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What are we proclaiming?

Isaiah 52:7 (MEV) How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings good news of happiness, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

What is it that we are proclaiming in our lives? What are we proclaiming to others? That is what was on my thoughts yesterday. To proclaim means to declare something that one considers important. What is important?

In the month of December I choose to read a chapter of Luke a day to focus on the life of Jesus. After all, Jesus is the reason for the season. I can get all caught up in buying the perfect Christmas gift, baking the perfect Christmas cookies and planning the perfect Christmas dinner, yet not take the time to focus on the real meaning of this time. It is not just about any baby being born. The Savior of the world came down to earth to live among us.

Isaiah 9:6-7 (MSG) For a child has been born—for us! the gift of a son—for us! He’ll take over the running of the world. His names will be: Amazing Counselor, Strong God, Eternal Father, Prince of Wholeness. His ruling authority will grow, and there’ll be no limits to the wholeness he brings. He’ll rule from the historic David throne over that promised kingdom. He’ll put that kingdom on a firm footing and keep it going with fair dealing and right living, beginning now and lasting always. The zeal of God-of-the-Angel-Armies will do all this.

Luke 4:17-21 (MEV) The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. When He had unrolled the scroll, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” Then He rolled up the scroll, and He gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all those who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Isaiah 61:1-3 (AMP) The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed and commissioned me to bring good news to the humble and afflicted; He has sent me to bind up [the wounds of] the brokenhearted, to proclaim release [from confinement and condemnation] to the [physical and spiritual] captives and freedom to prisoners, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance and retribution of our God, to comfort all who mourn, to grant to those who mourn in Zion the following: to give them a turban instead of dust [on their heads, a sign of mourning], the oil of joy instead of mourning, the garment [expressive] of praise instead of a disheartened spirit. so they will be called the trees of righteousness [strong and magnificent, distinguished for integrity, justice, and right standing with God], the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.

The Scriptures have been fulfilled! O, that you would know how fulfilling this is. The Message translation calls Him the Prince of Wholeness. He came to make physical and spiritual captives free. What are you proclaiming? I want you to know this Jesus. Jesus was born in a manger because there was no room for Him at the inn. Look at that statement again…’there was no room for Him.’ Do not keep Jesus on the outside of your life and only invite Him in when you find the room. He came to heal you up from the inside out. He came to make you whole. He came for the whole world.

One of my favorite parts of Luke is chapter 5. In it we see that Jesus met Simon (Peter) and called him to be a fisher of men. We read about the paralytic man that they lowered through the roof to get to Jesus. The calling of Matthew as he is collecting taxes. He called him out of the booth he was collecting taxes in. My favorite though is the healing of the leper.

Luke 5:12-13 (AMP) While Jesus was in one of the cities, there came a man covered with [an advanced case of] leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean and well.” And Jesus reached out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately the leprosy left him. 

Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. According to the law, lepers had to be at least eight feet away from people. Yet, Jesus reached out and touched him. The second astonishing thing: “I am willing” statement. A lot of times we prayer, “if it be Your will.” Remember in Isaiah He is called the Prince of Wholeness. It is His will. This is the favorable year of the Lord. The Scriptures have been fulfilled!

I understand if this has not been your reality yet. I want it to be. That is why I am proclaiming such. Jesus came to do so much more than to save us from hell. I may be pressed down at times, but I am not out. I may have times of concern, but I know who my source is. This is why I choose to honor God in everything that comes through my hands. This is why I do not count people out of my life. We may be separated for a while, but if we allow the Holy Spirit to do the work in our hearts, He will bring us back together. Love always hopes. So I pose this question again, “What are you proclaiming (declaring as important)?”

Elohim, Master, Creator, we are in awe of You. You are Marvelous and Mighty. Thank You for sending Your Son to be the Prince of Wholesness. There may not have been a place for Him at the inn, but we have made a place for Him in all that we are. Thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit to be the Amazing Counselor. He is a part of the Trinity that now dwells here on earth and within us. We do not take that for granted. Let the Holy Spirit have free reign of our hearts, minds and tongues. We repent for making this season all about us and what we want. We sometimes but the thought of pleasing others before pleasing You, especially when it comes to family. You gave us our families, but we are not to make them lord and seeking completeness from them. You are Lord. Let us proclaim You are Lord. Let us proclaim that this is Your day, this is Your season, this is Your year. Let us walk in Peace in knowing that it is Your will for us to be made whole. Let us proclaim Your salvation grace to the world. Let us proclaim of Your goodness. We choose love today. We choose hope today. We choose joy today. We choose forgiveness today. In Jesus Name, Amen.

