God's Blessings!

"I have not gone back from the commandment of His lips; I have esteemed and treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food." (Job 23:12)

I recently read a statement in a life changing read about Spiritual Discernment, by Roberts Liardon..."The love of God is unconditional, but His blessings aren't!" When I read it RANG SO TRUE in my spirit that I began to realize why SO MANY CHRISTIANS are living beneath God's INTENDED Life...We AREN'T AWARE of the conditions to RECEIVE BLESSINGS or we AREN'T FOLLOWING them. Either way we are LIVING with the MOUNTAIN defeating us instead of us MOVING the MOUNTAIN with the tools God has given us....HIS WORD!!!

So many are TURNED OFF by the WORD of God...(BIG TRICK of the enemy by the way)...to KEEP YOU FROM the BLESSINGS of God...and the bad thing about it is...CHRISTIANS are FALLING for it too!!! We have what we need to be VICTORIOUS in this life, we just AREN'T UTILIZING it for what it was made to do...MOVE MOUNTAINS in our lives and the lives of others by the FAITH that ONLY COMES BY WAY OF THE WORD OF GOD!!!

So I ask you...How MUCH WORD are you getting into your life??? A measly Sunday meal at church is not going to sustain you throughout the week...when YOU ARE STARVING!!! All day long, we are BOMBARDED with all the negative forces around us from the people, music, TV, videos, and whatever else we are ALLOWING into our space to ROB us from a life that is VICTORIOUSLY BLESSED according to God's Standards...all because we AREN'T PUTTING IN THE TIME that is needed to COUNTERACT all of the negative forces surrounding us.

So let me ask you a question, HOW MUCH SPIRITUAL FOOD are you FEEDING yourself each day??? Think about it, the ALL GIVING, ALL LOVING, ALL POWERFUL GOD wants to FILL YOU with MORE of HIM!!! So, why wouldn't you want to FEED on Him??? It's AMAZING to me how we can put so many things before our time with God that can not GIVE us the same Blessings that He can give us...Nothing but PRIDE! Pride that we know better than Him, Pride that we can do it ourselves, Pride that we don't need Him to get everything done...Just plain FOOLISHNESS that the enemy has tricked us into believing and ACTING on this sin.

So what are you going to do about it??? I would recommend and CHALLENGE you put in AT LEAST the same amount of time you put into eating your physical food...for most that's 3x's A DAY...Morning, Afternoon, and Night! Here are the steps I recommend that I have noticed work well for me...

1) You may want to set a dedicated space within your home for your time with the Lord! (This can help in keeping the area holy and sacred for the Lord).
2) You may want to turn on some Praise & Worship Music to awaken the Spirit within you.
3) Be sure to PRAY before you begin your time with reading THE WORD and ask the Spirit to REVEAL to you what He wants you to know during your time together and watch how the WORD will POP OFF the page and prick and speak to your HEART about you and your life situation.
4) You must ALSO be willing to COMMIT TO LISTENING to what is REVEALED to you during this time.
5) Journal your thoughts during your time of LISTENING so that you will have a WRITTEN PLAN of what God has to say to you and what He wants to DO through you.
6) Next, be sure to PRAY for His assistance to do His plan
7) Lastly, get to MOVING Obediently toward God's plan by measurable steps of FAITH (Speaking, Hearing, and BELIEVING the Word of God to you) with action. God will surely BLESS the work of your hands because you have a heart that is diligently seeking Him and willing to do His Plan.

Please don't MISS your moments to be EMPOWERED by God...what better way is there to be EMPOWERED than from the ALL POWERFUL One who is WILLING to GIVE His Gracious Power to YOU if we ask!

Stay in the BLESSINGS Beautiful Ones!

FRUIT...It's Developing!

"But the Fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His Presence within accomplishes] is Love, Joy (Gladness), Peace, Patience (an even temper, forbearance), Kindness, Goodness (Benevolence), Faithfulness, Gentleness (meekness, humility), Self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is NO law [that can bring a charge]." - Galatians 5:22-23 AMP


How much FRUIT is SHOWING up in your life??? When God's Presence has overtaken you...there will be EVIDENCE of His Presence in your life. His Presence is LIGHT that can NOT be hidden. Quite often we think that FRUIT will IMMEDIATELY SHOW-UP in our lives because we have spent a few Sunday mornings with Jesus and His people, read our devotions each morning, and gave our tithes like we are supposed to do. But it takes MORE THAN that to DEVELOP FRUIT. It TRULY is a DEVELOPMENT of making the choices towards the things of God...and it's usually NOT COMFORTABLE!

