So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him make himself scarce. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet. James 4:8-10 Message

I’m not sure this is something you want to read this morning, but it should be a reminder to each and every one of us as we go about our day. Let God work His will in you. What is His will for you? Well if Jesus came to do the will of the Father who sent Him, we should also do the will of Jesus who sent us. In there somewhere should read, “Lay down my life for You.”

It’s time to purify our lives. Stop making up excuses so we can continue doing what we want and think there’s no consequences. This life was not intended to be all sunshine and roses, but rather persecution and trials are a very large part of the Christ led life. If you think you’re exempt from that, think again. People will hate you, accuse you of some pretty awful stuff, you may just be blocked, unfriended and canceled because of what you stand for. In Matthew chapter 5, Jesus told us to rejoice about that, we’re right up there with the prophets who were also persecuted.

It’s time to get really serious about our walk with God. The only way to do that is on our face, laying before Him and repenting for being self-centered. To cry out, “Father, take me, the mess I’ve made and turn it around for Your good. I’ve been selfish and I’m sorry. Help me! I cannot do this alone and I was never meant to. If there is truly anything left in me that You can use, I am Yours.”

Breathe on me, Lord. Blow away all the worry and cares, the stress and distractions, everything and anything that keeps me from You. Like a warm fire on a cold night, I want to sit in Your presence and allow Your peace to warm me. I won’t relent until I have what I need, Your attention on my worship. I am Yours, so I will wait in this place until the breath of Your Spirit blows upon me and thrills my soul. It’s all I need. Without it, I may as well call off work and climb back into bed because I know my day will fall apart without You in it.

Your Daughter,

Sandy G

“What is the value of your soul to God? Could your worth be defined by any amount of money? God doesn’t abandon or forget even the small sparrow he has made. How then could he forget or abandon you? What about the seemingly minor issues of your life? Do they matter to God? Of course they do! So you never need to worry, for you are more valuable to God than anything else in this world.” Luke 12:6-7 TPT

Everything that is seen or unseen, known or unknown, your dreams, goals, every promise, all of it matters to God. Regardless of what your 5 senses say to you, if it matters to you, it matters to God.

If you could see what God has planned, you would trust that He also knows the perfect time for it to happen. Do you remember the story of the prophet, Samuel? It begins with the years her womb was closed and her husbands 2nd wife harassed her constantly about it. Hannah, who desperately wanted a child, finally told the Lord that if He gave her a son, she would give Him back to the Lord. When God finally opened her womb, she conceived Samuel the Prophet and gave him for the service of the Lord.

Perhaps God was waiting for her to surrender her son so that He would have a prophetic voice in the earth. Sometimes what God is doing sets us up for something beyond our understanding. When we become desperate, we tend to become more surrendered.

During your time of waiting for the promise to manifest, allow God to finish you. Yeah, just like making a fine garment, the finishing touches is what makes it beautiful. When I made Stacys wedding dress, it was the hand sown pearls on that blasted bodice that took so much time, but I have to say, it offset that dress perfectly.

God’s putting it all together, every pearl, every seam, every part of every promise and it will be a perfect fit to you. Wait for it. Psalm 27:14, “Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.” Just be excited! For your day is almost here.

Waiting,

Sandy G

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones.  He caused me to pass among them round about, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and lo, they were very dry. He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, You know.” Again He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.’ Thus says the Lord God to these bones, ‘Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life. I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the Lord.’” Ezekiel 37:1-6 NASB

Last night I had a dream. It seemed like more of a nightmare than a dream, but after I woke up and read the verses that came to me, I realized it was more of a message to the body of Christ.

In this dream, I and a small company of people were on a beach of sorts in unknown territory surrounded by an odd looking species, who walked and acted like humans, but didn’t resemble humans. They seemed friendly but curious at first, but soon, they had taken two of our young boys to a hill. Their father had gone up to try to get them back, pleading with them, but they wouldn’t release them.

This soon happened again to another set of sons, but their father marched up the hill and demanded his sons be released to him, soon they handed his sons back and the man returned to us with his sons. That father went back up the hill to tell the other father how to demand, not plead, but there was so much emotion involved that the pleading father just couldn’t understand how to do what the demanding father had asked him to do.

In the mean time, I saw some of these aliens going into what appeared like a valley. I heard the Lord say, follow them and I will show you what is truly going on here. When I came to the clearing, I saw what appeared at one time to be a large village. There was nothing left but the outline of buildings and what appeared to be piles of dust where bodies had fallen all over the ground.