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Dream Big

Matthew 6:33 (AMP) But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also.

Psalms 37:4 (AMP) Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and petitions of your heart.

Philippians 3:10 (AMP) And this, so that I may know Him [experientially, becoming more thoroughly acquainted with Him, understanding the remarkable wonders of His Person more completely] and [in that same way experience] the power of His resurrection [which overflows and is active in believers], and [that I may share] the fellowship of His sufferings, by being continually conformed [inwardly into His likeness even] to His death [dying as He did].

Ephesians 3:16-19 (AMP)  May He grant you out of the riches of His glory, to be strengthened and spiritually energized with power through His Spirit in your inner self, [indwelling your innermost being and personality], so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through your faith. And may you, having been [deeply] rooted and [securely] grounded in love, be fully capable of comprehending with all the saints (God’s people) the width and length and height and depth of His love [fully experiencing that amazing, endless love]; and [that you may come] to know [practically, through personal experience] the love of Christ which far surpasses [mere] knowledge [without experience], that you may be filled up [throughout your being] to all the fullness of God [so that you may have the richest experience of God’s presence in your lives, completely filled and flooded with God Himself].

These are verses that I stand on for my own life. If you read from top to bottom you will start to see what my heart’s desire is. I want to know Him more and do His will. My dream is to have a place to disciple others to draw closer to Him. Right now, our church has been having to meet on Sundays at one thirty in the afternoon due to us not having our own building. As pastors, we are looking and dreaming of other locations until we can buy what we want. The discouragement comes when it seems that we are all alone in this vision. I know that is not true. Elijah fought the same thought patterns (1 Kings 18:22), when God told him there were 7,000 (1 Kings 19:18).

This summer I was asked to take some teenagers to camp. A few years ago we had developed a team, now we do not meet weekly. It is something I grieve, but I pray it is only temporary. The group I took consisted of my youngest son, three other teenage boys from other churches and three teenage girls, all attending another church. The camp was over a five day period, starting on a Saturday, which means I was not going to be at my home church on Sunday. There were people I put in place to handle certain things, but life happens and not everyone was there. Discouragement set in once again. People have walked away from us since the transition (people that said they would support the vision). Giving has taken a tremendous drop in the past two years. How can we move to a location and even pay double in rent that we are now, or how would be even support our own place? I was serving, but I can tell you, I was hurting. I am glad I went and served. Why? I found out that I was not the only one with these experiences. Actually, I found out that I was more seasoned in this part of leadership and was able to make a new friend. I was able to give someone hope. I was able to tell them that you can survive and even thrive, even though others have walked away. We are grounded in the love of Christ. We keep our desire on knowing Him more and establishing His Kingdom. Stay strong in His power. Find out who Christ is though the “I Am” statement and make them personal. Do not let the vision die!

Then that is all the camp was about. My youngest was encouraged with Brandon Dixon, a baseball player for the St. Louis Cardinals. His team won the world series in 2011. I loved this because that was my grandfather’s favorite team. I remember him being so excited that year. Brandon did not have the way of getting to the major’s like we thought he would of. It was a God way. He did not have a promoter or a recruiter scout him, he had a friend. He said he just kept God first no matter what. Even if his family, while growing up, was not in church, he was. Just do not quit. Eli has a dream of playing ball in college and this really encouraged him. Like Brandon, Eli is a pitcher.

We also heard from Aaron Knight, the director for the camp. A few summers before we had heard the camp had been sold to a developer and would be torn down. Aaron had a vision for the camp and started pursuing a way to save it. He started with maintaining the grounds, even when he did not own it. It was over a year before the developer would even have a meeting with him. Then when he did get the meeting, the price was in the millions. The guy had nothing, he had never fund raised before, and he does not have a huge church. He did have a vision. My take away: “Do not give up on life because circumstances are not what you hoped for.” They are almost two years into the lease purchase agreement and they hope to have it paid off by the end of this year. It does not make sense. God still performs miracles today.