We all have developed certain ungodly habits that took time to be apart of our lives, even though they were readily accepted because of their desirable influences. No one had to twist your are to retaliate towards that person that did you wrong or to talk about them to further slander their downfalls. But how COMFORTABLE is it to accept someone in your home and be LOVING, PATIENT, and hospitable to them when they are difficult, disrespectful and ungrateful to you and your efforts?

God will often PROVE HIS FRUIT in us through those TOUGH & UNCOMFORTABLE times in our lives because without His Presence helping us to do it...we certainly could not do them alone. So the next time you are waiting in that line that somehow seemed to slow down as soon as you got in line...REMEMBER God is DEVELOPING His Fruit in you when you do not complain or get upset about the delay...the Fruit of PATIENCE will be SHOWING up through you! Or when you have that person who is constantly testing your FAITH with their seemingly unkind, hurtful and insensitive actions...REMEMBER God is helping you to DEVELOP the Fruit of Kindness through your actions towards them. God is always looking for ways to SHOW UP through you and the FRUIT He has DEVELOPED in you! Now how about go on and SHOW some FRUIT to those around you...to give God some Glory!

Surrender To God

"For we walk by faith [we regulate our lives and conduct ourselves by our conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, with trust and holy fervor; thus we walk] not by sight or appearance.
For we WALK by FAITH not by sight." - 2 Corinthians 5:7

"You have already been cleansed by the WORD that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing." - (John 15:3-5).


It's easier to SAY you have FAITH than it is to WALK it out. You have to be COMMITTED to it! Like...When you say you will FOLLOW GOD and His ways...

Are you WILLING to stop working on your day of Sabbath as HONOR to Him and not your paycheck?

Will you decide to LET GO of the things/people that keep you from having a growing relationship with Him and spending more time with Him?

Will you WALK out on the WATER where it's not as safe as you are used to having it, to be OBEDIENT to what HE wants you to do?

There is a reason the model prayer that Jesus gave us states... "Thy KINGDOM COME, THY WILL BE DONE" (Matthew 6)...most are really not WILLING to COME as God is ASKING us to do...because we WANT OUR WILL to be done more than His. The spirit of control is one of the biggest barriers between our relationship with God. Most won't FULLY relinquish control to our Sovereign God who is in control ANYWAY. Even when you choose not to let go, he will just have to TEACH you LONGER to get you where He needs you to be...and that's a much HARDER ROAD than just surrendering.

It has been my experience that God OFTEN will impress upon my heart to do what I REALLY DO NOT WANT TO DO initially to see if I'll be OBEDIENT to His requests regardless. But afterwards as I MOVE towards His request my feelings and desire for it changes...He gives me little reminders along the journey to let me know I took the right step and that HIS WORD is TRUE over everything that may not be LOOKING like where I'm going. Then SUDDENLY, the BLESSING will SHOW up as I am busy about His Will. God wants to us to know if we can be TRUSTED with what HE wants to give us. Checking our CHARACTER through our efforts...but are you WILLING to get outside of your COMFORT ZONE to get it???

MOST aren't WILLING because there is a SACRIFICE, A COST that comes with STEPPING out on FAITH...we must LEAVE what we KNOW and JUST GO where our HEARTS are leading us...And the funny thing is it NEVER LOOKS like it will work by our HUMAN KNOWLEDGE or Logic!

FAITH COMES as we MOVE toward what GOD has said and by what WE BELIEVE He has said. The MORE we STAY covered by Hearing His Word over what everyone else is saying, what everything is LOOKING like...the more we have the FAITH to do what we may not be comfortable with doing initially. One thing we can be assured of is the PROMISES of God...They are always. "Yes and Amen!"

Submit!

Romans 13:1-5 (AMP): "Let every person be loyally subject to the governing (civil) authorities. For there is no authority except from God [by His permission, His sanction], and those that exist do so by God’s appointment.  2Therefore he who resists and sets himself up against the authorities resists what God has appointed and arranged [in divine order]. And those who resist will bring down judgment upon themselves [receiving the penalty due them]. 3 For civil authorities are not a terror to [people of] good conduct, but to [those of] bad behavior. Would you have no dread of him who is in authority? Then do what is right and you will receive his approval and commendation. 4 For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, [you should dread him and] be afraid, for he does not bear and wear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant to execute His wrath (punishment, vengeance) on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be subject, not only to avoid God’s wrath and escape punishment, but also as a matter of principle and for the sake of conscience."

