4 .. Even as [in His love] He chose us [actually picked us out for Himself as His own] in Christ before the foundation of the world that we should be holy (consecrated and set apart for Him) and blameless in His sight, even above reproach, before Him in love.
5 .. For He ordained us (destined us, planned in love for us) to be adopted (revealed) as His own children through Jesus Christ in accordance with the purpose of His will [because it pleased Him and was His kind intent]. EPHESIANS 1 : 4 – 5 THIS IS NO GAME OF CHANCE !! .. .. YOU HAVE BEEN HAND PICKED ON PURPOSE !! As a human being, one of the strongest desires you have in your life is the desire to be loved .. to be accepted .. and .. to feel as though you belong. You crave a sense of connection and belonging to something or someone. You want to feel that you are valuable. Now, it is unfortunate that you cannot be guaranteed of always getting that in your dealings and interactions with people .. However .. You Will Always Get It From God !! Realize and understand the truth that even though God knows everything about you .. And Yes, That Means Everything .. He Still Chose You On Purpose !! God actually picked you out deliberately and on purpose to be His very own and to belong to Him !! Now there surely cannot be any greater news than that .. And Yet .. that one nagging question remains. Why ? .. Why would God intentionally choose to invest soooo much into so little ? You Ask Yourself .. Why would God purposefully choose me ? You are no doubt very well aware that there is nothing that defeats the good effects and satisfaction of something done for you, like the discovery that it was done with a bad attitude. When you learn that somebody did something for you .. But .. they did it because they were forced to .. Or .. they did it while they moaned and groaned through the whole process .. it is then that you no longer take pleasure in what they did. Now, sadly where people are concerned this is an all too familiar occurrence .. But .. Praise His Holy Name, thankfully with God you have absolutely no cause for concern, doubt or distrust !! So .. Why ? .. Why did God do this for you ? .. Why did God purposefully choose you ? Because .. It Pleased Him And Was His Kind Intent !! Because .. HE LOVES YOU !! God chose and adopted you According To The Purpose Of His Will !! Think About It .. If God had not taken pleasure in you, your salvation would have become nothing more than a mandatory rescue mission .. Which Means .. Yes, you would have been delivered, however no intimate relationship with your Deliverer would possible. And granted, there was great potential for God to have simply taken that mandatory route .. Because .. the reality is that on a whole we were an undone people who repeatedly shunned and rejected His offers of love. Your rebellion however had absolutely no effect of God’s commitment to save you !! His decision was made in eternity past for one reason and one reason only .. Because .. It Pleased Him !! Having predestined us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of His will .. Ephesians 1 : 5 Do you know that the Greek word for “will” used here is .. “A desire that proceeds from one’s heart or emotions” Wow !! At times it is very difficult to even try and imagine exactly what it is about yourself that would cause God to desire you .. And .. that He actually takes great pleasure from merely thinking about being good to you !! God was pleased about your being saved long before He actually saved you !! The phenomenal truth is that before you arrived on the scene, God the Director knew precisely what part you were going to play in His extravaganza of life on earth !! An actress may attend an audition for a part in a play, and when she gets the part she might think that she got it totally on her own merit and acting skills. What a surprise for her to later learn that the director knew precisely who and what he was looking for .. The director knew a long time before the auditions took place exactly what kind of person it would take to play the part .. He knew the personality, the look, and the characteristics required. So, the actress did not “win” the part, she was pre-selected for it !! What she did was to simply pursue and say yes to the part that was already pre-determined for her. God’s Will For You Is Intimately Born From The Deep And Immense Joy He Takes In You !! He Has Predestined You To Be His Child .. The Apple Of His Eye .. and .. God Has Done This Because It Was The Desire Of His Heart And Because It Gave Him The Utmost Pleasure !! !! IF YOU GO DOWN TO ROCK BOTTOM THEN ONLY CAN YOU REALIZE WHO THE ROCK AT THE BOTTOM IS !! " YOU HAVE A DATE .. A RESERVATION FOR TWO "
