Never without a story

This morning my routine was all thrown off. I usually am able to focus in on doing my entry but there was an unusual amount of action in my morning, nothing terrible, just had a lot going on. I had to take some time to settle back down so that I could hear clearly. When I finally sat down to write, I immediately got a word that I thought was going to be one thing but turned into something completely different. Sounds like I have a theme going with my day, huh? But I think that was the point. Our goals and dreams never come without a story.

Think about what you are going through right now in your life. And we are ALL going through something! It doesn’t have to be bad or traumatic but we all go through cycles and experiences in life that are designed to teach us something. When you come to the end of this thing you are going through now, won’t you have a story to tell? I know I will! I have experienced highs and lows, revelations and setbacks, joy and turmoil and it has all added to my testimony. Today is about encouraging us to live out the story because there is victory at the end of it.

Jesus spoke in parables (stories) throughout His ministry. In Mark 4, he tells 3 or 4 of them about seed. I encourage you to read them because they will bless you tremendously but I want to draw your attention to verses 33 & 34.  ^“With many stories like these, he presented his message to them, fitting the stories to their experience and maturity. He was never without a story when he spoke. When he was alone with his disciples, he went over everything, sorting out the tangles, untying the knots.” (MSG) Isn’t that a pretty good explanation of our lives? Often the experiences that we have are ways to better understand who God is. The key is that as we grow and mature in the faith, we can recognize the lessons that are being taught. And as we strive to be true disciples of Christ, he will keep working with us and breaking things down so we understand.

Life is not easy. Every day we have to face giants and challenges that we don’t necessarily expect but there is an expected end. Jesus died on the cross so that we could be whole, healed and at peace. So, when it gets hard in your life and the process seems never ending, change your focus to the victory at the end.  Paul says “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Phil 1:6, NKJV) This chapter of your story has an end. It will not go on forever because God will never leave an unfinished work.

You remember the song from back in the day, “As I look back over my life and I think things over, I can truly say that I’ve been blessed! I have a testimony!” Joys and triumphs often come with some struggle and losses but oh what a story! Jesus is using your story to bless someone else in their life. Don’t let where you are right now keep you from moving on to the next chapter. Your healing is waiting on the next page! Your breakthrough is in the next sentence! Your peace has already been written! All you have to do is live it out and trust God! He’s still telling your story! I leave you with these words from Paul as your story continues to be written…

“I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.  May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.”(Phil. 1: 9-11 NLT)

AMEN...

Lord, show me...ME

This morning when I was in prayer about my entry, I saw this interesting vision. I could clearly see my surroundings and then a face popped up and looked right at me. She stared at me as though she was trying to memorize my face. It was an in depth study. The woman staring at me was me.  When I sat down to write, all I heard was “Show me me”. I kind of took a deep breath. One of my prayers has always been that I would be able to see myself and not think so highly of myself that I can’t recognize when I have gotten off track or done something wrong. I’m not talking about having low self-esteem but rather self-examination.  It’s so easy to get caught up in what other people are doing wrong that we don’t take the time to self-examine. Over time, I’ve begun to recognize it as God wanting me to be my best. How about you?

I love the writings of Paul! Some of it comes from my mama, who would regularly preach from his writings when I was growing up. But mostly it comes from the fact that he was real! He wanted everyone to live their best life and he wasn’t afraid to tell you the truth. Today I was led to 2 Corinthians 13 where Paul is talking to the Corinthians yet again about living with holiness and the consequences of constant sin.   As I was reading the chapter, things started becoming clearer. Verse 5 says “Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don’t drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay that Jesus Christ is in you.“(MSG) Have you had a checkup lately? Are you living off of a deliverance from 2 years ago and not moving forward? Have you gone backwards in your commitment to reading your Bible and praying? Every now and then, we have to look at self and see what might be lacking and ask God to strengthen us in those areas.

 Anyone that has read this blog for any length of time knows how much I hate the devil and all his busy work. I’m notorious for saying “the devil”. However, I recognize that it’s not always the devil, sometimes it’s us! Can you recognize when your choices and words have caused something to happen in your life? That’s one of the greatest benefits of God showing you yourself. You can repent for things before the devil is allowed to take them to the next level. Proverbs 18:21, one of my favorite bible verses, says “Death and life are in the power of the tongue and they that love it will eat the fruit thereof.”(KJV) We have to look at the things that are coming out of our mouths. If I always say that my husband will never be saved, that death talk doesn’t encourage him to come to church and get saved. If I constantly say that I am broke, wealth is not inspired to come my way. I have to take some time and look at my life and see what I might be doing or saying that is keeping me from moving where I want to go and then ask God to fix it.