My husband and I have been sowing this summer for our miracle. We have a desire to have at least 7 acres in the city limits. Our desire is to be in walking distance to the high school here. We have a piece of property we are believing for. The cost for this piece of land is $350,000. Why? We want to have a place open 24 hours, and 7 days a week. A place of worship and community. We want a laundry facility open to the public. We want a community kitchen. We want a place where families can be restored. We want a place for people to worship and pray. We want a climate controlled basketball facility. We have a vision board that we put out every Sunday:

Please pray for us as we have a big dream. No dream is too big for God. Connect Church does have a building fund. We are no where near being able to purchase the land as of today. That does not mean that it will not happen suddenly!! We are standing on Hebrews 11:1, Amos 9:13-14 MSG, Isaiah 43:18-19 and Psalms 44:3 TPT.

Dream big dreams! Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and petitions of your heart. (Psalms 37:4). My joy and hope are secured once again!

Jehovah Shammah (the Lord is present), You are worthy of honor and praise. Our hearts desire is only You. Thank You for sending Your Son so that we are now grounded in Your love. Let those roots of love go so deep that nothing else matters. Thank You for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Thank You that we know Your voice, we know Your character and a nature and we will not let the circumstances of this life discourage us. Thank You for the renewal of Your vision for our lives. Thank You for giving us big dreams and trusting us with establishing Your Kingdom here on earth. Thank You for the gift of the five fold ministry. Thank You for the gift of the body (the church). We repent for judging, for envying, for jealousy, for coveting, for familiarity and for being self focused. We do not want to be enslaved to anything that does not bring freedom and glory through Your Name. We choose love today. We choose hope today. We choose forgiveness today. In Jesus Name, Amen.

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Does my love tank have a leak?

John 13:34 (AMP) I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too are to love one another.

What was important to Jesus? He wants you to see others the way He saw you! He wants you to love the way He loved. How did He love? He never missed an opportunity to show love through His hands!

We are love deficient because of our love walk. You may say “I do not hate anyone, I just love everyone.” Can I show you what Jesus said was love?

John 15:13 (AMP) No one has greater love [nor stronger commitment] than to lay down his own life for his friends.

A lot of times we like to think of our friends as in our “circle.” It is easy to do things and want things for people that we know and that we already have a relationship with. Jesus did not do stuff for those that were in His “circle.” It gets more challenging when we start to look for opportunities to love others. That is the love that He wanted us to share. It is radical, it is aggressive and it is life giving.

Are you easily discouraged, depressed, filled with self-pity? Can I encourage you to get active in your pursuit to love who Jesus told you to love. You may say that “how can I do this when I do not feel love myself?” I get it. This tells me that I have to fight off apathy even harder and get out there anyways. Can I show you a promise in the Word?

Isaiah 58:7-12 (AMP) Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into the house; when you see the naked, that you cover him, and not to hide yourself from [the needs of] your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break out like the dawn, and your healing (restoration, new life) will quickly spring forth; your righteousness will go before you [leading you to peace and prosperity], the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
You will cry for help, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you take away from your midst the yoke [of oppression], the finger pointed in scorn [toward the oppressed or the godly], and [every form of] wicked (sinful, unjust) speech, and if you offer yourself to [assist] the hungry and satisfy the need of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness and your gloom will become like midday. And the Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your soul in scorched and dry places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. And your people will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will raise up and restore the age-old foundations [of buildings that have been laid waste]; you will be called Repairer of the Breach,Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

The new life that Jesus died to give you is not one for you to live passively with. It is a victorious life. A victorious life is an abundant life. A life filled with passion and purpose. If your love tank is running on empty, may I suggest filling up someone else’s? According to the above scripture, that kind of love gives strength to your bones. Your soul will be satisfied in the scorched and dry places. Wow! That is totally opposite of what we want to do. I am ready to come out of all these ups and downs. I want to make an impact for His Kingdom. How about you? It is time for me to love my neighbor (unselfishly seeking the best for others).