He brought me to the banqueting house and His banner over me was love. SONG OF SOLOMON 2 : 4 LIFE ... WILL YOU EVER REALIZE HOW TRULY PRECIOUS IT IS ? What an honor .. What a privilege .. What a blessing it is to be alive .. The true joy of being able to touch, feel and taste life !! Lifting it up to your lips and drinking deeply from the cup of life .. You have the benefits and the opportunities to experience every single drop of a human relationship. Your life is not perfect .. Not by a long shot, and yet it is the very imperfections that you deal with that add value to life's uniqueness .. all the good days .. all the sad days .. and each and every challenge that you face in-between. Something that we each have had the opportunity to learn and discover is that every good relationship is filled with dreams, pains and some extremely tender, gentle moments. Moments .. that will cause you to smile those secret smiles in the middle of the day .. Moments .. that are so strong that they refuse to die, and yet at the same time they seem so fragile that they could disappear like little bubbles as they hit the grass. Moments .. It does not matter if you think back to a time that causes you to feel a little envious, or if you think back to a time that causes you to realize that you have to go through some growth and development .. If you can look back on your life and you are able to catch a few moments .. then you have been blessed. Life and all it's twists and turns is such an awesome miracle .. It is an exiting, breathtaking journey !! Remember This .. Right now you could be anywhere doing anything .. HOWEVER .. Your Heavenly Father has called you by your name to be seated with Him at His table for two !! Life is precious and you have the privilege of living each day with freedom and liberty .. Standing in the love and presence of Jesus Christ. JESUS CAME TO GIVE YOU LIFE !! .. Days and nights filled with Love .. Grace .. Hope .. Mercy .. Truth .. Provision .. Compassion .. Companionship .. and Abundant Blessings. Life is far too precious a gift to simply let it pass you by !! You are victorious in Jesus Christ, and it is high time that you stand with your head held high and declare that you will start living your very best life .. you will start living your very blessed life !! You will start living the kind of life that is worthy of honoring God, Who gave you this precious gift of life in the first place. THERE IS NO SURPRISE MORE MAGICAL THAN THE SURPRISE OF BEING LOVED IT IS GOD'S FINGER ON YOUR SHOULDER (13) .. Then Moses replied to God, " Suppose I go to the people of Israel and say to them, " The God of your ancestors has sent me to you, ' and they ask me, ' What is His name ?, ' What should I tell them ? "(14) .. God answered Moses, " I AM WHO I AM. This is what you must say to the people of Israel; I AM has sent you." EXODUS 3 : 13 - 14
SO WHO EXACTLY AM I ? .. Have you ever asked yourself this question .. Well if you have you can rest assured that you are not alone. In fact even some of the great names that you read about in God's Word have asked this very same thing. In Exodus 3 : 11, you will read how Moses is speaking with God and he himself asks God. " Who am I " .. As you continue reading you will notice that God did answer Moses' question, however God did not answer in a way that you might anticipate .. God answered Moses, not by telling him who he was, instead God responded by stating Who He is .. " I AM " Now if you think about those awesome words for just a moment then perhaps you will actually begin to realize their truly powerful significance. SO WHAT DID GOD REALLY MEAN WHEN HE REFERRED TO HIMSELF AS " I AM " ? .. Ponder on this for a little while .. .. .. Firstly .. God is so, so much that there is no real way to explain Him properly !! Secondly .. How could you possibly describe Someone, Who is everything and tie it up into one name !! In Exodus, you will notice that not only did Moses ask about his own personal identity, but he also asked God about His identity, and what you can clearly determine from God's response to Moses was that God was not interested in giving Moses a long essay about Who He was because He answered the question with such simplicity .. God answered, " I AM WHO I AM " and " WHAT I AM " and " I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE " .. " Go and say to the people of Israel that " I AM " has sent you." God was reassuring Moses and letting him know that he did not have to worry about Pharaoh, or the people of Israel, or anything else for that matter .. God was saying to Moses " I AM " able to take care of it all !! Now just as God reassured Moses, He is also sending a very clear message to you and all you have to do is LISTEN !! God is saying to YOU .. My child whatever it is that you require, " I AM " .. either I have it, or I can surely get it for you, and if it does not exist I will create it for you .. I have covered every aspect of your life, not just right now but for eternity .. my child, " I AM ", you can relax !! You must learn to STOP worrying about who you are, what you can do and what you can not do .. In fact you need to put an end to worrying all-together. The great " I AM " is your perfect partner and for as long as He is walking by your side, you will always be able to accomplish everything that you are required to do. He IS and He WILL guide your life out of every darkness and into His Light !! And because of this perfect Truth, it is time that you become a little more concerned about Who God is and a lot less concerned about who you are. The Almighty God that you serve is more than sufficient, He truly is everything that you require, so the next time you find yourself wondering, " Who am I ", remember God will not answer you by telling you who you are .. GOD WANTS YOU TO KNOW WHO HE IS .. and very simply put He is your " I AM " " I AM " THE SAME YESTERDAY, TODAY AND FOREVER .. BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF HIS NAME Then the Lord sent fiery ( burning ) serpents among the people and they bit the people; and many Israelites died.