It’s so easy to blame someone else or point out other people’s issues. We can all witness to that! The hard part is looking at you and seeing the fault or the issue. It can hurt to recognize that some of your problems lie with you. But once you get in the habit of looking at yourself, others don’t hold that power over you. God wants us all to be whole and that takes honesty…honesty with self and with God!  I often find myself in my prayer closet, asking God to show me myself and it isn’t always pretty but in the end, I am grateful. I don’t want to walk around oblivious to something I am doing or have done. I’m not giving the devil any openings. I’m not going to give him the pleasure of staying blinded to things that can be changed or fixed. It’s time to take the power back.  Remember what Jesus said in his prayer to God about His disciples shortly before He was crucified. He said, “Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth.” (John 17:17 NKJV)He wants that for all of us. That we walk in truth and awareness…

At the end of the 2 Corinthians 13, Paul encourages the Corinthians as I want to encourage you! Take the challenge of a little self-examination and see if you don’t feel lighter and ready to move forward in victory! “And that's about it, friends. Be cheerful. Keep things in good repair. Keep your spirits up. Think in harmony. Be agreeable. Do all that, and the God of love and peace will be with you for sure…The amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of God, the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you.” (2 Cor. 13: 11, 14 MSG)

AMEN

From shadows to substance

I was talking to one of my best friends yesterday and she told me that she heard a scripture in church recently that really spoke to her. It was a familiar verse that she had quoted often but that particular day a light bulb came on. It actually meant something to her. It tickled me because I love how God works. I love that He has given us a living word that can be read to a group but speak to the needs of each person individually.  It’s time now to put the Word into action. God wants us to move from the shadows to the substance! Woooooo! When I saw that phrase in my online bible, it screamed out at me! That’s what God has been leading me to in these last few blogs. It’s time for us to move away from talking and into living!

 “My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you've been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You're deeply rooted in him. You're well-constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you've been taught. School's out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.” (Colossians 2:6, 7 MSG) How many times do we get so caught up in the words of the scripture that we don’t bury it in our heart and live it? It’s like my conversation with my friend. She had spoken that scripture multiple times but during this season in her life, it came alive for her. Paul is reminding us to let the Word which is Christ come alive in us and let it inform how we think, talk and behave. Once you have Him, everything grows from there, so walk in it.  

The devil likes to attack the mind. He wants you to believe that you’re lost and hopeless. He wants you to think that you don’t deserve to have the best and that you will not come out of that circumstance or place that you’re in. He definitely doesn’t want you to grab hold of the idea that Christ is inside of you and causing you to always win! But we’re serving notice on the devil today! “When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive—right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ's cross. He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets.” (Col. 2: 13-15 MSG) You WIN!

You have all that you need to live in victory and faith. You have Christ! Do you need further evidence? Go look in the mirror. If you can do that, it means you are alive. If you’re alive, then you have an opportunity to walk in the authority that God has given you. You have the chance to live out your victory! Stop allowing circumstances to slow your progress. God told me that this week. How can you get what you want if you don’t step out in faith? Often times God is just waiting for us to have the faith to just make one step and he will cover the rest of the journey.

God is Jehovah Shammah! Do you know what that means? It means He is there! When He tells you to step out, don’t think you will be alone. He is there. When He tells you to live the Word, He is there to show you the way.  Friends, we are on a journey from the shadows to the substance! Are you ready to walk with the tangible power of an ever present God? Through Christ, He has given you all that you need.  “Everything of God gets expressed in him, so you can see and hear him clearly. You don't need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him. When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything.”  (Col. 2: 9, 10 MSG)

AMEN

Soul Awakening

Over the last month or so, God has been giving me entries about freedom, both in the natural and in the spiritual realm. Even in talking about taking God at His word, He wants us to be free from the bondage that the world has put us in. Today, I woke up with the words of Free by Kierra Sheard playing in my head. The lyrics say “My redeemer has saved me from sin. My soul is awakened, I live free from what held me, free from what fought me mentally. You’ve captured me in my mind I am free, in my heart, if I am Yours, I am free.” The key phrase that caught my attention during the concert in my mind was “My soul is awakened”. How many of us are walking around with an awakened soul? A soul that is joyful and free? It occurred to me that once we really get free, it should be recognizable. Sure you may have a rough day here and there but if you are walking in liberty, your soul should be awake and bursting with joy. So I ask again, is your soul awakened?

