So now we must cling tightly to the hope that lives within us, knowing that God always keeps his promises! Discover creative ways to encourage others and to motivate them toward acts of compassion, doing beautiful works as expressions of love.  This is not the time to pull away and neglect meeting together, as some have formed the habit of doing, because we need each other! In fact, we should come together even more frequently, eager to encourage and urge each other onward as we anticipate that day dawning. Hebrews 10:25-26 TPT

I love that we can meet together on this blog to be an encouragement to one another. Each of you have chosen to connect yourself with me and allow me to encourage you on your daily journey. This is just another creative way to ‘meet’ together. To form relationships in a busy and crowded schedule.

Just as it is when I read the Word and spill over onto you, so it is that your comments encourage me and motivate me to continue to do this. Whenever I get too focused on stats and numbers, I return my gaze to the One who prompted me to do this in the beginning and remember that He who began this good work in me, is faithful to complete it.

If only one person reads this and is encouraged to keep going, it’s worth it! It’s not about me, it’s about you! Your life and journey is so important to God, that He placed me in your life to tell you to keep your eyes on Him. Don’t compare yourself with others because you are unique in what you do and He will receive the glory.

Father wants me to tell you how important you are to His plan. You are a beautiful brush stroke on His masterpiece He’s painting to display the beauty of His majesty. One day soon, a trumpet will sound and You will see the Prince of Peace gather you to Himself.  Until that day, be the expression of Love you were intended to be.

Be blessed my friends until we meet again!

Sandy G

 So Abraham waited patiently in faith and succeeded in seeing the promise fulfilled. Hebrews 6:15 TPT

There are mornings that I just can’t stop reading the Word and this was one of them. I started in Hebrews 1 and landed at the end of Hebrews 6 reading in the Passion Translation. I kept thinking, wow, this is so good. God can I share this? How about this? Oh my, this is really good too! How can I pick just one or two verses in this wonderful expression of faith?

As I glanced up from reading, my eyes landed on this single significant sum of everything I had just read;  So Abraham waited patiently in faith and succeeded in seeing the promise fulfilled. 

Abraham had stood in the waiting room for years, considering nothing but what God had spoken over his future. He didn’t consider his age, his stature, his wife, his history, how he felt, what it looked like, nothing in the natural realm. 25 years had passed from the time he obeyed God and began his journey. 25 years in the waiting room, trusting for the outcome of the seed he carried within him.

So what is wrong with us? Perhaps we place more value on what we see in the natural realm verses what we know in our spirit. We were each given the same measure of faith as Abraham had, so perhaps it’s that we aren’t so patient in the waiting room. We’re so focused on what we want that we fail to shift our eyes back onto the God who promised.

While Abraham waited, he still listened and obeyed God. He continued to be involved in Gods plans and purposes while he waited for his promise to manifest. He wasn’t so future focused that he forgot to be present in the everyday things. He built relationship with God. He listened and obeyed.

Nowhere in his story does it ever say he was discouraged. If he was, he never talks about it. Trust doesn’t do that! When you have faith in someone, you never even entertain the idea that they won’t do what they said. Regardless of how long it takes, you’re confident it’s a done deal!

When I was pregnant and my time to deliver came, I was confident that what was planted in me 9 months earlier would come out. I couldn’t see her, but I could feel her growing and moving. I pictured myself holding her in my arms, not just in my belly. That is what needs to happen with your faith. It’s not about positive thinking, it’s about knowing that what God has promised will come to pass and confidently trusting in Him to take care of the details during the process.

Father, while I’m waiting I will trust You. While I’m waiting, I will rest in You. While You do what only You can do, I will continue doing what You call me to do, because it’s in You I live and move. It’s all for You that I exist on this earth to do Your good pleasure. It’s in Jesus’ name and for Your glory. Amen

Until Tomorrow,

Sandy G

And Jesus answered saying to them, “Have faith in God.  Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Mark 11:22-23

In the natural realm we use the term ‘seeing is believing’, but in the spirit realm, believing is seeing. We must get that into our thick skulls! The spirit was made to rule, not the flesh. We are spirits, we live in a body. Our body is simply a house for our spirits to dwell in.

Who is in charge of our body? Our spirit! Why than are we not ruling over our body but are indeed allowing our body to rule over our spirit? Jesus said it best in John 3:6; “For the natural realm can only give birth to things that are natural, but the spiritual realm gives birth to supernatural life!”

Our foundational truth is based on God who is a Spirit. Doesn’t it make sense that what is not seen is greater than that which is seen? Let’s go to John 6:63 in The Passion Translation;  “The Holy Spirit is the one who gives life, that which is of the natural realm is of no help. The words I speak to you are Spirit and life. But there are still some of you who won’t believe.”