What I observed was small groups, I assumed families, making memorial stones and placing them near the mounds. I asked the Lord what had happened and what I could do? Suddenly the Spirit of the Lord fell and the earth began to split like an earthquake. A light came out of the earth and the Love of God began to pour out over the ground. I opened my mouth and a booming voice began to speak, “FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD, HE GAVE HIS ONLY SON TO DIE SO THAT YOU COULD KNOW HIS LOVE AND HIS LOVE WOULD SET YOU FREE!”

Before my eyes I saw these mounds of dust begin to circle like a tornado and soon the village was filled with living, breathing ‘people’. That’s when I woke up and I heard the Lord ask, “Can these bones live?” Which in turn led me to read Ezekiel 37 again.

As I was typing this, I began to know a few things that I didn’t know when I woke up this morning.

1. We must no longer plead with the Lord for things, but rather use our God given authority to place a demand on our covenant rights.
2. The revelation Love of God will not only change us and our situations, but the world around us. We must know the Love of God for that to happen. I believe many of us will experience a deep shaking and awakening as God breaks open the hard-hearted and begins to pour His Love upon us, bringing with it resurrection power that will literally transform our world.
3. This last great revival will happen through a ‘small company of people’, a remnant. Those who will open themselves up to allow this great breaking to happen so that what broke them, will allow the Love to flow through them.

There is only one reason that God would do this; so that we would know He is Lord. So many people I have spoken to just don’t believe anymore. They’ve lost all hope because they placed their hope in a man, a church, a building, a job or what they learned or thought they knew. But I hear the Lord saying to His remnant, “Put your hope in Me!”

Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence. Psalm 42:5

Hoping in God,

Sandy G

To all my remnant friends who want to know a little bit more about me, I wanted to include you in on this short video.

I will be creating videos about things that God places in my heart at least once a week. If you’re interested in receiving notifications, please like and subscribe.

Much Love,

Sandy G

My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Psalm 84:2

Ever been hungry for something but not know what you’re hungry for? You search through the refrigerator and the cupboards looking for that one thing but can’t seem to find it. “What do I want?” you ask the frig. Out of frustration, you grab something and stuff it in your mouth only to be more frustrated because it just doesn’t satisfy.

I’ve done this and I’m pretty sure I’m not alone. Lately though, I’ve realized that though the voice of my flesh is loud, what I really desire is more of the presence of God. It’s my spirit that longs to be heard above my flesh, but which one will I listen to?

If I keep responding to my spirit longing with flesh answers, my flesh will become fat while my spirit starves. When my spirit cries out, I need to interpret that cry for what it really is, finding my place of worship and raising my hands unto the Lord my God. I will find the secret place in His arms and allow Him to satisfy the longing of my heart. I will deny my flesh of it’s longings until the voice of my spirit rises above and is satisfied.

For just one day of intimacy with you is like a thousand days of joy rolled into one! I’d rather stand at the threshold in front of the Gate Beautiful, ready to go in and worship my God, than to live my life without you in the most beautiful palace of the wicked. Psalm 84:10 TPT

That is my cry today, Lord. A day in Your courts is better than a thousand pizza’s, ice cream or the best food that money can buy. It’s where my strength comes from to face everyday, every circumstance, every trial. It’s wherever You are, Lord, thats where I long to be. So today, I come hungry! Before I partake of an egg, I will spend time in Your presence till my soul is satisfied. It’s in Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

My Hunger Will Be Heard By Him,

Sandy G

Yahweh, you’re the bedrock beneath my feet, my faith-fortress, my wonderful deliverer, my God, my rock of rescue where none can reach me. You’re the shield around me, the mighty power that saves me, and my high place. Psalm 18:2 TPT

Years ago, we had a light fixture that needed changing and I asked Walt if he would change it out. He said, “I don’t do electricity.” When I asked why, he said, “Because I don’t know anything about it.”

That’s how we are with the Spirit in us; we don’t understand Him so we don’t use Him. But the Lord is calling us to flip the switch and allow the Spirit to be alive in us, heal our bodies, our minds, our lack. We don’t seem to understand that the one who is in us heals us. The one who is in us delivers us and provides for us.

