total collapse.

Jesus spoke a parable of a wise man that built on a rock. When the storms of life came, it stood strong against the storms. But he also spoke of a foolish man that built on sand. When the storms came, his house fell. We never want to see anyone fall. It is up to us to get into our Bible and study the blueprint. Then we need to share our knowledge to help others build wisely.

I Cor 6:19- 19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?  This is a reminder that we are the house in which God dwells. We can trust him because he is a master craftsman. He not only built each one of us as unique individuals, but he created the heavens and the earth.  We are so individually designed that we all fit together perfectly to make the beautiful bride that Jesus will return to receive one day soon.

JUDE 17-21 17 But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; 18 How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. 19 These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit. 20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, 21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

Do not let your labor be in vain; allow God to build your house.  He wants to talk to you. Spend time in prayer, building up your most holy faith. I promise you He will keep you on track if He is your chief cornerstone.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

DON’T SINK YOUR SHIP

I tried to write on another subject, but God kept bringing me back to this basic subject. We need to walk by faith and not by sight.  Walking by faith means we trust fully in God. We have to trust that God will see us through the circumstances, even if we do not see our breakthrough yet. We believe in him. Speaking negatively and complaining is not trust and it is not faith. Our words can delay our blessing. It can delay the answer to our prayers.

You would not take something and put a hole in the side of a perfectly good boat. Well, you wouldn’t unless you want to sink it.  Then why do we speak negative words out of our mouths? We are literally sinking our own ships.  We are wrecking our own lives with our words. (This happened to the children of Israel; they complained and repeated a negative report of a few. (The giants are too big). They complained to Moses that he brought them out into the desert to die. That is the very thing that happened; because of unbelief and negative complaints, they were made to wander for 40 years until their words were fulfilled, and they died in the desert, never seeing the promised land). It wasn’t God’s plan for them to wander that long. It wasn’t his plan for them to die in the wilderness.

I know I speak of it often, but our words have power. It is like we pray for something and then we kill the prayer with our words. Speaking negatively is killing the seeds we plant in prayer. That is not faith.  We plant seeds of faith in prayer. We cannot allow the enemy to take those seeds we plant, in prayer, by speaking unbelief. Our complaints are agreements with the devil. They are contrary to God’s word.

Prov 18:21 21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

Do not get nervous. I don’t believe the name it, claim it doctrine.  People take the truth of God and twist it for their own gain and purpose.  Our words must be according to God’s will. I do know that unbelief and negativity are not of God. I have seen things in my life that many would love to see.  I have seen miracles of God.  I have seen blind eyes healed. People bowed over not being able to straighten and walk upright; until the power of God touched them. Broken legs healed; people needed crutches and then walked out under their own power after the saints prayed for them. This was normal for me growing up.

I have seen people instantly healed.  I have also seen people have to walk out things in faith to get to their healing weeks and months later. But they kept talking faith and God saw them through. Never repeat a diagnosis from a doctor by saying, “I have….” You can say I was diagnosed with …. When you say I have this disease or that you take possession of it. You claim it to be yours.  Faith says symptoms are there, but I will not claim it. (This doesn’t mean you are burying your head in the sand and ignoring what is going on; you are saying, I take it into captivity. I have power over it. God will remove it from me.

Have you ever heard the phrase ‘Loose lips sink ships’? I wondered about the origin of it. It comes from WWII. It was a warning to our soldiers and people at home that any information leaked, even unintentionally, could cause the loss of a warship.  It means to be aware of unguarded talk. Did you get that? I am going to say it again, be aware of unguarded talk. The situation was severe enough for this reminder because the enemy had spies everywhere. Satan is waiting for us to open our mouths in negativity, so he can use it against us.

Matt 12:35-37     35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.  36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.  37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

We can speak life to someone that is hurting. We can speak negatively and harm someone else.  Do we always feel like being positive? No. But by not speaking the negative and speaking the positive we can give life and strength to another. I want words of faith to justify me. I want faith to manifest in my life.

