I just like to take a moment of your time to tell you that God loves you. Not just a little bit, but a whole lot. He reminded me this morning of what He spoke in Isaiah 43, so I’d like to share a some of those passages as they encouraged me, perhaps they will you as well. Let me start with verses 1-7 ERV: Jacob, the Lord created you. Israel, he made you, and now he says, “Don’t be afraid. I saved you. I named you. You are mine. ² When you have troubles, I am with you. When you cross rivers, you will not be hurt. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not hurt you. ³ That’s because I, the Lord, am your God. I, the Holy One of Israel, am your Savior. I gave Egypt to pay for you. I gave Ethiopia and Seba to make you mine. ⁴ You are precious to me, and I have given you a special place of honor. I love you. That’s why I am willing to trade others, to give up whole nations, to save your life.⁵ “So don’t be afraid, because I am with you. I will gather your children and bring them to you. I will gather them from the east and from the west. ⁶ I will tell the north: Give my people to me. I will tell the south: Don’t keep my people in prison. Bring my sons and daughters to me from the faraway places. ⁷ Bring to me all the people who are mine—the people who have my name. I made them for myself. I made them, and they are mine.”

Don’t be afraid! Regardless of what you see in the natural, look what God says; “I saved you. I named you. You are mine.” So he establishes that we belong to him and then he tells us that wherever we are, whatever we walk through, He will be with us and won’t allow the flames to burn us, the water to harm us. He didn’t say we wouldn’t go through the fire, he said he’d accompany us and we wouldn’t be harmed. 

Then He says, “You are precious to me, and I have given you a special place of honor. I love you.” Read that out loud so your ears can hear it and your spirit can leap for joy. We are precious to him! Special honor! He loves us!!!! I don’t know about you, but when I hear that it makes me fall more in love with the one saying it. When Walt tells me how beautiful I am, how special I am, how much he loves me, I melt! How can you not love someone who loves you THAT much.  Don’t think that because it was written so long ago that it is not for us now. We were adopted into his family, we are Gods very own and this was written for us today. When we accepted Jesus as Lord of our lives, we were ‘grafted’ in and became his very own.

If you would please indulge me for one last scripture reading, verses 10-13 really seals the deal: ¹⁰ The Lord says, “You people are my witnesses and the servant I chose. I chose you so that you would help people believe me. I chose you so that you would understand that ‘I Am He’—I am the true God. There was no God before me, and there will be no God after me. ¹¹ I myself am the Lord, and there is no other Savior. ¹² I am the one who spoke to you, saved you, and told you those things. It was not some stranger who was with you. You are my witnesses, and I am God.” (This is what the Lord himself said.) ¹³ “I have always been God. When I do something, no one can change what I have done. And no one can save people from my power.”

Does not that make you want to just scream out, “THAT’S MY GOD!” He’s always been God and when he does something, NO one can change what He’s done. Don’t mess with me, if you do, God will mess with you. He’s my protector, my savior, my provider, deliverer, lover, the steady arm I lean on, my shepherd and so much more. May I never forget who He is to me. May I never allow the things I see in the natural consume me or try to exalt itself against such a mighty deliverer. May I remember how much he loves me, what he’s done to give me the keys to the Kingdom. May I never live beneath what he has created me to be.

Malachi 3:10-11 CEV; I am the Lord All-Powerful, and I challenge you to put me to the test. Bring the entire ten percent into the storehouse, so there will be food in my house. Then I will open the windows of heaven and flood you with blessing after blessing.  I will also stop locusts from destroying your crops and keeping your vineyards from producing.

This is not just a promise of provision, but a promise of keeping. Just like the children of Israel, they didn’t have to replace their clothing or shoes during their 40 year journey, neither will we have to replace our hot water heater, roof, light bulbs, etc. He promises that if you bring the tithes (10% of your gross income), you don’t have to rebuke the devil from your stuff, HE will do that for you. This is what happens when you place your trust in God, not money. Money can’t take care of me but God can.