The first time I went to my daughter Stacy’s church, they had a guest pastor and he spoke about how he used to work for the power company. He explained that transformers are to transform the power from the energy company to usable power for the consumer. If there were no transformers, the raw energy would blow up all of our homes and appliances.

That’s what the Holy Spirit does. He transforms the massive raw power of God into usable power in us. Power to heal the sick, raise the dead, transform lives, set people free. We have all this power in us and we leave the switch off. It’s time to flip the switch. That’s what the next move of God is going to be. People accessing the power of God in them to transform lives. He’s giving us revelation of Who we have living inside of us.

It takes surrender. It takes faith. It takes a whole lot of love because that’s who God is; LOVE. But once we tap into Him, our lives will yield the power He intended us to have. We are indeed carriers of the oil of the Holy Spirit. That’s how ‘nothing will by any means harm us’ comes into play. When sickness tries to come on our body, we need to tap into the Spirit and say, “Do your work in me.” Take communion and thank him for the blood shed and the body broken so that we could enjoy complete health.

Father, I plead the blood of Jesus over my body. No more sickness. Nothing missing or broken. I will not focus on what I lack, I will focus on what I have inside of me. I will pray in the Spirit and with my understanding, without ceasing, everyday. I will be aware of the power you’ve placed in me and become familiar with Him, having a deep understanding of Him and learn to access His power. When you said that we have everything we need for life and godliness, you were talking about your Spirit in us. Help me not to be afraid, but to understand and be full of love. In Jesus’ name. Amen

Flipping the Switch,

Sandy G

Sometimes you just have to remind yourself of who you are, whose you are and what your made for. Psalm 107:2 says, “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,”

So I say today, I’m redeemed from sin, sickness, lack, poverty, disease, addictions and every evil, deceptive work of the enemy. Kings declare and decree and I am a king/queen and priest/priestess before the King of kings and the Lord of lords. I’m created to say so! That’s right! I’m created to open my mouth and declare what the Word of God says.

Let faith arise within you today. Take back your rightful place. Stop listening to the lie of the enemy that tries to convince you that you’re less than who you are. You’re not a failure! You’re a success! Stop measuring yourself by others successes and begin to see yourself successful because God says you are.

You’re more than a conqueror. I don’t care what your situation looks like, if God is for you, who can be against you! There is divine favor on your life. Rise up, child of God and SAY SO! He said you’re redeemed. That word means to buy back, recover or fulfill. He bought back your victory. Not a portion of your victory but ALL of your victory.

Say it out loud, “I am redeemed from __” put what you’re facing in that blank. Say it again. It’s because of what Christ did that you are free from that. Don’t allow it in because of what some human said. Only allow in what God says.

Father, for all you’ve redeemed me from, I’m so thankful. For all you’ve given me authority over, I’m thankful. You didn’t leave me powerless, but full of your Spirit who brings me wisdom, power and life. I’m not just yours when things are going my way. I’m yours in good times and bad, happy and sad, I’m yours and that’s enough. I shout it from the mountaintops, I’m redeemed. It’s in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Being Loud,

Sandy G

Give God the right to direct your life, and as you trust him along the way, you’ll find he pulled it off perfectly! Psalm 37:5 TPT

As I jumped on Facebook to see what was going on with friends and family, I happened on an old post my youngest daughter reposted this morning. What I read inspired me to share.

“I just had a conversation with a friend of mine and this is my answer to a question that I asked (lol): I always think I did something wrong when things don’t turn out the way I thought I heard from God…ie moving to Florida and all the crap that happened that was traumatizing…moving back to Michigan and all the crap that has taken place. (Adding my trip to Haiti). People seem to think (including me sometimes) that if it didn’t work out that it must not have been God, when we ALL need to realize that God orders our steps and regardless if it works out the way we think it should or not, it works out for the plans of Him who sent us.”

Have you ever thought that? That somehow you’ve messed things up so badly that there’s no recovery from it? One misstep after another misstep and you become so very discouraged, you just want to crawl in a hole and die. Sound familiar? If not, just keep reading because you may need this information to help someone else out.

You see, it’s the enemies goal to get you so focused on the wrong that you no longer see the right. You become so focused on the horrible mess in your life that you lose sight of the good others have seen. Like the time you helped someone finish their race when you were in so much pain you could barely stand. The time you gave an encouraging word, a hug, took the time to listen or was simply there for someone.