Are you OBEDIENT to the authorities placed over you? Now I know most of you will say...YES, but let's take it a step further from this question. Are you OBEDIENT to the authorities placed over you, EVEN when they are NOT WATCHING you??? Uh...oh!!! You know those times when you...should be working on your job related projects but you are working on your own personal things...like looking up shopping items, talking to your girlfriend at work, planning your next get together; taking home those office supplies that are intended for the workplace; or adding your own personal expenses to your business expenses because who's going to know???

Well, here's the TRUTH... GOD SEES IT ALL and He is NOT PLEASED with your DISOBEDIENCE.

Yes, He is a Forgiving God and will Forgive you if you have done it but He wants to see a heart change toward REPENTANCE from the action once you are made aware of it. See God looks at our hearts and gives us opportunities to MOVE towards the changes that will bring about His Will. (...For the Lord sees not as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." - 1 Samuel 16:7) He does hold us ACCOUNTABLE once we are made aware of it...and every time you decide to follow YOUR WILL over His Will you are limiting the rewards He wants to give to you now and in Heaven.

He even helps us learn this same lesson with the children we are raising…Do you reward your children when they have disobeyed you??? If you are…that’s another issue, but how would you ever get your child to obey you if they did not have consequences for disobeying? God sees it the same way! He is often using the people around us to show us our mess...because everything is connected to our relationships with Him and with others. It's the method He uses to TEACH us when we are sensitive to the Holy Spirit's promptings in our lives.

So the next time your kids are disobedient to you or you FEEL like doing something different out of your authorities view…recognize the GREAT AUTHORITY is still within view and waiting for you to SEE that you need to TURN from your will, SUBMIT to His Will and OBEY!
 

Hold On...for The Beauty!

"And LET the Beauty and Delight-fulness and Favor of the Lord our God be upon us; confirm and establish the work of our hands—yes, the work of our hands, confirm and establish it. (Psalm 90:17 AMP)

Hindsight is 20/20 Vision! I think back to the day I became a mother with my little one in my arms happy and afraid of all that was now required of me to raise up my newborn. Believing, I would make it because many had gone before me and done it...but so naive to the steps and plans that would be needed to come through SUCCESSFUL.

Well, now my little one is in her 20's and a mother to her own little one, and I see history REPEATING itself because of the things I didn't quite KNOW would be important later down this life journey...BUT GOD! With all the mistakes I made, all the lack of WISDOM, and going it alone without consulting God on many of my decisions...life experience has TAUGHT me that God was there all along GUIDING me unknowingly to get to this place now that I can HELP those going where I've been. Many will listen and many will not but if I can make an IMPACT in just one single moms life it will be all worth it for the JOY of knowing that others will not need to go down the HARD road I took because I CHOSE to do it my way instead of GOD'S WAY!

So, Single Mom today I say with ALL KNOWING that you must LAY DOWN your pride, your distrust, and your need to prove to yourself or others that you GOT THIS...and ASK for the help you need! It's all a deception to keep you TRAPPED in your belief that you are alone, when in actuality you have MANY that will help you if only you would HUMBLE yourselves to ASK!

Yes ASK...ASK GOD to lead you to people you can trust, ASK GOD to strengthen you to do what is normally not comfortable for you to do, and ASK GOD to supply all your needs and then be WILLING to accept the package He may decide to send your HELP Gift! It may look like a brown paper bag when it arrives but it will be a DIAMOND WITHIN the rough! A Diamond that will help to bring forth the BRILLIANCE that is needed for you to become the BEAUTY God intends for you to be for your children, your future husband, your community, yourself, and most of all for HIM. God is not done with you yet mom, so don't you GIVE UP or GIVE IN on what may LOOK like a hard place right now...HOLD ON...The RAINBOW is coming but it's always after the rain!

The Right Relationship

 
"If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have LOVE, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have LOVE, I am nothing. ³ And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have LOVE, it profits me nothing.