One of the first scriptures that comes to mind when I think about having an awakened soul may not be immediately obvious but is so key to our journeys as Christians. 1 John 4: 12-19 talks about the love of God that lives inside of us. The question then becomes can we possibly live in true freedom if we don’t recognize the power of God’s love for us. This is a lot of verses but I think they are key to living our best life. We have to truly understand what it means to have God’s love. It’s an amazing gift.

“No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.  And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.  All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God.  We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.  Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.  We love each other because he loved us first.”(1John 4:12-19, NLT)

Think about that! If we take a minute to realize who we are in Christ, and I mean really think about it, your soul has to start stretching and waking up. We are not bound by fear because God did not give us a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind! (2 Tim 1:7) That’s freedom! We have this love inside of us that grows more perfect and prepares us for every battle. This love even causes us to want to live and walk like Jesus and gives us confidence to even face the ultimate judgment.

Do you feel an awakening yet? No? Here’s an exercise. Close your eyes for a minute, even at your desk and just think about how much God loves you. Hard to do? Take a breath, speak a word, listen to the sounds around you. He gave that to you. They are things that we take for granted but they are evidence of God’s love. Grab hold to that feeling and allow the freedom to overtake you. There is no reason to be bound anymore. In the spirit, I see your soul awakening. I see the chains of old hurt falling off. I see the ropes of disappointment and frustration loosening and falling away. I see the light getting brighter. Even if you are facing sickness, God’s love has healing. If you are broke, God’s love has provision. If you are lonely, God’s love has comfort. It’s all around and it’s perfect!

May your soul awaken with the love of Christ and the joy of knowing He did it all for you!

Miracle Worker?

The other day I watched a documentary called “Finger of God” and it was eye opening. Darren Wilson, the filmmaker, travels around the world documenting various miracles, signs and wonders in a quest to see evidence of God’s presence in today’s world. He starts this journey after his aunt and uncle tell him that God gave them gold teeth during a service. It made him uncomfortable and he wanted to see if there was more that God was doing. He ends up seeing healings, signs and wonders and is forced to re-evaluate who God is in his own life. The film had its desired effect on me because it left me with a question that I want to pose to you. Do you believe God beyond the Bible?

As I watched the film, there were some points where I sat up straighter and thought to myself…”Hmmmm…I don’t know about that.” But then my next thought would be…”Well why not?” Throughout the Bible, we see God performing miracles, signs and wonders.  Hebrews 13:8 tells us that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” so if He did it back then, He can do it now. Right? Well…why are we not seeing the signs and wonders anymore on a large scale? What are we missing? A large part of the issue is that we have been conditioned by the world to want to investigate everything. We question, analyze, and research until we find an explanation for what we see but in doing that aren’t we missing the blessing?

When Jesus sent the disciples off with the Great Commission, He said, “These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.”  (Mark 16:17,18 NLT) We should be seeing healings whenever we pray. But we don’t.  It brings me back to the question I posed at the beginning. How many of us have limited God to what we see in the Bible? You know…believe that He can heal the sick but not instantaneously.  Believe that He could raise Jesus from the dead but not your grandmother.  Believe that He could feed the Israelites with manna for 40 years in the desert but not supply your needs.  It’s an interesting question and I think requires us to really examine who God is to us as individuals.

Don’t you want to see and perform miracles for the Kingdom?! I do and Jesus said that I could. “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.  You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!” (John 14: 12-14, NLT) I want the faith of my 3 year old, who told me this morning, when I asked her to pray for my neck that was hurting, “It’s already better, Mommy” and it was. I want to be like the Chinese and the Africans who experience miracles all the time because they believe God at His Word. They will risk their lives to hear a Word. They will travel for miles in the heat to get healing.

This entry is not for everyone because it’s not the normal encouraging word. It might require you to be inconvenienced or uncomfortable for God. Trust me, I understand. I tried to not even write this one. I wanted God to give me something more uplifting but I had to come back to this. It’s not even so much about instant healings or gold teeth, it’s about really believing in an all-powerful God. God wants to do so much more with us but we don’t have time.  In order for us to go to the next level in God, we have to take God out of our comfortable Sunday at 11:00 box.  We have to want more. I challenge you to dive deeper in your personal relationship. You might be surprised where God takes you…