I’m so excited in my spirit right now. You know, the kind of excitement that comes with expectation. Where my heart beats a little faster and it takes my breath away. Something is about to happen that is gonna be the grand daddy of all happenings. Like there is a knocking on the door and the person on the other end holds the biggest check I’ve ever seen and I pass out because I didn’t realize I’d been holding my breath. Yeah, that kind. Like Father God is about to reveal himself to me in a way I’ve never known him before. I’m seeing Abraham as he’s about to draw the knife over Isaac in obedience (that’s big obedience right there) and the angel of the Lord stays his hand and says, check out the ram in the thicket, thats when Abraham saw God as Jirah, Provider. Check this out, God had already blessed him in everything, but this was different, he provided out of his obedience. OMG!

There are some of us who know Gods blessing, but we’re about to know him as Provider out of our obedience. There is nobody like our God.  I’m speaking something out of my spirit this morning and let those who have an ear to hear, hear it! Let God be God and every man a liar. For two weeks now I’ve heard the Lord say to me, “Get ready! Prepare yourself to receive. Just like a run-away train cannot be stopped, neither can my blessing. Once the floodgates are open, you cannot hold it back. My blessing is coming whether you’re ready or not because I cannot lie, I must do what I’ve purposed to do.” 

Father, cleanse me from all unrighteousness, every wrong thought, every corrupt motive. Just as a bride prepares herself with great detail on her wedding day, so I prepare myself to receive your love. Wash me and anoint me with oil, perfume me with spices that I may come into your presence and give you much pleasure. You’re the one I long for. Nothing else satisfies me as you do. I long for your touch on my life, your sweet tender kisses upon my up-turned face. You are my provider, the one who blesses me beyond measure and I will wait patiently on you.

Matthew 16:24-26 Phillips: Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to follow in my footsteps he must give up all right to himself, take up his cross and follow me. For the man who wants to save his life will lose it; but the man who loses his life for my sake will find it. For what good is it for a man to gain the whole world at the price of his own soul? What could a man offer to buy back his soul once he had lost it?”

This verse popped in my head this morning so I began reading it in various translations to find the one that drew me a very clear picture of just what Jesus was saying. It reminded me once again that my life is not my own. When I surrendered to Jesus, I committed to follow in his footsteps, wherever they led me. The clearest picture I can draw is when someone joins a branch of the military. They lose their right to operate as an individual and become the property of the country they represent. It is their duty to follow orders, to protect and serve. There are very strictly enforced rules they must abide by and adhere to. Sometimes as Christians, I think we have lost sight of the fact that our lives now belong to the Lord.  The Bible is our guidebook to follow closely and we must listen to our Commanders voice and follow his instructions to the letter.  It’s so that the Kingdom may be well represented and the mission of our King can be accomplished.  

Father, as I go about my day today, may I be mindful of whose I am and whose voice I must follow. I must be a doer of the Word and not just a hearer or reader of it. I am responsible to represent you to the world and to do this I have to walk in your love. You loved me so much that you sent a savior, born of a virgin to be my example. May I take his love with me and watch my steps that I may duplicate his. You are my Commander, my King and today I surrender to your will and ways even when it’s hard because thats what I signed up to do.

Hebrews 12:1 ERV “We have all these great people around us as examples. Their lives tell us what faith means. So we, too, should run the race that is before us and never quit. We should remove from our lives anything that would slow us down and the sin that so often makes us fall.”

I wonder how many times we’ve stopped just this side of our breakthrough? It must be like watching your child run a race and quit just out of site of the finish line. No amount of cheering, prodding and pleading will move them any closer, they’re tired and they just quit. How frustrating to watch this day after day. 

I’ve had friends who’ve quit the race. They’re tired of trying, tired of never seeing the end. I think that’s why we are to encourage one another with the Word and not stop gathering together in unity. It’s important to not alienate ourselves from the very body that contains the life giving blood of Jesus. Hey, some bodies are diseased and distorted, but there are bodies or churches out there that believe the entire Word of God as the Way, the Truth and the Life. Please find one and STAY in the race!