Practical ways: Pay for the person’s meal in the drive thru that is waiting behind you. Tell someone at the grocery store that they look amazing. Clean out that closet or storage area and give it away. Start a diaper drive for the local foster care ministry. Send or bring flowers to a widow on Valentine’s Day. Invite the coworker who has no family over for dinner (especially during the holidays). Actively look for ways to help out my community with building projects, yard maintenance, home repairs, etc.

Pray and be the hands and feet of Christ. Love the way Jesus loved and you will not have a leaky love tank any longer!

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He calls my name

Isaiah 45:4 (AMP) For the sake of Jacob My servant, and of Israel My chosen, I have also called you by your name; I have given you an honorable name though you have not known Me.

When we named our first born we had two choices picked out for the day of deliver. We went the old fashioned way and did not find out the gender of both of our children until they were born. We had the name ‘Lillian Michelle’ if a girl and ‘Ari Daniel’ if a boy. Lillian was the name of my great aunt that made an impact on me when I was a little girl. She was strong, independent and feisty. Ari was the name of my husband’s best friend. My husband grew up in Belize, Central America, and being the only white kid, friendships meant the world to him.

We have two sons. Ari Daniel and Eli Robert (Robert after my grandfather and my husband’s father). There is deep meaning in their names. Ari in Hebrew means lion. Eli in Hebrew means high, elevated or my God. I named him after the prophets Elijah and Elisha, I wanted him to have double the anointing.

Isaiah was the prophet during the reign of King Hezekiah. King Hezekiah was a good king and did right in the eyes of God (2 Kings 18:3). He was also the king that showed the Babylonians all the treasures of the storehouse (2 Kings 20:13), there was nothing that he did not show them. This was a big no-no, because they were suppose to remain a secret to the surrounding nation.

Isaiah prophesied, 2 Kings 20:16-18, “Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord. ‘Behold, the time is coming when everything that is in your house, and that your fathers have stored up until this day, will be carried to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. ‘And some of your sons (descendants) who will be born to you will be taken away [as captives]; and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” 

Why is this significant? In Isaiah 45:3, “I will give you the treasures of darkness [the hoarded treasures] and the hidden riches of secret places, so that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you (Cyrus the Great) by your name.” Who is Cyrus the Great? Why did God call Him by name?

Ezra 1:2-4 (AMP) “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says “‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them. And in any locality where survivors may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem.’”

King Cyrus was not even born yet when Isaiah prophesied this. King Cyrus, of Persia, was the reason that Nehemiah was able to rebuild the walls and gates of Jerusalem. He made sure that everything that Nebuchadnezzar had taken to Babylon was returned to the temple. He made sure that temple was going to be rebuilt.

This gave me great courage during a time that I do not see enough people to do the work that God has called my husband and I to do. Those people have not even been born yet, and He has called them by name. I am not talking about a physical birth, I am talking about the new birth when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior (John 3:5; 2 Corinthians 5:17). I do not want some other church’s people, I want the ones that He is calling by name now. We are calling them out! We are inviting ALL!!

He has called you by name, even before you were conceived in your mother’s womb. If you do not know Jesus as your Lord and Savior message me at amanda@desiringformore.org. If you do and you want to know how you can share your faith, message me too!

I pray you have an amazing week!

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Inward Reflection

Psalms 42:6 (NASB) Why are you in despair my soul? And why are you restless within me? Wait for God, for I will again praise Him. For the help of His presence, my God.

I like how David talks here, that he is going inward as to why his soul is in despair. An inward reflection is the stance he decided at this moment. Right now we are preparing to teach a series in our youth on how our emotions and memories are often tied together. They can, if we allow them to, define who we are. David had very high highs and some very low lows in his writings, but God still refers to him as a man after His heart. David was full of emotions, sometimes in his writing you can tell he was led by them. He had to make a conscious decision to allow God to lead in the midst of his brokenness. There are times you can see great strength coming out at the admittance of his weakness.

There are times that we try to come out of the despair by ourselves. We will go and tell those around us who will listen so that we can get a sympathetic hear. We try to numb it with watching videos. Some use substance to take away the pain. Even in our frustrations and in our pain, the one we can run to is our Father. Especially when you are angry, tell Him, He knows your heart anyways.

Ephesians 5:2 (TPT) And continue to walk surrendered to the extravagant love of Christ, for he surrendered his life as a sacrifice for us. His great love for us was pleasing to God, like an aroma of adoration – a sweet healing fragrance.