So here’s how I see it. First you must have faith in God. When you know who God is and that you are His, you know there’s nothing impossible for you. Secondly you must learn to speak as God speaks. He created with the words of His mouth and we were created to be like Him. Your spirit was born of God and transformed into the image of His Son. What He did, we are to do. 1 John 4:17-Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.

Thirdly, don’t doubt, only believe. Doubt is the enemy of faith, that’s why Paul wrote about the ‘good fight of faith’ to the Ephesians. It’s a battle to keep the faith in His Word when everything in the physical or natural realm looks opposite of what you’re believing for. But the battle is won when you’re convinced that what you know in your spirit is more of a reality then what you see in the flesh.

Fourth and final is that you will have what you say! Almost every translation says it like this; It will be done! The Voice translation says it like this; If you don’t doubt, but trust that what you say will take place, then it will happen. Can’t get any plainer than that!

We’ve each been given a measure of faith, but if you never use your faith, then when you need it the most it just won’t work for you. Why? Because as with any muscle on your body, if you don’t use it and develop it, when you need it, it won’t work for you! I can’t lift 1000 pounds, but I can lift 50 pounds. I know because I’ve practiced, but I didn’t start out with that, I started small and built my way up.

I began with faith for a headache and practiced using my faith until it worked for me. I began with faith to pay my bills until now I’m believing for my home to be paid off. But I had to start with the little and work my way up. It began by knowing what I have a right to and choosing to believe because He said it, not based on how I felt or what I saw in the natural.

So you see my friend, what you’re believing for is what you will see if you don’t lose heart and faint in the developing time. Sit with God long enough and you’ll begin to see that He’s capable of doing more then you’re believing for.

Until Tomorrow,

Sandy G

Have you ever been in a battle that you KNEW you weren’t going to win? The fear, frustration and anger at the unfairness of it all comes over you like a flood. All the accusations, all the drama, all the pain is overwhelming, isn’t it? It’s almost worse when we watch our spouse or children be wrongfully accused. I believe it makes you want to go all ‘postal’ on the attacker, doesn’t it?

I was thinking that it must have been how the Father felt when he watched his Son be wrongfully accused, spit on and beaten.  Suddenly I realized that’s not how He felt at all. He knew the end result. It was a part of a bigger plan that He saw outside of time.

Isaiah 26: 3-4 gives us the key, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for in YAH, the Lord, is everlasting strength.”

There it is, the place of perfect peace is a place of trust. Have you ever done the ‘trust fall’? You know, when you fall backward into the arms of people who catch you? Yeah, me neither! Well, that’s what God is asking us to do, the trust fall. Fall into His arms of love and trust Him, he knows how it’s going to turn out.

Do you trust Him even when it looks REALLY bad? When you have to stand there and take all that, do you trust Him? When you get fired, do you trust Him? When you lose your house, do you trust Him? When it looks like they’ve won, do you trust Him? When you don’t get what you want, when you want it, do you trust Him?

I believe that when things are at their worst, the rescue looks the best. When things are at their lowest, the arm of the Lord is outstretched the farthest. Remember when Elisha was surrounded by the army and he wasn’t stressed a bit by it, but his servant was freaking out? Elisha asked the Lord to open his eyes and he saw the chariots of the Lord surrounding them. Why? Because when you know the ending, the story gets sweeter.

The battle isn’t ours, it’s Gods. Stop trying to fight this battle, rest in His peace and presence and trust in the Lord. When you are in the secret place of the Most High God (Ps 91), thats when He will show you His salvation. It’s a habit we all must develop if we’re to be a light in this very dark world. Find your hiding place and stay there till the storm passes. Trust that He’s big enough to take care of this and you.

Until Tomorrow,

Sandy G

Let us see your miracles again, and let the rising generation see the glorious wonders you’re famous for.  Psalm 90:16 TPT

This is my prayer today.  It’s my prayer for my children and grandchildren, to see the glorious wonders You’re famous for. We grew up hearing the stories of what wonders God did for the children of Israel. We heard stories about Jesus and the miracles He did. But we’ve not seen those miracles or experienced the wonders in this day, and this generation is crying out for them.

Perhaps it’s time we set aside our lack of faith and unbelief long enough to look around for opportunities for Jesus to shine through us to the dark world around us. Perhaps we should clean our lenses a little bit, lift our head up and pay attention to those around us in our everyday lives.

Let us see your miracles again, and let the rising generation see the glorious wonders you’re famous for. Do it through me, Lord. I want to be Your vessel so that others may know You as I do. I want to share the Love I’ve experienced. That unconditional, undeserved, deep and abiding, never subsiding Love. The same Love you showed on the cross to the thief. The same Love you showed the blind man. The same Love you gave Lazarus when You raised him from the dead. 