NUMBERS 21 : 6 ARE YOU SPENDING JUST ABOUT EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY DAY WORRYING AND FEELING ANXIOUS ABOUT THE PROBLEMS AND TROUBLES THAT YOU ARE FACING ? In our above Scripture we read that the Israelites were dying in large numbers because a deadly plague of snakes had come upon them and were biting them as a result of the sinful way in which they were conducting their lives. A deadly plague of snakes .. Now that sounds like a very serious problem .. And the solution ? .. Well the solution rested solely on the shoulders of one man .. One man that could fix the situation and make it right .. and that man was Moses. Can you imagine the huge amount of stress and the worry that Moses must have experienced ? .. Well actually he did not .. HE PRAYED !! Moses did not waste one moment of precious time worrying, he immediately focused all of his attention on God and he prayed. Moses did not rely on himself or anyone else to try and solve a problem that was obviously far too big for one person to fix. As you spend time meditating in the precious pages of God's Word, you will soon begin to realize that all the men and woman who walked in God's victory, did so because they handled their problems with prayer .. They did not worry .. They did not fear .. They were not anxious .. THEY PRAYED !! SO WHAT ABOUT YOU .. ARE YOU WORRYING OR ARE YOU PRAYING ? .. Looking back at Moses, he prayed to God and he asked God's advice about how exactly he should handle the problem regarding the plague of snakes .. he did NOT make his own plans and then expect God to bless them .. he did NOT try and reason out an answer .. and he did NOT worry .. HE PRAYED .. and because Moses turned to God first and put his faith in his Father .. God responded to his prayers. God instructed Moses to make a bronze serpent, set it on a pole and place it in front of the Israelites. God then ensured Moses that every person who had been bitten by a snake, who then looked up at the bronze serpent would live. Now in the New Testament of God's Word, it is explained to us that this particular scenario is a symbolic representation of the Cross and Jesus Christ taking our sins upon himself. Just as Moses lifted up the bronze serpent in the desert .. (on a pole) .. So was the Son of Man lifted up .. (on the Cross) .. in order that every person who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life .. John 3 : 14 - 15 The message that God was portraying to Moses and the Israelites is the very same message that He wants you to hear today .. LOOK UP AND LIVE !! Look at Jesus and at everything that He HAS already done .. Do not look at yourself and what you can and can not do. The Answer .. The only answer to your problems, no matter what they may be, is definitely NOT to kill yourself with anxiety and worry but rather to trust in God your Father and pray. Pray and worship God because He is a good God and by doing this, God WILL most certainly respond to your prays by releasing an outpouring of His goodness and His favor into your life. THE ONLY LIMIT TO YOUR REALIZATION OF TOMORROW WILL BE YOUR DOUBTS OF TODAY “ Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, Be taken up and thrown into the sea,
and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. MARK 11:23 .. FAITH .. YOU KNOW THAT YOU HAVE FAITH .. THE QUESTION IS HAVE YOU TURNED IT LOOSE AND SET IT FREE TO BEGIN WORKING IN YOUR LIFE ? .. GOD OUR FATHER .. There are simply not enough hours in the day for us to truly appreciate and thank God for all that He is and all that He does for us .. Through it all .. our good, our bad and our ugly .. undeserving as we are He loves us unconditionally and He remains faithful to us .. His Word is solid and true .. unchanging .. just as He is .. God has given us His everything .. His Word, His promises and His blessings .. God’s gifts were given and He expects them to be taken .. Keep in mind also that God is a Father of equal opportunities .. He has absolutely no favourites .. which means that the promises and blessings He gives to one of us are available to all of us .. God has given each one of us a measure of faith .. and He is calling on you to turn your faith loose so that you can move into position in order to receive His abundant grace and favor in your life .. God gave .. and He expects you to take .. but in order to receive you first have to believe that the gifts are already yours .. IT IS TIME TO TURN YOUR FAITH LOOSE !! Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven .. ( Matthew 18:18 ) SO HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT ACTIVATING YOUR FAITH AND TURNING IT LOOSE ? .. Well it is simple really .. you only have to apply one little formula .. and you are blessed by the fact that the formula is one that you are already familiar with .. Believing + Confessing = Faith Turned Loose !! Now as much as many of us would prefer this to be some groundbreaking new secret .. it is not .. it is just an essential, basic truth .. one that we have all heard many times before .. Isn’t it amazing that we all love to voice our opinions on various situations and circumstances that come across our paths .. and because we stand fast on our opinions we seem to have no problem opening our mouths to confess how good or bad .. how fair or unfair .. how kind or rude .. how irritating or friendly .. how happy or sad .. etc .. On a daily basis we openly and honestly confess so many opinions and beliefs that we have regarding a wide range of people and issues .. and we do this without even giving it a second thought .. What about God and His Word ?.. Why is it that we believe and confess in full faith all the rubbish that the world is polluting us with .. BUT when it comes to God and His Word we are still walking around doubtful and unconvinced of what He says .. Existing this way just does not make sense and it was never, never God’s intention for your life .. He did not create you to merely exist, miserable and frustrated in a sad and dying world .. He called you to live and enjoy a life filled with His abundant grace and favor .. And God has armed you with everything that you require to start this new life of yours .. you have His presence .. you have His Word .. and you have faith .. TURN YOUR FAITH IN GOD LOOSE .. AND LET satan KNOW THAT YOU ARE HIS NUMBER ONE ENEMY !! JESUS CHRIST IS THE SAME YESTERDAY, TODAY AND FOREVER Hebrews 13:8 Wherever you are right now.. will you just stop for a moment.. stop and allow your mind to take a brief journey back in time.. think about past situations that almost broke you .. think about the times you wondered how you were going to make it through .. think about the times where everything was going wrong and you were ready to just give up .. O.K. so