Tag: #walkingbyfaith

KNOWING OUR IDENTITY AND GOD’S

At times in life, we occasionally get stuck in a rut. Personal catastrophes can get us sidetracked from our God focus.  Other times, life kicks us in the gut and all we can do is cling to Jesus to survive and draw our next breath. After a period of time in that rut, we need to look for a way to climb out and get our focus again.

I find that life often throws things at us that we do not expect, but rest assured, it is not a surprise to God. He knows how each situation is going to mold and make us. God understands our every thought and the motivation behind the thought.

PS 139: 1-3 O Lord, You have searched me and known me. 2 You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off.  3 You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways.

He knows everything about us, so it stands to reason that He would want us to know all about Him. God is wise and understands what we have need of before we even ask. We are defined by God and not our situations.

I often write about one of my go-to verses, 2 Cor 5:7 – (For we walk by faith and not by sight). That is so important in our walk with God. Many things are not as they appear. The enemy often tries to twist things to make them appear to support his agenda.  Satan wants to destroy us, so he will try to twist and distract us from our path.

God set us on a path when we chose to live our lives for him.  The enemy doesn’t care if we attend church.  He doesn’t care if we say we are Christians. It doesn’t bother him if we carry a bible everywhere we go, (as long as we don’t read it). It is when we get in the Word and realize who we really are that he gets nervous.  There used to be a phrase used on Saturday morning cartoons when I was a kid that said, “Knowledge is power.” This phrase is so very true in the life of a Christian.

The more we dig into the Word, the more we realize who we are in Christ.  We see the triumphs and mistakes of those who have gone before us.  This helps us face our obstacles in life.  The word teaches us that we must walk by faith. We do this by relying on Jesus, even when it looks like there is no way to fix our problems.  We believe He will be there to help us fix our situation.  He will lead and guide us.

The more I study the life of David, the more impressed I am with his relationship with God. David had many triumphs and many mistakes.  He committed sin and fell down a few times.  But we must give the people under the old covenant a little credit.  God walked with them, not in them. God would guide them, but the Holy Ghost had not been given. So, God’s Spirit did not live within them.

We have the ability to walk closer to perfection because God lives within us. I am not saying I am perfect or you are perfect, but we can strive to be as close as possible. Because we have His Spirit, we can walk by faith. Our guide lives inside of us.

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; (6) In all your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths.

This verse is often quoted, but it is great advice.  If we trust in the Lord with all our heart. Then, we will not be distracted by the enemy. Because God will have our whole heart.  There will not be room for us to listen to the enemy or our human understanding.  God surpasses our realm of knowledge and understanding. If we acknowledge Him in all our ways, he will always guide us.

I want to encourage you to walk by faith and not by sight.  Do not allow the enemy to tell you how bad your situation appears.  Tell him that you walk by faith and that you don’t look at how it appears. God can turn a situation around in the blink of an eye.

Take some time to dig into the word. Find a deeper understanding of your identity in Christ. Always remember that we walk by faith and not by sight.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

Saying Yes

God sometimes asks us to do things that to us seems impossible. Often, it seems like a monumental task. And we often feel that we’re too small to accomplish what he’s asked us to do. There’s nothing impossible for him. We need to learn to lean and trust him, even when he’s asked us to do something that to us seems impossible. He knows us better than we know ourselves.

It’s possible with him because he will open the doors to make a way. He qualifies those he calls. Whatever he’s called you to do, he will give you the tools necessary to accomplish it. Because why would he set us up for failure? He wants what is best for us. God is a loving God and he wants us to accomplish great things.

We ask him for miracles every day. But when he asks us to step out of our comfort zone, we hesitate. We ask God, do you really want me to do that? Do you really want me to go there? Do you really want me to talk to that person? God gently nudges and pushes. Think about all he has done for us. Why do we hesitate? He will make a way and he will open doors for us to accomplish what he has asked us to do. But here we go again, back to the key thing. Learning to lean and learning to trust. God honors the bold.

I don’t want to be measured and found lacking. I don’t want to run from the task he has asked ( like Jonah) only to end up in a mess. Then we end up doing it anyway.  I want to be able to simply say, “Yes.”

There is a big world full of spiritually dead people who need us to be a light in their darkness. What will we do?  Will we run?  Will we tell God not yet? Will the answer be “Yes, I will go.”

BE BOLD, BE BLESSED AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

GET RID OF THE EMPTY

All of my life, I have heard the phrase, being filled with God.  Having a life full of God’s presence.  To be filled with God’s Spirit. If you walk in the Spirit, you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh. This morning, I woke up with thoughts of what it means to be filled. If we take a water bottle and run water into it under a tap until there is only water inside, we say it is full. I had an incredible thought this morning.  To be filled means to get rid of all the empty space.  Before the water went into the bottle, it was full of air, but we considered the vessel to be empty.

I pray, God fill all the emptiness.  Don’t leave one small portion without him.  I used to pray, “Empty me of me and fill me with more of you.” God is going to do amazing things. We all walk through seasons when we feel that God is far away.  We feel empty.  It is in this time that we must trust. Learning to wait for him to show us the next step can be a lonely place. If we wait on Him, He will speak and guide us.

When we are filled with God’s Spirit, we will be full. As Christians, we must be so full of God that others can feel his presence. They should be able to see Christ in us without us saying, “I am a Christian or I believe in Jesus.” They should know, even if we are not wearing our Christian t-shirts and ballcaps. (Not that I have an issue with t-shirts; I own several.)

 I Cor. 3:16 16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If God’s Spirit dwells within us, we will be filled. It will take over all the empty spaces within us.

When Moses had been in the presence of God, he glowed.  How many people do you know that glow with God’s presence? I pray that God helps us to not just let our light shine but that we will glow with his presence and love.  Gal 5:16 16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. We have to have his Spirit in order to walk in the Spirit. (Let our light shine)

Most Christians I know are dealing with serious things at this time. I am not saying we should wear a fake smile and pretend all is fine. It is ok to be who we are and allow those closest to us to know our struggles. The word says to confess our faults to one another. I also think that can be true of our struggles, pain, and the battles we are fighting.  But be careful who you share those things with; not everyone who acts concerned will do the right thing and pray. Some are waiting to gossip and tear you down. Now more than ever, we need to have discernment about the events in the world and other people. God will show us who is not going to have our back, but who will shove a knife into it. These people know the right things to say. But they are not full of God, they will not have God’s glow.

Being full means there is no lack. Everything we need we already have in our hands. I have said this before; if our Lord Jesus Christ dwells within you, you have everything you will ever need.  When we need something, it will rise to the surface. If we need strength, it will rise up.  If we need encouragement, it will rise up. If we need his healing power, it too, will rise up within us to bring deliverance.

Healing sometimes comes in miraculous ways; instantaneously. But other times, healing comes in stages. God knows what is best for us. Sometimes, when he works in those instant right now kind of ways, it is to increase our faith or show someone around us that he is God. Other times, when we have to walk out our healing, it is to teach us to lean on Jesus.

Christians are not exempt from troubles, we have the same trials of life that sinners do. But we have someone who is with us and will help us. I pray, Lord never let any type of pain or disappointment be for no reason. Help me learn from it, so that I can help others to be encouraged.