Let us experience You. The real You. The compassionate You. The life changing You. The One who didn’t just come to save us, but who came to buy us back and gave us all authority over all the power of the enemy. The One who transformed us into the image of Your Son.

Let us see your miracles again, and let the rising generation see the glorious wonders you’re famous for. We will accept nothing less than ALL of You. You in me changing the world around me. My Healer, My Provider, My Lord and My King.

Until Tomorrow,

Sandy G

So resist the temptation to pronounce premature judgment on anything before the appointed time when all will be fully revealed. Instead, wait until the Lord makes his appearance, for he will bring all that is hidden in darkness to light and unveil every secret motive of everyone’s heart. Then, when the whole truth is known, each will receive praise from God. 1 Corinthians 4:5 TPT

We think we know but we really don’t. We see so little and judge so much but here he says to hold off, don’t be judging what you see because you don’t see it all and you won’t until God reveals the whole truth in the end.

In a courtroom, we “swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help me God”, when in actuality, we’re telling our perception of the truth that we think we know based on the small portion of what we’ve observed. In other words, it’s just our opinion based upon our observation.

Can I just break out a bit of news to you? Even when you think you know, you don’t really know it all. How many times have you read a scripture and thought you ‘knew’ what God meant, then suddenly He shows you another aspect or shines a revelation light and what you had never seen before becomes clear and it’s mind bending!

When Jesus returns, I can’t wait to see the entire picture He’s been drawing because this part that I see just looks ugly and it doesn’t make a lick of sense. You see, I see one pixel of the picture He’s trying to make and it’s just distorted because I’m way too close to it, but when the whole picture is revealed we will each receive praise from God for our tiny part in doing what He’s asked us to do.

Now that, my dear friend is enough to make you break out in a happy dance. It will cause you to change your shoes and do the Friday praise dance because what you thought was ugly, was beautiful in His eyes. What you thought was a mess, became a message of good news to those discouraged and downcast around you.

Hello out there my remnant friend. You thought to give up on Monday, but God gave you hope throughout the week just so that you could find the hidden praise on Friday. Lift your hands and shout out your praise to the King of kings and the Lord of lords. You are His and He rejoices in you. You will understand it all someday and on that day, God Himself will give you praise!

Until Monday Comes Again,

Sandy G

Behold I do a new thing now it springs forth, shall you not know it. I will even make a road in the wilderness and Rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19

Isn’t it amazing that even though God says, behold I do a new thing, people are still looking for the old. I don’t know about you, but this just seems a little odd to me.

I am a people watcher. I love to watch people, to watch their patterns. I love the study of personalities, personality traits. I love the whole study of people in general. First and foremost it amazes me how God created us in His image and likeness yet there are some people who are so far from what we know God to be that we wonder who their actual father is!

Isn’t it amazing that we take pride in our heritage, for example, I look like my father I have the faith of my mother, I have my grandmother’s smile, I have my grandfather’s dimples, yet when it comes to our spiritual Father, there is such little resemblance?

Isn’t it amazing how we know that God is love yet love is the very last thing that people see reflected in our lives. We respond in anger, we are hurt by what people say about us, we’re intimidated by the contrary winds of adversity, we allow others opinions to define us. Yet we focus so little on the fact that Jesus Christ gave us dominion over all principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness. He handed us back the keys to the kingdom that he himself took from Satan so that we could rule and reign on this earth once again and yet….

Isn’t it amazing how we scurry back to our comfort zone when God specifically said, “Behold I do a new thing shall you not know it?” Yet the new thing makes us so uncomfortable that we find ourselves running back to the familiar once again only to be disappointed there’s nothing new there.

Wouldn’t it be amazing if we took God at His word. If we stayed uncomfortable long enough to learn what it is He’s trying to show us so that we can be who He has called us to be in the Earth?

Wouldn’t it be amazing if instead of hurrying to our next appointment we would just tarry for a little while in His presence and allow the Holy Spirit to give us our assignment in this new season? So that instead of doing what we want, we would actually do what He wants.

When will we learn that God has called us out of darkness into His glorious light? When will we allow that Light to shine through us in our marketplace at the risk of losing our job and relying completely and totally on Him?

I am fully persuaded that what costs us nothing is not the new way God is moving. Self sacrifice is a requirement. Selfless Love is a requirement. Persecution is a requirement. Fully trusting in God is a requirement. Seeking His face with all our heart is a requirement.

But you are God’s chosen treasure—priests who are kings, a spiritual “nation” set apart as God’s devoted ones. He called you out of darkness to experience his marvelous light, and now he claims you as his very own. He did this so that you would broadcast his glorious wonders throughout the world. 1 Peter 2:9 TPT

Be Amazing Today!
Until Tomorrow,
Sandy G

Keep trusting in the Lord and do what is right in his eyes. Fix your heart on the promises of God and you will be secure, feasting on his faithfulness. Psalm 37:3 TPT

There have been times when I’ve felt the Lord had distanced Himself from me. Like perhaps I’d done something wrong and He just didn’t want to be around me. Then I remembered what His Word says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you!” and I realize that it’s simply a feeling, and Satan messes with my feelings just to try and convince me that the way I feel is more real than the truth of God’s Word.