after reflecting a little on the past .. doesn’t it amaze you to realise how your faith has delivered you so many times before .. every trial or tribulation that you once faced is now nothing but a distant memory .. God has always been with you and every time you have called out to Him in faith He has shown up and fulfilled His promises in your life .. so why should today be any different .. God does not change like the blowing winds .. He is the same yesterday, today and forever .. which means that if He was there for you yesterday .. He will be there for you today .. and He will surely continue to be with you forever more .. But in order for you to receive anything from God .. no matter how big or small your request to Him may be .. you are going to have to turn your faith loose and stand in absolute agreement with Him for the things He has already spoken into your life .. BELIEVING + CONFESSING = FAITH TURNED LOOSE !! You have to understand that everything .. absolutely everything .. that you receive from God is all received in exactly the same way .. through your faith !! .. and your faith will definitely be activated the moment you start believing in your heart and confessing with your mouth .. Take a look at what Jesus is saying in our above Scripture from the book of Mark .. Do you notice that as Jesus is teaching He mentions the word “believes” once .. and yet He mentions the word “say” three times .. Interesting isn’t it .. and funnily enough that seems to be where our problem lies .. for the most part many of us are not actually messing up in the “believing” part .. but we are unfortunately still missing it in the “saying” part .. There is no doubt about it .. You are going to have to confess with your mouth what you believe in your heart for God’s Word to have any impact in your life .. Nowhere in His Word does God teach us that if we just believe in our hearts that we will receive the answers we so desperately seek .. BUT .. in various Scriptures He does teach that if you believe in your heart and follow that up by confessing what you believe with your mouth .. whatever it is that you are requesting from God’s Word WILL become a reality in your life .. However, what else does it say? "This message is near you. It's in your mouth and in your heart." This is the message of faith that we spread .. ( Romans 10:8 ) Faith .. Faith .. Faith .. without it, it is impossible to please God .. and that is why He so lovingly gave you a measure of faith in the first place .. Get your word of faith in both your heart and your mouth .. and start thanking God for the answers to your requests .. because as you believe so will you receive .. As God sees your faith in Him beginning to shine .. He will richly reward you with His greatness .. .. FAITH .. USE IT .. DON’T LOSE IT …… LOOSE IT !! So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will run away from you. JAMES 4 : 7
A new year has just broken her beautiful dawn into our lives .. and the one thing that we do not want to do is enter into this new, exciting time the same way that we came out of last year .. filled to overflowing with fear and doubt .. Each one of us has a very important responsibility that lies ahead of us .. and the responsibility is this .. DO NOT CONFESS DOUBT AND FEAR .. RESIST THEM !! Doubt and Fear .. two of the worst emotions for us to try and cope with .. and yet at the same time two of the hardest emotions for us to resist .. but resist them is exactly what we have to do .. Do not open your mouth and confess your doubts .. Do not open your mouth and confess your fears .. Now if you are feeling doubt at this very moment in time .. you are not being told to say that you are not doubting .. And if you are feeling fear at this very moment in time .. you are not being told to say that you are not dealing with any fears .. The lesson that you have to learn here is .. Do Not SAY Anything About Doubt and Fear At All .. What you say can preserve life or destroy it; so you must accept the consequences of your words .. ( Proverbs 18:21 ) We use our mouths and our words to confess, acknowledge and declare things in our lives .. so instead of confessing doubt and fear .. you must resist them .. Turn to .. Rely on .. and CONFESS GOD’S WORD INSTEAD .. Doubt .. Fear .. Doubt .. Fear .. Are you aware that in reality dealing with doubt and fear is actually none of your business .. That’s right .. doubt and fear come from the devil .. which makes them a bad thing .. therefore talking about doubt and fear is none of your business .. because they do not belong to you .. For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of self control .. ( 2 Timothy 1:7 ) You are a very precious, chosen child of our Most High God .. and for this very reason you do not have a heart that is full of doubt and fear .. Yes it may be possible that as you face certain situations and circumstances in your life that you may have been tempted to doubt and feel afraid .. and yes it is also possible that for a brief moment you may have listened to the devil and surrendered to his temptation .. but the good news is .. no wait .. the great news is .. you have all the power that you require to run the devil right out of your life .. permanently .. if you will start to resist him .. CHANGE YOUR CONFESSION .. Stop talking negatively .. Stop confessing your doubts .. Stop confessing your fears .. that is not what you have .. and that is not who you are .. CHANGE YOUR CONFESSION .. Start declaring who you are in Jesus Christ .. Start declaring what you are in Jesus Christ .. You are a believer .. You are a brand new creature .. You are blessed .. You are anointed by the blood of the Lamb .. You are the apple of God’s eye .. You are God’s favourite child .. Say that .. Think that .. Believe that .. Live that .. so that next time you are tempted to feel doubt and fear .. which will happen because none of us are above temptation .. you will have the right attitude and the power to resist the devil and his lies .. and when you resist him he has no option but to run away from you .. Confess with confidence that you refuse doubt and fear in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ .. and doubt and fear will leave you .. But if you allow doubt and fear to be entertained in your thoughts and by your words they will march right into your life .. they will become constant companions .. who will steal from you .. who will destroy you .. and who will ultimately defeat you if you allow them .. Doubt and fear are tempting, provoking twins of the enemy .. and you need to know that if you are going to say anything .. it would be far better for you to start speaking the words that God speaks .. Now what God says is “Fear Not”.. so what you need to say is .. “No, no, no, I will not fear, I am a child of God, and my Father has not given me a spirit of fear so I absolutely refuse to be afraid. I resist you, satan, in Jesus Name.” Remember that doubt and fear is none of your business .. well the same applies to all the negative confessions .. you have no business allowing doubt and fear based words to come out of your mouth .. doubt is the devils language and it is high time that you stop talking the devils language and start talking God’s language only .. God is a faith God .. and you are His faith child !! The temptation of fear and doubt may very well come knocking at your door .. but you have got to learn not to answer when they do .. Stop entertaining doubt in your life .. stop confessing fear and doubt into your life .. you have the choice !! You do not have to live in fear and doubt unless you want to .. you are not a doubter .. you are a believer so keep on believing .. If you continue to confess fear and doubt .. then you will continue to allow fear and doubt to have authority over you .. and if you continue to confess fear and doubt it is a guarantee that those very fears and doubts will only grow stronger dragging you deeper and deeper into despair .. But if you boldly and confidently confess, think, believe and live in God’s love for you and His protection over you .. and you boldly confess, think, believe and live a life that declares that every word God has spoken about you is true .. then you will always have more than enough power to resist .. resist .. resist .. After reading this .. each one of us should take a little time alone to seriously, seriously, seriously think about the things that we are saying and confessing on a regular basis .. As believers it is important for us to understand that each time we confess our fears .. each time we confess our doubts .. each time we confess our weaknesses .. each time we make a negative confession .. in essence what we are really saying is that God’s Word is not true and that our Father has failed to make His Word good and fruitful in our lives … CHANGE YOUR CONFESSION .. We must continue to hold firmly to our confession of faith. The one who made the promise is faithful ..(Hebrews 10:23) ALL THAT I HAVE SEEN TEACHES ME TO TRUST GOD FOR ALL THAT I HAVE NOT SEEN As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you. You will be comforted in Jerusalem. ISAIAH 66 : 13
ARE YOUR DAYS GETTING AS DARK AS YOUR NIGHTS ? .. DO YOU SEEM TO HAVE MORE PROBLEMS THAN ANSWERS ? .. DOES IT FEEL AS THOUGH YOU ARE RUNNING INTO BRICK WALL AFTER BRICK WALL ? .. DO YOU FIND YOURSELF FEELING ALONE AND SCARED AS YOU BATTLE THE GIANTS THAT SEEM TO BE WAITING FOR YOU AROUND EVERY CORNER ? .. The world can come across as a very cold, tough, hard place to live in sometimes, and as the days pass by things only seem to be getting harder and harder with no sign of relief or release. For many of us, we have reached the point where it has all just become " too much ". You feel alone and isolated .. a prisoner to your problems and worries .. your soul and spirit is so full of stress and anxiety .. and you are overflowing with pain and fear .. I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU, NOR FORSAKE YOU Hebrews 13 : 5 Such simple words .. BUT ARE THEY REALLY .. NO THEY ARE NOT !! .. There is absolutely nothing simple about the above Scripture .. Why you may ask ? .. because the words are not just words at all .. This is a direct, sincere promise from God to you !! No matter what your circumstance are .. No matter how big your giants might seem .. You will never have to face them alone .. GOD IS WITH YOU and HE WILL ALWAYS BE WITH YOU !! Your Heavenly Father knows very well that you are going to experience and go through periods in your life when it feels as though your situations and circumstances are going to swallow you up .. in fact He has even warned you that it is going to happen .. " While you are in this world, you will have to suffer .. " .. John 16 : 33 So what was God's intention for telling you that you are going to suffer and experience tribulations ? .. Well, He told you so that you might begin to realize that the God you serve is ALL - Mighty, ALL - Powerful and ALL - Knowing. God wants you to know that He does not want you to allow personal trials and tribulations to dictate your life .. He wants you to know that He does not want you to allow earthly issues to control and destroy you .. He wants you to know that He does not want worry, stress and anxiety to become your new best friends .. He wants you to know that He does not want you to carry on trying to change your life and your circumstances all on your own GOD WANTS YOU TO KNOW .. THAT HE KNOWS !! And because He knows .. He wants you to understand that you do not have to continue on your life's journey alone .. He has made you promise after promise that He will be there .. and because God has said it .. SO IT IS !! God is not like people, He tells no lies. He is not like humans. He does not change His mind. When He says something, He does it. When He makes a promise, He keeps it .. Numbers 23 : 19 So the next time you catch your earthly issues trying to overtake you .. When your car breaks down and you can not afford to repair it .. When your electricity bill arrives and you do not have enough money to pay for it .. When you face the possibility of being let go from your job .. When you feel as though you have reached the end of your rope and you wonder where you can go to find help .. HERE IS ANOTHER PROMISE TO STAND FIRM ON .. HE WILL NOT LET YOU FALL. YOUR GUARDIAN WILL NOT FALL ASLEEP .. Psalms 121 : 3 You are a child .. You are not designed to operate on your own .. so trust and believe that your heavenly Father adores you .. trust and believe that you are the apple of your Fathers eye. Have faith enough to know that if you truly allow yourself to be His child and you truly allow God to be your Father .. then you are standing on the foundation of God's never-ending power and goodness, and once you are on His foundation, He will not allow you to be moved .. God will ensure that you are able to stand firm and that you remain safe in His protection. The Lord your God never sleeps .. HE NEVER TAKES HIS EYES OFF YOU !! You may have taken your eyes off Him .. You may have made the choice to struggle and fight alone .. BUT .. God's promises remain .. He has never moved out of your life .. He has never left your side .. He is still standing at the door where you left Him .. Open And Let Him In .. God Does Not Want You To Be Alone Anymore !! THE WORD OF GOD IS A PERSON .. WHEN YOU READ IT DO YOU SEE WORDS ? .. OR .. DO YOU SEE HIM ? You are taken as in a net by the words of your mouth, the sayings of your lips have overcome you.