James 3:1 My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. 2 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.  3 Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. 4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.     5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!  6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.  7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: 8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

The entire third chapter of James is all about our words. Verse two tells us how we can be perfect.  If we are able to refrain from hurting people with our words, then we have the fruit of self-control.  It is difficult to speak life and not negativity sometimes.  But, like with any exercise, we can increase our faith the more we use our faith. The more we hold our tongues and not speak negative, deadly things, the more we will grow closer to God.

God hates gossip; he doesn’t want us to speak harm to anyone. He doesn’t want us to speak negatively about our situations and those of others. Because our words have power. Just like we are not to judge one another.  We all come short of where we need to be in Christ. We are to walk as close as we can and He will take care of the rest.

Pray and ask God for HIS strength to say the right things.  He is faithful to help us if we truly trust in HIM.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

SILENT NO LONGER

Where are the watchmen?  Where are the gatekeepers that protect the city from the enemy?  For far too long, the city of God has been in ruins because we allowed the enemy to get inside the church.  We set satan up in our pulpits to preach prosperity doctrine and things that are not of God.  Then we wonder where the power went that used to be in the church.  We traded it for silver and gold.  It was traded for houses, cars and alligator shoes. The ones that were not guilty of teaching such nonsense are just as guilty for keeping silent. Is our silence a sin? Should we have stood boldly and cried out against wrong?

James 4:17 -17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

But God has a remnant of people that have not bowed to the idols of this world.  Just like in Elijah’s day, he felt like he was the only one that had not bowed to baal, but God had people that were standing strong. We, too can stand strong against the evil of this world.

Isaiah 62:6 I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence,

My biggest mistake and shortcomings are that I have sat quietly by because I didn’t want to have conflict with anyone.  I have not been as bold as I should have been to stand up and declare the word of the Lord.  Preachers and teachers are not the only ones who are called to go make disciples.  We are all sent out to love people and show them Jesus.

God has set watchmen on the walls to keep an eye out for the enemy. These watchmen were supposed to warn us to prepare for battle.  The gatekeepers were supposed to check identities and not allow the enemy to enter the city.  Where are the gatekeepers and watchmen? It is up to us each, in our own way, to guard the territory we have been given. 

Parents need to loudly declare the word of the Lord that satan will not get their children.  It is promised that He will bless your children.  Jacob was blessed because of Issac and Abraham.  I am blessed because I have generations of God-fearing people in my lineage.

We need to take back the territory that we have quietly let the enemy come in and steal.  Where are the warriors of God?  It is time for the “dry bones” to arise and go on the march to take back our homes, our schools, our cities, our churches and our government. 

How do we fight these battles? Not with weapons like most would think of as weapons. We fight with our words; we declare the Word of the Lord. We pray boldly that territories will be restored to the people of God.

2 COR 10:3-5  3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:  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;

We are flesh but do not war with other people. We war with spirits and demons sent out to destroy. The things we fight are not carnal or natural but we are in the biggest spiritual battle of our lives.  We do not battle alone; God sent mighty warring angels to battle things we cannot see.  Casting down ideas of evil that try to take over the place that God is meant to be, we are to arrest every thought that is not godly. We can conform it to be obedient to Christ. In other words, we cannot keep ideas from going through our minds. That is the way the enemy enters our lives through our thoughts. But when things that are contrary to the word of God pass through our minds, we need to not dwell on it but tell it to leave in Jesus’ name.

This is why it is so very important to have the Word on the inside of us. How can we fight against evil if we do not know the definition of evil according to the word of God? It is time for us to get outside the walls of the church building and “BE” the church.  We cannot win the lost sitting in a pew.

Luke 4:23- And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.  The word compel means to strongly suggest, talk until they quit resisting, to coerce. If we keep quiet, we cannot compel them to come into the family of God. It is time we were silent no longer.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

DRY BONES

READ EZEKIEL CHAPTER 37

As I read Ezekiel Chapter 37, I cannot help but compare the dry bones to the modern church.  God is weary of the way things are going in our country and around the world.  We have no one to blame for the mess this country is in but ourselves. Somewhere along the way the church stopped being the church and allowed the living water to dry up. John 7:38 38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. It is time to believe for life to be breathed back into the church.