When I think of healing I do not always think of a physical need for healing. Some of our wounds are not able to be seen. Mostly I think of emotional healing. I do not like the way I react sometimes. In order to get to the root of that wound, I find that surrendering to the extravagant love of Christ, the one that we are told is there, I have to allow it to surround me. We can receive Christ as our Savior and not really receive this love. Some of us think that we are not lovable. We thank Him for saving us from hell, without realizing all that He wanted to restore within us. I walked this way for years. I truly realized what freedom felt like when I, that I do not have to be surrendered to my wounds, that I can receive a healing deeper than my physical needs.

I want to tell you that it is okay, not to feel okay sometimes. Charles Spurgeon once said, “I have a great need for Christ. I have a great Christ for my need.” He will not just take away the pain though, He wants to bring you through it. There is growth in that process. There is an understanding that happens so that we can love others when they are going through things. I have learned that in my hurt, I have hurt others. I have kept people at a distance so that I would not get hurt again. When I get to the root of my hurt, I can start to heal.

“I have a great need for Christ. I have a great Christ for my need.”

Charles Spurgeon

I was talking with the other youth leaders and told them that one of the reasons that I seemed so stand offish, not approachable, in my early years of leadership, was because I felt like I had to be perfect growing up. In turn, I would often snap real easily at people if I felt like they were lazy or messy. I was the oldest of three (ages five and three, my sisters are twins) to a single mother. My mother was nearly twenty four when she left my abusive father. When we finally got a place of our own, I felt pressure to make sure things were taken care of. We had chores, like all children should, but to a single mom who was trying to better herself, there was not much availability to have a messy home. Everything was always put away. Dishes were done immediately. My sister use to talk about how clean my house was when she would come over. I do not stress about it like I use to. I do the dishes in the mornings now (well sometimes). My sisters were younger and it seemed they did not “care” as much as I did, or maybe did not notice, that these things stressed my mom out. Later, I realized that I inherited that stress. This is at no way a fault of hers, it was something that I did not know how to process as an eight year old. Now that I am an adult, and with ability to surrender into His extravagant love, I can get to the root of why I stress. I did not like feeling that way, why God do I despair? He will help you work through to the root, if you let Him. I still tense up about some things, but I am getting better. You may need to talk to someone who specializes in this, that is perfectly okay. I would just encourage you to find someone who is grounded in pointing you back to Christ.

In Isaiah 9:2-7 (MSG) it talks about the promise of Christ, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. For those who lived in a land of deep shadows—light! sunbursts of light! You repopulated the nation, you expanded its joy. Oh, they’re so glad in your presence! Festival joy! The joy of a great celebration, sharing rich gifts and warm greetings. The abuse of oppressors and cruelty of tyrants— all their whips and clubs and curses— Is gone, done away with, a deliverance as surprising and sudden as Gideon’s old victory over Midian. The boots of all those invading troops, along with their shirts soaked with innocent blood, will be piled in a heap and burned, a fire that will burn for days! For a child has been born—for us! the gift of a son—for us! He’ll take over the running of the world. His names will be: Amazing Counselor, Strong God, Eternal Father, Prince of Wholeness.
His ruling authority will grow, and there’ll be no limits to the wholeness he brings. He’ll rule from the historic David throne over that promised kingdom. He’ll put that kingdom on a firm footing and keep it going with fair dealing and right living, beginning now and lasting always. The zeal of God-of-the-Angel-Armies will do all this.”

There are no limits to the wholeness He will bring. I like that. However, it does not leave out my surrender to to the process to receive that wholeness. Jesus knows what it feels like to be hurt and to have to work through the emotions to process that hurt, so in turn He could walk in perfect love. It is a process. It is okay in that process, like David, you feel despair. On the other side is immense joy!

John 15:11 (NLT) I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!

If you need prayer or someone to encourage you please feel free to email me at amanda@desiringformore.org.

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Goal of Progress

It is New Year’s Eve, tomorrow starts a new decade. I just learned this year from my thirteen year old that decades do not start with the zero at the end of the year, it starts with the one. Fun fact, look it up, it is true. We will enter a new decade tomorrow. Many people will make new year’s resolutions and feel shame when they do not follow through.