The second part of this verse is so important; Fix your heart on the promises of God and you will be secure, feasting on his faithfulness. To fix my heart on His promises means that my gaze will not falter, shift or lose focus. His promises remain intact regardless of what it looks like, feels like or sounds like.

Feasting on His faithfulness makes me think of a church picnic, where all the families of the church gather and everyone prepares and brings their best recipes to share. Once you taste and partake of the goodness, throughout the week you remember how good that tasted.

When you feast on Gods faithfulness, you remember what He did for you in the past. You recall that time when your daughter licked the ant poison off the card you had set out for those sugar ants. You knew what the bottle said, but you trusted in the Lord that when Jesus said, “They will take up poisonous things and it won’t harm them,” you took Him at His Word and she never even got sick.

You feast on His faithfulness that He’s indeed your Provider. You remember that season when you had no income and a family you didn’t know delivered groceries to your door. He made a way where there was no way! There were no jobs anywhere, but God began to drop opportunities at the right time so we could pay a bill.

Perhaps you’re in a desolate place right now and you’re wondering if any of the Words God has given you will ever come to pass. My friend, Keep trusting in the Lord and do what is right in his eyes. 

When I’m in that place of uncertainty and everywhere I look appears empty and lifeless, I speak life into it. Just as Ezekiel spoke to those dry bones, I speak life over every empty and lifeless situation. I call on the Spirit of the Lord inside of me and speak life over every void I see. He’s waiting for an assignment. Just as He hovered over the waters waiting for God to speak, so He’s waiting for you.

Father, my heart trusts in You! The way You love me is astounding. Every morning when I wake up, Your loving arms are around me and the memory of Your tender kisses are still on my lips.

Even when all I see is darkness, You are my Light and my Salvation. When I feel alone, I will remember You’ll never leave me. What manifests in this earthly realm is subject to change by Your spoken Word. You are forever one with my spirit and my soul will make it’s boast in You. It’s in Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Until Tomorrow,

Sandy G

Now faith brings our hopes into reality and becomes the foundation needed to acquire the things we long for. It is all the evidence required to prove what is still unseen. Hebrews 11:1 TPT

I love the way this verse is written in the passion translation. It is so descriptive of life being lived in the fullness in the spirit realm. Since God is a Spirit and we cannot see Him with our natural eyes, but still we know He exists, it is all the evidence required to prove what is still unseen.

And without faith living within us it would be impossible to please God. For we come to God in faith knowing that he is real and that he rewards the faith of those who passionately seek him. Hebrews 11:6 TPT

Question for you; what is the evidence of your faith? Are you passionately seeking him? Because He said that if we seek Him with all our heart we will find Him. Have you found Him? Does He accompany you in your everyday walk with Him? Do you take Him to work with you or do you leave Him at home because you’re embarrassed?

Have you ever had anyone comment to you, “The moment I saw you it was evident you’re a believer!” Is the presence of God so strong upon you that there is no mistaking the light emanating from you, has to be from your loving Father? When it’s not necessary to make the announcement,”I’m a Christian!”

When faith becomes the only evidence you need to show the world that you believe, it opens the light of His gospel for everyone to see. As Paul so beautifully says in Colossians 1:27 TPT: Living within you is the Christ who floods you with the expectation of glory! This mystery of Christ, embedded within us, becomes a heavenly treasure chest of hope filled with the riches of glory for his people, and God wants everyone to know it!

Until Tomorrow,

Sandy G

Hello Monday. I think we’re gonna enjoy each other today. It is just a frame of mind, right? I think of Monday as a new beginning to a new week. Fresh, new, it will be a day that God presents Himself evident in my life once again. Opportunities to show love to others, to be an instrument of grace to the world.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 was the equivalent of God’s Monday. Look at all He did on that first day. I believe that as His son’s and daughter’s, we should also be creating.

With our words, let’s create a good work environment for those we work with and those who happen by. Put a smile on their faces as they start their day. Tell them how nice they look, how much you appreciate what they do. Let them know they are special. It doesn’t cost anything to be kind.

Imagine a world where we get our heads out of our devices and actually participate in conversations with those around us. What a novel thought! How about spending some time with a loved one, a shut-in, helping your children with their homework or just listening to how their day went.

Let’s work on our beginning day so that the end of our day will be satisfying. A day that stands out for others is a good day! I believe that focusing on others is the best way to improve your own day.