We have sat quietly by while evil has taken over the world. We should have stood boldly and declared that sin is sin, without compromising. Instead, we buried our heads in the sand and allowed the liberals to destroy things in the name of equality.  We are not all equal, there is right and there is wrong. There is righteous by the blood of the lamb and those who are in sin.

Now it is time for the warriors of God to arise and say, “NO MORE, NOT ON MY WATCH” It is beyond time to take back the territory that the enemy has stolen.  We need to pray, the prayers of our founding fathers for this country and the world. Prayers need to go up asking God to let the living water flow.

We have spent time in the valley of dry bones. God is getting ready to breathe new life into the church. It is time we stood boldly and put on the whole armor of God. Most of my facebook friends have seen my post of the cross at Cape Henry in Virginia Beach. Long before this land was ever our country, people declared and decreed over it.

Robert Hunt was their leader, a group of Christians landed in 1607. Even after a long journey across the waters from England, they stayed on their ship for 3 days and fasted. They prayed over their new land and thanked God for the opportunity to worship the Lord without government interference. When they got off their ship, they took some of the wood and built a cross.

APRIL 29, 1607 PROPHECY AND PRAYER BY ROBERT HUNT

We do hereby dedicate this Land, and ourselves, to reach the People within these shores with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to raise up Godly generations after us, and with these generations take the Kingdom of God to all the earth. May this Covenant of Dedication remain to all generations, as long as this earth remains, and may this Land, along with England, be Evangelist to the World. May all who see this Cross, remember what we have done here, and may those who come here to inhabit join us in this Covenant and in this most noble work that the Holy Scriptures may be fulfilled.

After the prayer, they read the following Bible passage: “All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. For the kingdom is the Lord’s and he ruleth among the nations” (Psalm 22:27-28).

I stood under a concrete cross that was erected on that site. It is a humbling experience to stand under a thirty-five foot cross. It was a powerful experience to read those words and know that those words were prayed and spoken over our land. God answers prayer, even ones prayed so long ago.

We are not without hope.  It doesn’t matter how things look.  I am sure to Ezekiel that the dry bones looked like it was a hopeless cause. Ezek 37:3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest. God told him to prophesy to the bones and they lived.

Is 55:10-12 kjv  10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:  11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.  12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Notice Verse Eleven It says his word will not return void. We need to speak the word and declare it over our land.  Verses like:

2 Chr 20:17  Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you.

Deut 1:8 Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.

God gave the Children of Israel the promised land. Once long ago, God gave a group of religiously oppressed people a land. Their descendants became a band of rebels that signed a declaration of independence and created our country. It is time we took back that land from the enemy.  But we will not win with what most people believe to be weapons of war.  We will win this one on our knees in prayer. We will win by declaring the scriptures about our victory in Jesus.

2 Cor 10:3-5 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:  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;

I read the back of the book and we win.  Be encouraged, the dry bones will live again. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

PEARLS OF WISDOM

Pearls are rare finds inside the shell of oysters.  They are used in jewelry mostly, but the shells are also used in medicine.  For a pearl to be formed, the oyster has to suffer an injury or get a foreign substance inside the shell.  The oyster’s natural defense against foreign substances is to isolate it.  The oyster will continue to add layers to protect itself from harm.  This isolation produces the pearl.

We often learn wisdom by experiencing the consequences of acting foolishly.  Other times, things in life just happen that teach us great lessons.  The things we learn often help us to develop instincts about people or situations. These lessons and instincts are sometimes referred to as pearls of wisdom. Famous inspirational quotes and sayings are also called pearls of wisdom. It means we have an insight that, when shared, makes someone else stop and think.

Wisdom is something everyone needs. But wisdom is more than having the experience that comes with age. Some people are in their golden years but lack wisdom.  James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. We get wisdom by asking God. He will guide us into wisdom. Also, the Bible, especially the book of Proverbs, is full of wisdom.

The hidden nuggets of wisdom in the Word will help us to make good choices in life.  Our choices will be easier if we have wisdom and understanding. We gain wisdom when we suffer injury. Just like the oyster isolates the injury and creates a pearl.  When we make bad decisions and have emotional scars from those choices, we will gain wisdom.