Today I was scheduled to be at the Cincinnati Zoo, although it was forecast to rain. This was my Christmas present from my husband. I follow the animals at the zoo on Instagram, especially Fiona the baby hippopotamus. The zoo allowed us to change our zoo reservation, but I did not get to see Fiona. It was okay because I did not feel like being very joyous that day. My grandfather passed away suddenly that morning and I felt guilty for not leaving right then to drive the seven hours back home. I had to remind myself that guilt and shame were not places that I am suppose to reside. I have made lots of progress these past few years out of those areas and had to remind myself not to stay there.

Last week I was in Isaiah because it was Christmas week and I ran across these verses. First what stood out to me was a warning, Isaiah 6:9-10 (MSG) He said, “Go and tell this people: Listen hard, but you aren’t going to get it; look hard, but you won’t catch on. Make these people blockheads, with fingers in their ears and blindfolds on their eyes, so they won’t see a thing, won’t hear a word, so they won’t have a clue about what’s going on and, yes, so they won’t turn around and be made whole.“

Then there was the promise, Isaiah 9: 2-7 (MSG) The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. For those who lived in a land of deep shadows – light! sunbursts of light! You repopulated the nation, you expanded its joy. Oh, They’re so glad in your presence! Festival joy! The joy of great celebration, sharing rich gifts and warm greetings. The abuse of oppressors and cruelty of tyrants – all their whips and cudgels and curses – is gone, done away with, a deliverance as surprising and sudden as Gideon’s old victory over Midian. The boots of those invading troops, along with their skirts soaked with innocent blood, will be piled in a heap and burned, a fire that will burn for days! For a child has been born—for us! The gift of a son—for us! He’ll take over the running of the world. His names will be: Amazing Counselor, Strong God, Eternal Father, Prince of Wholeness. His ruling authority will grow, and there’ll be no limits to the wholeness he brings. He’ll rule from the historic David throne over that promised kingdom. He’ll put that kingdom on a firm footing and keep it going with fair dealing and right living, beginning now and lasting always. The zeal of God-of-the-Angel-Armies will do all this.

I never want to get to a place in my walk with God that I am satisfied and can live in such a way that I do not desire growth for myself. Jesus came so that I can be made whole, not to just survive. Survival is good for a moment. There are things that have happened that I am amazed that I am still standing. However, I do not want to get stagnant.

Jesus came so that I can be made whole, not to just survive.

John Bevere, in his new book X:Multiply Your God-Given Potential writes, “Unless we push ourselves beyond our level of comfort and skill, we’ll never grow. If we aren’t “purposeful,” the danger is that once we reach a level of “good enough,” we can easily become complacent. Then it’s only a matter of time before we become sloppy in our practice, which will ultimately have a negative effect on our performance and hinder further multiplication.”

I am not a fiction reader. I read nonfiction books (books that are inspired by the Word of God), devotionals, and my Bible. I have nearly completed reading through my Message Translation Bible this year. Next I plan on reading through the Chronological Bible. The first book I have picked out for the new year is Bob Goff’s Dream Big: Know What You Want, Why You Want it, and What You’re Going to Do About It. My goal is not to make a resolution that I will quit within the first few months, but to continue in my growth towards wholeness. I want to surrender more of myself this year, and to worry less. Lord, I want to be made whole. I know it will be a process. I have already allowed Him to do so much in me these past few years that people would not even recognize me.

2 Corinthians 3:18 (AMP) And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image (one degree of) glory to (even more) glory, which comes form the Lord, (who is) the Spirit.

Let 2021 be a year of progress!

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Be Strong and Courageous

I love reading the Old Testament and find myself referring back to it when I do my studies. There is so much meat in there for us to glean from, how to conduct and view our lives. Joshua, like Moses, is another favorite of mine. Right now I am taking my youth group through the lessons we can learn from reading Joshua. There have been days where we have verse by verse of the challenges and victories that the Israelites went through.

Before they stepped into the Promised Land they had to prepare themselves. Joshua was their appointed leader at the time. He was trained none other than Moses himself. Joshua would accompany Moses as he went up to the mountain top to be in the presence of God. Joshua saw the importance of that relationship and took it a step further. He knew the heart of his people and knew the challenge they would face.