Those things rarely replay in your head, do they? Only the bad things do that. With the volume cranked up so loudly that you simply can’t hear the good anymore. It’s a tactic the enemy uses to get us off track and out of the race. It’s the same thing they do to prisoners of war to wear them down–play loud sounds so they can’t sleep and make them so uncomfortable that you break their will to live.

But God said He would never leave us so He can’t. It’s like trying to separate the coffee you just brewed from the water it was made with. His Spirit and your spirit are entwined together forever. If He leaves your body, you’re going with Him. He was there when you lost your job, waiting to show you the way to your next job. He was there when your spouse left you for someone else, He was waiting for you to turn into Him so He could hold and comfort you.

Whatever you’re distracted by, let it distract you no more. He is there. Whatever you need, He has already provided. Don’t look for it in the world, look for it inside of you.

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! Colossians 1:27 TPT

No wonder the enemy wants us focused on wrong things–he is afraid that when we walk in the light, we’ll be lost forever to the darkness and he will lose his hold on us.

“I wanna be in the light, as He is in the light. I wanna shine like the stars up in the heavens. Oh Lord, be my light and be my salvation, cause all I want is to be in the light. All I want is to be in the light.” DC Talk (originally by Charlie Peacock)

So next time you become overwhelmed with thoughts of your past, take time to find Jesus in all that jumbled mess you see. He was there!

Keep on Searching,

Sandy G

“You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!” 2 Timothy 3:1-5 NLT

Oh my, does this not describe the world we live in today? I pray that none of us fall into this category, but may we remain focused on what God has called us to; a life of godliness, faith and trust in Him. May we appear different from the world, so much so that there is not a doubt we are Christians.

I’ve met people like that. The Spirit of God leapt in me and I knew they were believers. They had separated themselves from the things of the world, choosing heaven as their destination. What a beautiful example of coming apart and living unto the Lord.

How about you? Can people tell who you belong to? Is there such a strong family resemblance that one look confirms it? When they listen to your conversation, does it reflect the worlds opinions and ways, or does it ooze the love and joy of Jesus?

Father, once again I declare that I am Yours alone. My heart is set on loving You, trusting You and being only Yours. When the lure of the world becomes a temptation,You will keep me for my eyes are on You and You watch over me day and night. There is no room for second place with You. You have asked and I said yes. Beautiful Savior! Precious Redeemer! You have bought me but set me free. I will follow You all the days of my life and dwell in Your house forever. Amen

[Most] blessed is the man who believes in, trusts in, and relies on the Lord, and whose hope and confidence the Lord is. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters that spreads out its roots by the river; and it shall not see and fear when heat comes; but its leaf shall be green. It shall not be anxious and full of care in the year of drought, nor shall it cease yielding fruit. Jeremiah 17:7-8 AMPC

I see 3 key things in these verses that will allow these results to manifest in our lives. The first is; believes in. We must believe that there is a God and that He’s able to do what He says he will do. There are a lot of folk who believe there’s a God, but it’s only a casual acquaintance, not a deep and meaningful relationship. Once we’ve experienced WHO God is, we’ll want to get better acquainted with Him.

Secondly, we must trust and rely on the Lord. This is the part where we put it out there. Dictionary.com says this about trust; the obligation or responsibility imposed on a person in whom confidence or authority is placed. We give God the authority in our lives to do what He said He would do. We become His responsibility. It’s not unlike the vows we exchange on our wedding day to love, honor and respect, to be responsible for the needs of each other. (Now THAT will preach!)

Finally, our hope and confidence remains steadfastly in our God. You’ve heard the saying, ‘seeing is believing’? Our confidence says, ‘I don’t need to see or feel Him to know He’s real’! The more we know Him, the more we trust Him. We don’t run after another lover because we know there is no better lover. We know what it feels like to be lost and than found. We owe Him our lives because He gave His own for us. We know Him so we trust Him completely.

When we look and see a stable, secure and fruitful life, we know they possess these qualities. They’re always cheerful regardless of the winds that toss them about. They may be going through a drought, but they remain a blessing to others, always having a word of encouragement, going out of their way to show love and mercy. These are those who know God, trust God and remain confident in His ways and abilities. These are the people you want in your life.

Father, may people not have to go far or look long to find someone who believes, trusts and hopes in You. May they see it in the way I walk, talk and the grace and mercy I show. May I reflect You in all I do today. It’s in Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Believing, Trusting & Hoping,

Sandy G