Father, I commit to run the race with everything in me. When I grow weary, I will pray! When I’m discouraged, I will read your Word and encourage myself. I will turn my eyes upon you, pray for others with everything thats in me as if my life depended on my prayers. If I do not live like this, than others may quit the race as I look on. PLEASE don’t quit the race, my dear friend. If you can’t run anymore, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl, if you can’t crawl, call someone but whatever you do, do NOT stop running toward the prize because others are watching you run. 

“But forget all that–it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.” Isaiah 43:18-19 NLT.

VISION- its what God intended each of us to live with. He even said that if we don’t have vision we would die. About 20+ years ago while at a prayer retreat, I had another kind of vision. It was the face of Jesus like he was peering through the ceiling. He spoke these words to me, “Keep your eyes on me! I will direct your steps.” I’ve had plenty opportunities to focus on what was going on around me. For someone with A.D.D., distracted is a way of life! I believe that our focus determines our direction which determines our success. When my focus remains fixed on Jesus and I follow closely behind him, the road he makes for me will be a road I would not have seen or chosen had I gone alone. Love that about the Lord. My journey is always new, exciting and adventuresome. 

Trust me when I say that keeping my eyes on him has been an adventure! He does not stand still for long. 🙂 God is an active God. He never changes, but he’s alive and moving. He’s everywhere we are, a present help in time of trouble. We need Him to refresh our vision, to show us the direction to take, to stop trying do it alone. He’s like our G.P.S., our navigator, mapping out the road we’re to take to get us quickly to our destination. Some of us would get there much faster if we’d stop and ask for direction instead of wasting time and energy running in circles.

Father, enlarge my vision. I think so small sometimes, limited by my surroundings, my abilities and what I see. I must see what you see and go where you tell me to go. I must stop waiting for everything to be perfect before I move. I must trust you more. You have indeed ordered my steps so that wherever I go, whatever I do, I may glorify you. Like David, I see that giant that is taunting your people, dead and defeated. I see us chasing our enemy and taking their spoils. You have made me victorious in the battle because I are armed with your blood and your Word. I declare victory! I declare more than enough! I declare wisdom! I declare your reign as King of kings and Lord of lords today and forever.

Ezekiel 37:3-6 ERV Then the Lord said to me, “Son of man, can these bones come to life?” I answered, “Lord God, only you know the answer to that question.” Then he said to me, “Speak to these bones for me. Tell them, ‘Dry bones, listen to the word of theLord!  This is what the Lord God says to you: I will cause breath to come into you, and you will come to life!  I will put sinew and muscles on you, and I will cover you with skin. Then I will put breath in you, and you will come back to life! Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

The space between vision and provision varies, but the Provider never forgets the vision or the visionary. It’s what got His attention in the first place. Dream bigger than you’ve ever dreamed and God will move heaven and earth to answer. Don’t expect the journey to be void of roadblocks, disappointments or discouragement, just use them as opportunities to declare the Word of God over those situations and watch God do his thing! Delay is not denial! Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.

Prayer is the key to an open heaven. Praying the Word is praying God into every situation. Jn 1:1 says that God and His Word are synonymous with each other. No wonder it gets Gods attention! Find your promise, speak it out, stand firm and see what God will do. Ps 50:10 “For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills or upon the mountains where thousands are.” Put more trust in His Word than the the situation at hand. Is anything too hard for God? I think not!

This morning as I looked over my notes from Sundays message, my eyes fell on these words our pastor spoke as part of his message, Open Doors: Today, forget what’s gone, appreciate what still remains and look forward to what’s next.

That has pretty much been my motto in life. I can’t change the past! Mistakes I’ve made can only be learned from so I don’t repeat them.  I can’t predict my future. ‘What if’ living will keep me from being the best I can be right now. I must live today always looking for opportunities wherever I am to leave a good mark of love on whomever God places in my path. I want to be an attraction to Christ, the light of His love must shine brightly each day. 