Prov 11:20 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

We need to be soul winners for Christ.  We will be wise.  We are called to go out and search for that rare pearl of a person that will listen to us.  Not everyone we tell about Jesus will listen.  Many will not accept our words. But we still have been sent to tell them about Jesus.

Take time this week to ask Him for His wisdom and guidance. He will not withhold any good thing from us if we put our trust in Him.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

SERVANT’S HEART

Where you start is not where you will end if you run this race with a servant’s heart. Many of us have God destinies that we have yet to discover.  He is going to use us in ways that we never dreamed of. As a matter of fact, if we knew where we were going to finish this race, it would probably scare us.  That is why God moves us up a new level every so often when He feels we are ready.

II Cor 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

We are changing from glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord.  God elevates us as we spiritually grow and mature so that we can handle the new level.

Look at David, the shepherd boy; no one believed he would be King David. God knew his potential. David worshipped God with his whole heart.  Even when he fell into sin, God loved him and forgave him.  But notice how David was obedient to his earthly father and watched over the flock.  He learned many lessons being a shepherd.

His obedience took him to one of the greatest moments he would walk out in his life. He came face to face with the enemy, Goliath. We always will find our destiny by serving and helping others fight their battles. Even after he had been anointed king by Samuel.  He didn’t start acting like he was something great.  He didn’t let pride overtake him.  If that was some of us today, he would have said, “You need to get someone to watch the sheep.  I am going to be king.  I don’t want to do that any longer.  I am better than that; I am going to be king.” But David didn’t get prideful; he had a servant’s heart. He continued to serve as he was waiting for God’s timing. He trusted God to bring to pass what was spoken over him.

God allowed him to kill a lion. This gave him confidence when he came up against the bear. Which was bigger.  When he came up against Goliath, he had confidence that God would not let him down. Even though David was destined for great things, he served God where he was at the present time.

Facing Goliath was his destiny.  He met that destiny by being a servant.  His father Jesse sent David to take food and drink to his brothers, who were in a standoff with the Philistines. He had already been anointed by the prophet and told he would be king.  But he occupied where he was and waited for God to bring to pass that which was spoken over him.

How often do we feel like God is going to do something in our lives?  We feel he has a destiny for us that is greater than where we are currently walking.  But we get frustrated when things don’t come to pass as quickly as we feel they should happen. God’s timing is perfect. God cannot trust us with our Goliath yet.  We are not equipped to handle facing the giant. First, we have to kill the lion and the bear. Because the experience we gain facing those things will prepare us for our Goliath.

David was anointed three times to be King.  First was by the prophet Samuel. (I Sam. 16:13) This happened in front of his family. So only a few knew of God’s calling for his life. Often those closest to us will see what God is doing long before we do. 

The second anointing took place before the tribe of Judah by the elders of that tribe. This occurred in Hebron after the death of King Saul. (II Sam 2:4) Then he had to walk in his anointing in order for it to grow into God’s place for him.

The third time David was anointed to be king was not just to be king over Judah, but over Israel also. (I Chr. 11:3) This was in front of many in the nation of Israel.

This is another example of how God elevates us.  First, it was in front of his family, then it was before the tribe of Judah. The third was before the nation of Israel.  Each level of anointing gave him more responsibility. With each level, more people recognized he was called by God to be King. But do not forget he was once a shepherd boy.

The parable Jesus spoke in Matthew 25:21 speaks of a man that gave his servants talents and left for a long journey.  It goes on to explain that some took those talents and invested them and created more talents.  While one buried his talent because he didn’t want to lose it. When the man returned, a couple of them had doubled what they had been given. The master said Matt 25:21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

This parable is a good example for us.  God gives us things and he expects us to use them to give an increase to the Kingdom of the Lord. But if we do not desire to increase what he has given us, we will never reach our destiny. We will never have that defining moment when we stand boldly before our Goliath and say, “I come to you in the name of this Lord” That word said the giant was going to fall.

Keep doing the small stuff, the God who sees in secret will reward us openly.  We just have to defeat our giant. The lesson that we need to take from this is we all have a place God wants to take us.  God has things for us to do and the way we end this life will be greater than we began if we fully trust God.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

CONNECTION

The more I walk with God, the more I realize that every day it’s not so much about what we do or don’t do, but it’s about that personal relationship. It is about a heart connection. How can you have a relationship with someone that you never talked to?