Joshua 1:8-9 “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall read (and meditate on) it day and night, so that you may be careful to do (everything) in accordance with all that is written in it; for they you will make your way prosperous, and then you will be successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not be terrified or dismayed (intimidated), for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (AMP)

This great people had a real challenge ahead of them, but they had a promise that God would be with them wherever they go. They just had to GO! However, before they went they had to consecrate and sanctify themselves. This is what we like to call today, “a heart check.” Before we just step out and do, even though He has promised us the victory, we must keep our heart aligned with His.

Each victory was going to be won in a different way. Some lessons they had to learn over and over again, just like us today. Forgiveness is one such lesson. What lessons have you had to grow in? For me it has been to keep my eyes on Him and not His people. People can let us down. People can discourage us, especially when you love them deeply. It hurts when they turn theirs backs on you.

Ephesians 6:12 tells us, “Your hand-to-hand combat is not with human beings, but with the highest principalities and authorities operating in rebellion under the heavenly realms.” (TPT) I am not saying that when people turn their backs on you or disappoint you that they are operating in rebellion. We can be the ones operating in just that by the way we let that hurt affect us.

Let’s get back to the message of Joshua. Joshua in chapter ten has just led a victory against an alliance of many kingdoms. In fact they have just conquered half of the promised land. This land was enough to sustain the group of Israelites. In that view, they could have halted their conquests. Right here in verse 25 Joshua proclaims, “Do not fear or be dismayed (intimidated)! Be strong and courageous, for this is what the Lord will do to all your enemies whom you (are about to) fight.” (AMP)

Why after a great victory is Joshua proclaiming to his people to “Be Strong and Courageous?” He knows the nature of people. We define victory in that we have achieved comfort. We tell God that we just need to rest and then we will get back to it. Really what we are telling God is that we want to live for us. So what “intimidates” us…ourselves.

Our enemy is not against flesh and blood, but principalities in the spirit realm. The goal for the enemy that you are fighting is to get you not to finish, to put your life on pause, in the form of “rest.” Do not stop half way accomplished. Be strong and courageous, He is with us wherever we go.

The goal for the enemy that you are fighting is to get you not to finish, to put your life on pause, in the form of “rest.”

Isaiah 40:28-31 “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young man shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

My dear friend do not give up. Do not fall into the trap of rest as this world defines. His rest comes when we accomplish what He has set us out to do, and He even said He would be there wherever we go. Never give up. Get your life off pause. Be strong and courageous!

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Draining Days

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says the Lord.” (Isaiah 55:8 AMPC)

There are days where we allow our thoughts to get control of us. Then what becomes even more draining is when we allow others to tell us their thoughts.

It is so very important to surround yourself with people that will build you up. Job was a cheerleader to many, but those who he surrounded himself were not the same for him.

In Job 4 taken from the Message Translation, “You yourself have done this plenty of times, spoken words that clarify, encouraged those who were about to quit. Your words have put stumbling people on their feet, put fresh hope in people about to collapse. But now you’re the one in trouble – you’re hurting!”

Negative people drain me.

Job allowed himself to be surrounded with those that were speaking the problem. Those kind of people drain us. Find a way to get back to your Hiding Place. Negative people drain me. I have to get myself around some faith talkers. How can you spot a faith talker? When they are going through a hard time they have not stopped praising!

We have to do whatever it takes to get us to a place where we do not stop praising Him. My problems no longer are the biggest thing in my life. I no longer see those areas of lack. All I see is Jesus!

Job’s friends (and I have been guilty of this too) tried to explain God. There is no explaining God. There is no reason that we go through what we go through, other than the devil hates us. If he can get you off track, put you on pause, get you distracted, then he has done what he has set out to do.

Paul even says it himself, “But I need something more! For I know that law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in the delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question?” (Romans 7:18-24 MSG)

For a moment he sounds a lot like Job. The thing we miss here, is that we want to stop reading. We are like, see, I cannot do this! Paul is not saying we should not surrender to living in constant defeat. What he is doing is expressing anger…he has not received the victory yet. This is a normal reaction.

He continues, “The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but I am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different” (Romans 7:25 MSG).

We are going to have those draining, I do not know if I can make it kind of days. Put your thoughts on Him. It is a choice and it is your choice!