PROVERBS 6:2 .. WORDS .. WORDS .. WORDS .. Our days are filled with constant conversations .. we chit-chat here and we chit-chat there .. but when last did you take a moment to properly consider and reflect upon what you are really saying ? .. Defeat and Failure do not belong to any child of God’s .. and yet there are many of us that are living defeated lives .. could it be perhaps that we have defeated ourselves with the very words that come out of our mouths ? .. HAVE YOU ALLOWED YOUR VERY OWN WORDS TO IMPRISON YOU AND HOLD YOU CAPTIVE ? .. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith .. ( Mark 11:23 ) The above is a very powerful Word of faith spoken by Jesus .. notice that Jesus leaves no room for debate as He teaches .. He states very clearly “…… whosoever shall say …… and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.” Now we know that in this teaching Jesus is specifically referring to us speaking faith-based, positive things into our lives in order to manifest and call forward positive, Godly results in our lives .. but what you need to be very aware of is that what Jesus is teaching is just as relevant and just as effective in your life if you speak negatively and out of faith all the time .. You know that .. “what you sow is what you will reap”.. well the words that come out of your mouth are no different to any other seed that you may sow .. if you sow faith-based, positive words you can only reap positive, Godly results .. however, on the other hand .. if you sow faithless, negative words then unfortunately your harvest is going to be filled with negative, un-Godly results .. YOUR WORDS HAVE THE POWER AND THE ABILITY TO DOMINATE YOU .. You said .. “I can’t do it “ .. and the moment you said it you were defeated. You said .. “I just can’t carry on” .. and the moment you said it you were defeated. You said .. “I am scared to death” .. and the moment you said it you were defeated. You said .. “My life is in such a mess” .. and the moment you said it you were defeated. You said .. “I am just so sick and tired” .. and the moment you said it you were defeated. You said .. “Nothing ever goes right for me” .. and the moment you said it you were defeated. You spoke defeat and failure .. and the moment you did, doubt and unbelief rose up inside of you like a giant and it bound you .. it captured you .. and you became a prisoner to your very own words .. If you continue to talk defeat and failure .. then defeat and failure will continue to hold you in bondage !! You have to realise that you are never, never, never defeated .. UNTIL .. you confess that you are .. ARE YOU GOD’S CHILD ? .. Then you need to STOP speaking defeat and failure into your life .. because if God is your Father then defeat and failure do not belong to you .. they are not an option because God never made any failures !! Failures are not God made they are man made .. so if you have had enough of living a defeated life .. then it is time to start changing the words that come out of your mouth .. God’s Word tells us in the book of Mark .. the story of a woman who had suffered terribly from severe bleeding for twelve years .. lets take a look at how she approached her situation .. For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole .. ( Mark 5:28 ) Do you see .. “she said” .. “she spoke” .. and because she sowed positive, faith-filled words into her seemingly impossible situation .. she was blessed to reap the reward of being healed and made whole .. Jesus said to her, "My daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your trouble.".. ( Mark 5:34 ) The woman thought right .. she believed right .. and she confessed right .. she spoke her faith and her faith made her victorious .. Your words have the power to greatly enrich you or to keep you spiritually bankrupt .. your words have the power to make you victorious or to keep you captive … THE CHOICE IS YOURS !! Why continue to speak words of defeat and failure into your life .. when you have the choice to fill your words with the kind of faith that will stir heaven .. you have the choice to make your words breathe out the very atmosphere of heaven .. Words .. Words .. Words .. Here’s something to remember .. It was Words spoken by God your Father that created the universe .. Words filled with faith are the most powerful influence in all the world .. Your faith can never reach above and beyond the words that you speak .. Each and everyone us is at this very moment facing some sort of challenge in our daily lives .. you are staring into the face of some “seemingly impossible situations” .. and it is your words that are going to determine if you are victorious over your giants or if you are going to allow them to defeat and destroy you .. What then shall we say to these things ? IF GOD IS FOR US, WHO CAN BE AGAINST US ?.. ( Romans 8:31 ) REHEARSE … NURSE … DISPERSE .. DONT REHEARSE YOUR PROBLEM OR YOU WILL NURSE IT RATHER THAN DISPERSE IT .. For with the heart a person believes (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Christ) and so is justified (declared righteous, acceptable to God), and with the mouth he confesses (declares openly and speaks out freely his faith) and confirms [his] salvation. ROMANS 10:10
ARE YOU THINKING RIGHT ? .. ARE YOU BELIEVING RIGHT ? .. ARE YOU CONFESSING RIGHT ? .. Three rather simple questions .. but questions that should be carefully thought about before they are answered because your answers are the very keys that you require to open the door into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ .. MAKE SURE IT’S RIGHT.. Right Thinking .. Right Believing .. and Right Confessing O.K. so why is it of such vital importance that you have these things right in your life ? .. The reason is this .. what you think and what you believe will always affect what you say, which is your confession .. Thinking, Believing and Confessing are three areas in your life that are very closely linked together .. So if your thinking is right .. then your believing will also be right because the things that you find yourself meditating over will ultimately become deeply rooted in your heart and you will begin to believe those things that you have been meditating over .. and if your believing is right .. then automatically your confession and the things you say