⁴ LOVE is patient, LOVE is kind and is not jealous; LOVE does not brag and is not arrogant, ⁵ does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, ⁶ does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but REJOICES with the TRUTH; ⁷ bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

⁸ LOVE NEVER FAILS; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part; ¹⁰ but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. ¹¹ When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. ¹² For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. ¹³ But now faith, hope, LOVE, abide these three; but the GREATEST of these is LOVE." (1 Corinthians 13:1-13 NASB)

As a teenager, I was angry.  Others said I had good looks, a shape that stopped men dead in their tracks, high intellect, and an attitude that made others feel somewhat intimidated. After a few heartbreaks and disappointments, my anger grew to bitterness. This bitterness made me appear confident, sarcastic, and honest to a fault, and wanting attention/affection but responding in a way that pushed others away. I often offered help to others but never seemed to get it back in return.

Always looking for love in all the wrong places – men!  Men who were mostly unavailable emotionally and leaving me wanting for more than they would offer. I was hoping that the words coming out of their mouths were true but not trusting that they could ever be true. Using work, men, fashion, and giving as a means to validate who I was.

When, in fact I had low self-esteem. Never quite measuring up to my mother’s standards, I seemed to hold on to the perceived criticisms in my head. My dad being too preoccupied with a life of partying, philandering, and sports to give me the fatherly love that every girl needs and desires.

Still God was in control. The final bad breakup that broke me to the core was with someone I thought to be a friend. He was just playing the game until he had the opportunity to catch me in a vulnerable state to compromise myself to fulfill his goal – sex. After a few years of allowing the booty calls and the unrealized disrespect, I wanted more. I thought it was a relationship with him, but in fact it was my soul crying out for the LOVE of God.

How wonderful it has been to date Jesus. I’ve gotten to know myself better and to know God better. All that energy I seemed to spend on people and things that really couldn’t appreciate or see me for who I am. I am a wonderfully, precious, beloved and great woman of God who is what God says I am – His!

I can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens me! With Jesus, I have chosen to walk by the Spirit within me and not by my fleshly emotions…sexually pure, drug and alcohol free, anger managed by God, and believing Jesus will walk with me through life’s struggles as I walk in obedience to His Word – The Bible.

There is nothing like the FREEDOM found in the RIGHT RELATIONSHIP... with God by HIS Love!

Don't Give Up...Have FAITH!

"For we walk by faith [we regulate our lives and conduct ourselves by our conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, with trust and holy fervor; thus we walk] not by sight or appearance." (2 Corinthians 5:7)

I was fortunate to have worked for the Travel Industry most of the years I was raising my daughter. Now having ENOUGH money for what I WANTED to do was another thing. Yes we had a roof over our head, we usually took a vacation at least once a year for either one of our birthdays (in HONOR of our VALUE to ourselves, the world and to spend QUALITY TIME together); however, most of the EXTRA things I wanted like decorations for my house, dance classes for my daughter, fashionable clothes, artwork...came because I DECIDED to take on a JOB that would supply what I WANTED.

So when I wanted artwork...I began selling artwork. No these jobs didn't last forever, because it was keeping me from spending time with my child, but for a short time to get what I wanted for my home. When I needed Life Insurance, I began selling Life Insurance to recoup what I was planning to put out for it. When I needed Life Coaching, I began selling it so I could get it at a lower cost and GROW from it. I'm SAYING all of this to say… WHAT DO YOU WANT??? HOW BAD DO YOU WANT IT???

A lot of times we don't BELIEVE we can have it so we don't even TRY to have it. Yes, you must have the FAITH FIRST to do anything that you want to do. However, once you have SET YOUR MIND (FOCUS) on what you want, God somehow will OPEN the DOOR for you to get it…but will you TAKE ADVANTAGE of it when it SHOWS UP??? I think the main thing we have lack of FAITH in, is OURSELVES and the GOD in which we SAY we have FAITH.

I know when things start going south in our lives we sometimes forget who we really are INSIDE, but be assured, GOD has not FORGOT! He sometimes has to take us through the VALLEY for us to get to the MOUNTAIN top. The VALLEY is where we learn that we will NOT SINK when we WALK on the Water with Him. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s SCARY as heck, because you’ve never walked in this particular situation. But remember you do have a little history to look back over whenever you might begin doubting it.

Nothing is NEW to God! We just have to TRUST that He has our GREATER GOOD all worked out…even when we fall (and we usually will fall).  But you know the BEST thing about it is, when we do, He always has a LOVING hand reaching down to PICK us up which makes us all the MORE GRATEFUL to get off and running again with Him by our sides to our Destiny. We just have to KEEP MOVING towards it!