It’s like having a light bulb. And then it’s screwed into a lamp and the lamps plugged in the wall. When the switch is turned on, the power can get to the light bulb. This produces light. Without the power source, there is no light.

There is not going to be any light if we are not plugged into the power source, our relationship with Jesus Christ. We are told to let our light shine. It stands to reason that we stay connected to God.  But if we’re not connected to God and we’re not connected to that power, we will have no light.

A poor prayer life equals a poor connection.  I like to pray first thing as soon as my eyes open up. I kind of hit the snooze button, and lying in my bed, I just kind of lay there and talked to God. Thank you for what he’s done and for allowing me to see another day for the many blessings that he’s given me. Then I pray for the people that are on my heart. It starts with the day off better.

I don’t really have a set time to pray. I just kind of pray here and there all day long. But before I go to bed at night, that’s the last thing I do before I crawl in bed is thank God and pray and ask him to help all those that are lost to be saved.  I pray for those that are bound by human trafficking that God will make a way of escape for them, whether it be an unlocked door. For them to run away or whether it’s for the police or whoever to raid the place and go in and rescue them and set them free. It has been a subject that I have had a burden for a while. I pray for God to heal their wounds and their scars, physically and emotionally. That is one of the worst things that happens in our society. It breaks my heart to even think about it.

No one ever won a battle by not being bold. What would have happened if David had been like all the other Israelites? When Goliath came out there and was laughing and mocking them, and spoke, OK, send me your best warrior. What if he had just sat back and said, well, no, I’m too little. I’m small in stature and I can’t do this; someone else will go. But no, he was bold. And he said, you know, you come at me with a sword, and I come to you in the name of the Lord. And God took that little rock and that great big bit of boldness that David had, and he knocked Goliath to the ground.

Goliath’s head was cut off with his own sword. Sometimes the things that people try to use against you, God will use to destroy them. If we remain bold and stand strong. I pray that we will have holy boldness in these last days.

As the church, we need to quit letting people run over the top of us and push us around. (We let one woman take prayer out of schools. Think about it.) It’s time we had, holy boldness. I pray for holy boldness and that the people will understand it is time for the army to talk to our King.  Get our marching orders and go boldly forth.

It is time for us to go to the enemy’s camp and take back what he has stolen from us.  He is under our feet. We can put him under our feet if we stay connected to our power source, Jesus Christ. We have unlimited power through His Spirit. We can overcome whatever we face as long as we lean on Jesus.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

LIVING SACRIFICE

Romans 12:1-2  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  2 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.

We bring money and place it in a plate as it is passed around at church; this is an offering. We give an offering out of our increase back to God.  We don’t then go later and take the money back. Yet we offer our lives to God as an offering. Then the first little rough patch, we take it back and try to run our lives ourselves. Only to be confused when it all falls apart.

The Bible says we are to present ourselves as a living sacrifice. It’s our offering to God that we say, “Here is the life that you gave me. I’ve given it back to you. I want to live to glorify you.” This is how we present our bodies as a living sacrifice. We surrender to go where he sends us.  This is one of the scariest things to say and really mean.  We are all human and giving complete control to someone else, even God, is scary.

Our flesh rises up and is afraid.  Often, we don’t want to pray, read our Bible or go where God wants because our flesh fights against God’s plan. We don’t want to leave our comfort zone. We need to fight our instinct to run. Changing our thinking will help us to surrender to God fully. It is not an easy process and not one to be taken lightly. God understands and is there to reassure us in our quest to surrender. We transform our minds by reading and studying the Word.

Romans 6:19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.

Staying in the word will help us to surrender our lives fully and completely.  There is an old song that sums up this process.  Learning to lean on Jesus.  It talks about how each day, we are learning to lean on Jesus.  As we grow as Christians, the process gets easier.