Matthew 7:7-8 NIRV “Ask, and it will be given to you. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ Everyone who asks will receive. He who searches will find. The door will be opened to the one who knocks.”

Father, I’m asking to know you more. I can’t do anything about what’s behind me nor in front of me. You know my future better than I do. All I can do is ask that you watch over your Word to perform it. Whatever you’ve promised, you will bring to pass. I trust in you. I will take my hand off the door knob and allow you to open every door you want open in my life. I commit my ways to you. YOU will bring it to pass. As you’ve said so many times to me to keep my eyes on you, that is what I will strive to do now and always. If I have to put blinders on and my head up to the sky, I will keep my eyes on you. I will seek you with all my heart. My steps have been ordered from the beginning and I trust you, always! If it doesn’t make sense, than I know for sure it’s you. I love you Father and my heart is set on you. Open every door that you’ve intended me to walk through and close every door that would hinder my relationship with you. In Jesus’ Name. Amen

Never underestimate the power of your words, good or bad, they’re out there. Proverbs 6:2 NIRV says, “Don’t be trapped by what you have said. Don’t be caught by the words of your mouth.” 

Ever hear these words, “I have a right to my opinion” or “I’m just telling you how I feel”? I’ve said them and heard them both! The truth is, according the Word of God we should actually “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips.” Psalm 141:3 NKJ. It’s dangerous to say whatever comes to your mind, trust me, I’m the queen spontaneous combustion of the lips. Oh if I could only get them back! And to think I’m so much better than I used to be. 

Matthew 12:36 NKJ Jesus said, “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.” In the Amplified version it reads like this; “But I tell you, on the day of judgment men will have to give account for every idle (inoperative, nonworking) word they speak.” Ouch! Especially for those of us who love to talk. What it’s saying here is our words were meant to create, to work for us just as God created when He spoke, our words were also designed to do the same. We obviously don’t believe that or we would hire a watch guard or superglue our lips together!

It’s a full time job watching what we speak, but we really need to take this seriously. Jesus told us in Mark 11:23 NIRV, ““What I’m about to tell you is true. Suppose one of you says to this mountain, ‘Go and throw yourself into the sea.’ You must not doubt in your heart. You must believe that what you say will happen. Then it will be done for you.” He showed us the way to speak without doubting. We’ve become so sarcastic in our speaking because we don’t believe.

Father, PLEASE teach me to talk like you, I want my words to be productive in a good way too. If my words are a key to my success in life, than I ask you to guard my lips. I give you permission to tap me in the shoulder if you see I’m going to say something I shouldn’t. I really do want to be more like you but I can’t do anything until I surrender. Here I am at your feet with my tongue hanging out, the most important offering I can give to you. Thank you!

I loved this quote by Bill Winston; “Faith is now and in the present tense because it knows that God already did it.” Present tense. God already did it. What a powerful and accurate statement of what faith is. The confident assurance that He heard and delivered even when you don’t yet see it in the natural. When you just ‘know’ it’s a done deal.

Hebrews 11:1 ERV says: Faith is what makes real the things we hope for. It is proof of what we cannot see.”

And in the Amplified reads: Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].

Did you read that? Faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses. Let me add to this that faith without works is dead. You have to do something and the bible is very clear on giving first in order to receive. What is God saying to you to do?

OMG! Just thinking this morning of the times in my life when God was faithful. The times when it looked one way but just in time, the answer came through. Ever have times like that in your life? Since Christmas is just around the corner, let me share a true event that happened to Walt and I the year after he lost his job in the early 80’s.

The girls were small and we lived in a sleepy farming community in the middle of nowhere. We had moved there to escape the hustle and bustle of the city and it had a very good but small school where Stacy would start that fall. Walt had been with his job a large bakery for over 11 years, we were even looking to buy our first home. Then on a Thursday he was handed his pink slip, they were closing the doors the next day and with no warning, we were unemployed in the middle of the worst recession. He put applications in  as far away as W. Virginia but nothing opened up. He took a part time job at a meat market working minimal wage, I started cleaning houses, we bartered our rent by painting the old farm house we were renting. God was faithful, but provision didn’t come in the ways we expected.