will also be right .. BUT if any one of the three .. “your thinking, your believing or your confessing” .. is wrong then unfortunately all three of them will be wrong .. Now our gracious God knew that we would all need a little help and guidance concerning these areas in our lives and so naturally He gave us the solution .. God provided us with His precious Word .. and it is His true and perfect Word that will help you to get your thinking straightened out and back on track .. because when you begin to meditate on and think in line with God’s Word .. His Word will become established and rooted in your heart and this will cause you to change what you believe and how you believe .. and of course if what you are believing is perfect and true then the words of your mouth will always speak what is right .. Our Scripture from Romans tells us that .. “with the mouth he confesses (declares openly and speaks out freely his faith) and confirms [his] salvation”.. which gives us a clear indication of the true power of confession according to God’s Word .. But do we as God’s children really, really grasp the true place of importance that confessions .. “right confessions” .. hold in the grand scheme of our lives ? .. Somehow it seems that through the years we have successfully managed to underrate and play down the true value of “right confessions” .. Sadly when the word confession is mentioned .. far too many of us automatically go to the mindset of confessing sins .. confessing weaknesses .. confessing inabilities .. confessing failures .. confessing guilt .. we move straight into the negative side of confession .. BUT .. there is a positive side .. and why we have chosen to remain so focused on the negative side of confession is a true mystery because God’s Word has so much more to say about the positive side of confessions than it does about the negative side .. If you were to look up the word “confess” in the dictionary some of the definitions you would find are : to acknowledge; to declare; to make known; to acknowledge faith in .. and yes you will also find definitions such as : come clean; plead guilty and confession of ones faults .. But it is important for you to remember that one definition does say .. to confess is to acknowledge and declare your faith .. or .. to acknowledge faith in God’s Word .. If you carry on making the choice to live your life purely based on one side of the definition of confession .. the negative side .. constantly confessing your guilt, your troubles, your irritations, your doubts, your fears, your failures, your weaknesses .. then that is all you will ever confess .. and this will cause your life as a child of God’s to be extremely unbalanced .. you will end up growing nothing but weakness, failure and sin consciousness in your spirit .. Do you know that Christianity is very often referred to as “The Great Confession” !! O.K. so now that we are all familiar with the word Confession .. are we one-hundred percent sure of what exactly it means .. well it is simple really .. Confessing is actually three basic things .. To confess is to state something you believe .. To confess is to declare something that you know is true .. To confess is to proclaim a truth that you have wholeheartedly accepted.. So from this moment on you never again have to wonder what you are supposed to be confessing .. your confession should always centre around some very basic principal truths .. What God has done for you through Jesus Christ in His plan for your salvation .. What God has done for you through His Word .. What God has done for you by filling your spirit with the presence of His Holy Spirit .. Who you are and what you mean to God your Father in Christ Jesus .. What Jesus is doing for you right now, as He sits at the right hand of His Father where He constantly intercedes and pleads for you .. What God can achieve through you and what His Word can achieve through you as you proclaim and declare it .. We have been blessed with the highest honour of loving our faithful God .. and not because of anything that we have ever managed to achieve .. we can love Him purely because He loved us first .. WOW !! We love Him, because He first loved us .. ( 1 John 4:19 ) Knowing something that amazing should surely be enough motivation for you to change the words that freely flow out of your mouth .. it is time for “right confessing” .. leave the negativity alone because you are the only one who keeps punishing yourself with it .. in God’s eyes the precious blood of the Lamb has taken care of it and “It is finished” .. God loves you .. unconditionally .. and Jesus Christ has ensured once and for all that you are God’s beloved .. you are God’s child .. He has chosen you .. He loves you .. and He delights in you .. BUT .. you have to think it .. you have to believe it .. and you have to confess it .. You know God did not sit back one day and decide to speak out His precious Word because He was bored and thought it might be funny to tease and tempt His children with a whole lot of meaningless promises and blessings .. IN FACT .. God’s Word is the most magnificent love story .. and the best part about it is that every word that you read was put there especially for you .. every guarantee, every promise, every blessing .. is yours !! .. in and through Jesus Christ .. You have to know how important you are to God .. and He has taken the time in His Word to tell you .. SO WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DO YOU HAVE “IN CHRIST” ? .. Therefore, if anyone is “in Christ”, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come ..