Gal 5:17  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

The more of His Spirit we have in us, the less control our flesh has over our choices. This is how we sacrifice for him. Because he paid the ultimate sacrifice for us. He can do so much with a little bit. Imagine if we could fully surrender and give our lives 100% to Him, holding back nothing. This should be the goal of each and every one of His children.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

OUR HIDING PLACE

Psalm 91:1-8  He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  2 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. 3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. 4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.  5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; 6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.  7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.  8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. 9 Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;

We, as Children of the most high God, can always depend on him to watch over us. The word dwell means to remain for a time.  God wants us to remain for a time with him. He wants us to spend time with him.  Dwell also can mean to live as a resident.  God wants us to reside with him.  He is our Father, and He loves us.

He is our refuge, a hiding place from the attacks of the enemy.  He will shelter us under the shadow of His wings.  Like a mother bird hides her babies under her wing to protect them from the elements and attack of predators, God hides us from evil attacks.

If we remain close to him, he will deliver us from any plan the enemy has to destroy us. He is our shield. We have nothing to fear, no matter what the news says every day.  God is going to take care of His children. Look all down through history at examples; God saved Noah and his family.  They were locked away into the ark of safety long before it started raining.

The children of Israel were safe from all the plagues God unleashed in Egypt. Nothing was close to hurting the children of Israel. What God used to deliver the Children of Israel from the enemy, he used to destroy the Egyptians. He took the plans of the enemy and destroyed them. At the same time, he blessed his people.

In the book of Esther, God used one girl to save His people.  Haman her enemy, made a gallows for Mordecai, Esther’s relative.  God turned around the situation and Haman and his sons hung on the gallows he made for Mordecai. God will always protect his people.

These are just three examples; the word of God is full of amazing stories of deliverance. There is a certain security in knowing the Lord. Do not fear the things that are happening in our world today. God will turn it around also, in His timing and leave a blessing for his chosen ones.

Verse nine says 9 Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; David says because we make the Lord our dwelling place, we will see the reward of the wicked.  It will not be pretty what God will do to our enemies.

Eph 2:18-22  18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.  19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;  20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;   21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:  22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

Verse 18 is talking about Jesus. Through his sacrifice on the cross, we have access by the Holy Ghost to the Father. We are no longer strangers; we become God’s children. We become a dwelling place for God. Together with other believers, we become a habitation for God through the Holy Ghost.

We abide in Him, we dwell with Him, we become His habitation. One verse refers to us as the temple of God. He is our hiding place. Do not let the things in this life become bigger in your sight than God.  Do not allow fear of what the enemy is trying to do, cause you to lose sight of Jesus.  Sometimes it is a walk by faith and not by sight kind of moment.  But if we can learn to press through and keep our God focus, we will find his peace under the shadow of his wings.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

ONE FLOWER

I was sitting in the drive-thru line at my bank the other day.  As I waited for the teller to cash my check, I looked around at all the pretty flowers. They always do such a good job with the landscaping.  Then I noticed a bright yellow flower all alone. It was almost behind the dumpster, against the fence on top of a pile of gravel.  From the location of the flower, it grew there on its own.  I don’t know if it was from a seed of one that had been discarded and missed the dumpster.  I don’t know if a bird dropped it.  But it was still there with its face to the sun saying, ‘Hey world, here I am; I am not supposed to be here, but I fought hard to grow through the rough spots.’ That one flower defied the odds and grew where it wasn’t supposed to grow.

How many times do we face things that try to define our purpose for us? Are we going to allow our circumstances to define us? Are we going to boldly stand with our faces to God and say, ‘Hey world, here I am, I am not supposed to be here, the enemy tried to take me out, but God had other plans.’

I have fought through adversity to grow into the person that I am; satan doesn’t define me. I may not be planted where some feel I should be, but I am where God wants me. I want to be like the one lone flower and keep growing even if it is not easy. Sometimes it’s easier to stand out when we are not surrounded by other flowers. Bloom where God plants you and be bold. Sometimes we are called to be set apart from the crowd to let our light shine.

God will sometimes remove people from our lives. Others he will make unavailable because he wants us to lean on him. We need to come apart and be with him. He wants us to sit quietly and listen to him. We can grow spiritually through adversity. The hard things make us stronger and more determined. If our roots go deep enough, we can grow even when we are in rocky places. I want to be a determined individual, determined to keep my face toward God and bloom where He plants me.

 Gal 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.