Then came Christmas with no job but something wonderful happened. We never shared our plight, but God knew. The company that our landlords owned decided that instead of exchanging names at Christmas, they would pool their money and buy groceries for the unemployed family. That family was us. The week before Christmas, they backed a car up to our back porch and unloaded a trunkful of groceries to our kitchen counter. I remember weeping and thanking God for his faithfulness but he wasn’t finished yet. The next day, a local family brought a trunkful of wrapped gifts to put under our tree. We’d never met them before, they didn’t even attend our church, but he said to us that a few years back they were in the same situation and someone did this for them. They decided than and there that they would make a habit of doing this for a family every year. We’ve followed their example, because the joy of knowing that you’ve been the hands of God to someone else is the most amazing feeling in the world.

What will you do this year with your faith? Will you put legs to it and do what God has lovingly placed in your heart to do or will you just wait for God to bring some answer to you? You could provide a Christmas tree and some hot chocolate while you watch a family decorate it. You could take your children to the store to buy something for someone else’s children, wrap it and allow them the honor of giving. You could buy some groceries, practical items like pillows and pillowcases, laundry soap, baggies, things we use daily and think nothing of it. We must remember that Gods kingdom works selflessly as givers, not takers. We live to be a blessing to others. 

Over the years, I’ve shared this story countless times to challenge others to stop thinking of Christmas in the way they’ve always done. Jesus came into the world as a giver, there was nothing selfish in how was born or how he lived. He taught us that it is far more blessed to give than to receive. May His life be honored as we celebrate His birthday by being a giver everyday.

John 8:31-32 ERV So Jesus said to the Jews who believed in him, “If you continue to accept and obey my teaching, you are really my followers. You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”  John 14:6 ERV Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. The only way to the Father is through me.”

In my quest to know God I must realize this truth; there is only one way-Jesus. It’s through his example, his teachings, his walk of love, the revelation he gives, it’s how I become a follower of his.  So many people say they are Christians but do not follow him or his ways. They simply wear the title ‘Christian’ but their lives do not reflect anything that Jesus did. There is no mercy, no compassion, nothing they do even remotely resembles him. They don’t read the Word of God, if you ask them about Jesus, they become flustered, upset, like you’re challenging who they are. They are what I like to call lizards, they try to blend with whatever surroundings they are in. If they are hanging with their church friends, they are a Christian but when they are at work, they become complainers, talking about their co-workers and bosses. On Friday night, they hang out in the clubs and blend with the world even more but come Sunday morning, they clean up and sing in the choir. 

Call me crazy, but I don’t see anywhere in the Word where Jesus became like the people he was ministering to. It didn’t matter where he went, he went about doing good and healing everyone of everything. It’s time to come clean with and separate ourself from the ways of the world. To be His disciple means leaving behind all that you were and becoming like Him. Accepting His sacrifice in more than just word only. There MUST be a change of heart not just a change of clothes. I must carry the name of Jesus Christ in my person, separating myself from the ways and manner of the world. Not to be holier than all of them, but to love them deeply enough to bring them the things they are searching for; The Way, The Truth and The Life so they may know the Father.

I leave you with this warning from Paul from 2 Timothy 3:1-7 ERV;  Remember this: There are some terrible times coming in the last days.  People will love only themselves and money. They will be proud and boast about themselves. They will abuse others with insults. They will not obey their parents. They will be ungrateful and against all that is pleasing to God. They will have no love for others and will refuse to forgive anyone. They will talk about others to hurt them and will have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good.  People will turn against their friends. They will do foolish things without thinking and will be so proud of themselves. Instead of loving God, they will love pleasure. They will go on pretending to be devoted to God, but they will refuse to let that “devotion” change the way they live. Stay away from these people! Some of them go into homes and get control over weak women, whose lives are full of sin—women who are led into sin by all the things they want.  These women always want to learn something new, but they are never able to fully understand the truth.