( 2 Corinthians 5:17 ) There is therefore no condemnation for those who are “in Christ”.. ( Romans 8:1) As you share the faith you have in common with others, I pray that you may come to have a complete knowledge of every blessing we have “in Christ” .. ( Philemon 1:6 ) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us “in Christ” with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places .. ( Ephesians 1:3 ) We know that we live “in him” and he lives in us because he has given us his Spirit. .. ( 1 John 4:13 ) May God, the source of hope, fill you with joy and peace through your faith “in him”. Then you will overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. .. ( Romans 15:13 ) But whoever obeys what Christ says is the kind of person in whom God's love is perfected. That's how we know we are “in Christ”. .. ( 1 John 2:5 ) These are just a few of the many, many Scriptures that God has given to you .. to let you know that there is nothing more important in His world than you .. God has already done His part in this “partnership” that you have with Him .. now it is up to you .. God is not like people. He tells no lies. He is not like humans. He doesn't change his mind. When he says something, he does it. When he makes a promise, he keeps it. .. ( Numbers 23:19 ) You know that God is not a Father that lies and changes His mind .. so everything that He has said about you .. every promise that He has made you .. every blessing He has guaranteed you .. is already yours for the taking .. And all you have to do is THINK RIGHT .. BELIEVE RIGHT .. and CONFESS RIGHT !! MAKE IT YOUR INTENTION TO PURSUE ONLY WHAT IS HONOURABLE, WHAT IS GOOD AND WHAT IS TRUE .. AND THE RESULT WILL BE A LIFE GRANDER THAN YOU COULD EVER HAVE IMAGINED. Fear not [there is nothing to fear], for I am with you; do not look around you in terror and be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen and harden you to difficulties, yes, I will help you; yes I will hold you up and retain you with My [victorious] right hand of rightness and justice. ISAIAH 41 : 10
DRESSED FOR SUCCESS !! Before you rush head-on into yet another hectic day .. Pause for a moment to ensure that your outfit is fully intact !! Did you remember to put on .. The Belt Of Truth .. The Breastplate Of Righteousness .. The Shoes Of Peace .. The Shield Of Faith .. The Helmet Of Salvation .. and .. The Sword Of The Spirit .. ? Did you remember to dress yourself for success in The Full Armor Of God .. ? Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand .. Ephesians 6 : 13 Wherefore .. Or .. Because you are fighting against spiritual wickedness, you must Take Unto You The Whole Armor Of God !! Now, what is important for you to understand is that the phrase .. “Take Unto You” .. gives you great insight into the seriousness of the advice that is being put before you. And Here Is The Reason Why !! .. In the Greek language used .. “Take Unto You” is like a military command that must be obeyed immediately and for all time !! In Other Words .. You are to put on God’s armor Right Now and Do Not ever consider taking it off !! It is important for you to maintain discipline over your flesh .. And .. Keep your spirit alert so that the Holy Spirit can keep you well informed of the enemy's movements at all times !! You need to realise that when you Keep The Armor Of God On and you Persevere In The Spirit .. you Will Be Able to “withstand in the evil day” !! Now, do yourself a favour .. Go back to Ephesians 6 : 13 and underline that word .. Day !! Do this as a prominent and pertinent reminder to yourself that .. The devil’s attack against you is only for a day !! That’s Right .. The devil Has A Limit !! he will Not last if you will put on your armor and fight !! .. If you will Stand, his attack will soon be over and he will have to flee from you !! STAND TALL !! .. STAND STRONG !! .. DON’T YOU QUIT !! Are you aware that two of the greatest deceits of the devil are .. Discouragement and Exhaustion !! In his view, if all else fails, he will very simply come at you again, and again, and again, and again, all to wear you down, tire you out and get you to throw in the towel and quit !! Do you recall the time when Jesus was exhausted and alone in the wilderness being fiercely tempted by the devil .. Did Jesus Quit ? .. Absolutely Not !! .. Jesus stood against the devil with the Word Of God until the devil simply could not stay any longer !! 10 .. Then Jesus said to him, Be gone satan ! For it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God, and Him alone shall you serve. 11 .. Then the devil departed from Him, and behold angels came and ministered to Him ..Matthew 4 : 10 – 11 The devils Time Was Up !! .. Jesus Outlasted him And he Had To Go !! Today, you do not see Joshua and the children of Israel still circling around the wall of Jericho .. No !! .. They had a specific number of times to march and then their shout of victory brought the wall crashing down to the ground !! The evil That Is Coming Against You Only Has .. A Day !! If You Will Keep Standing .. his Day Will Soon Be Over !! Whatever it may be that is coming against you in the spirit realm, you can be highly confident of the truth that it is not permanent !! .. It is not going to last too long .. Not If You Will Keep God’s Armor On And Stand !! And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due season we shall reap, if you do not loosen and relax your courage and faint ..Galatians 6 : 9 How many of God’s children have not possessed the promises and blessings of God purely because they got tired of the struggle and quit just moments before ALL was theirs ? How many were just inches away from conquering their land and they dropped their Sword or their Shield on the ground ? That Very Thought Should Make Your Entire Body Shudder !! What would have happened if Joshua had simply given up and quit before marching around the walls of Jericho for the seventh time ? What would have happened if Joshua had given up before the shout ? Father .. Help me to stop running in my own strength and live only in the quality of yours !! .. Help me to hear and listen to the voice of my Captain and follow only Your battle plan !! .. In your strength Lord, I will be sure to keep your armor on at all times, and when I have done all, God I will continue to resist the discouraging deceits of the devil Until your victory is manifested in my life .. In Jesus Name .. Amen !! Child Of God, Always Remember !! .. When you know your enemy .. And .. You understand his tactics .. And .. You stay suited in the whole armor of God .. And .. You refuse to budge from God’s perfect will for your life .. You Can Defeat Your Enemy And Keep Him Defeated !! !! You can love people .. Hate evil .. And .. Remain focused on the prize until it is fully yours !! DO NOT PANIC .. PRAY !! PANIC IS NATURAL .. PRAYER IS SUPERNATURAL !! |
Ana & Andre Schoonbee God uses us to motivate and encourage the body. Authors
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