Believing

When that old bully named “Difficulty” pops up, God wants us to see and hear something more – something beyond the difficulty. Camped on the edge of the Promised Land, Moses sent twelve scouts to scope out the land. Ten of the scouts brought back a negative report, but Joshua and Caleb kept their eyes on God, who was higher and bigger. Rather than being distracted by all that looked impossible, they saw all that was possible. And instead of fixating on the problems, they remembered God’s promise – a land of plenty for their people. They could see it, feel it, taste it. They knew that the same miracles God had performed to get the children of Israel out of Egypt would suffice to take them into the Promised Land. This task was no harder, and the miracles required were no bigger. The God who did that was the same God who could do this. It never was about what they could not do; it was always about what God could and would do if His people would only believe in Him to do it! Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” (Numbers 13:30)

Waiting

“For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay” (Habakkuk 2:3). If I have learned one thing in ministry, it is that most God dreams take longer than we think, cost more than we ever thought we would have to pay, and are far more painful to birth than we ever imagined. Nothing great happens overnight. If you have found yourself in this place, know this: God has a specific purpose and place for you. There are no throwaway runners, lanes, legs or positions in God’s divine relay. Every runner is important. Every baton, every lane, every position and every leg of the race is important. God not only has a place for each one of us, He also has perfect timing when it comes to moving us from one position to the next. Stay faithful in your pursuit of God and learn to embrace your place now; then His work in and through you will be UNSTOPPABLE! God is preparing you for the future He has planned, and it will happen perfectly in His timing.

Prayer for This Day

“God, you know the conflict in my life. I’m tired of it, and I want to make peace. I want to have your peace in my life so I can offer peace to others. So I accept your peace today. I open my life to you as best as I know how. Fill my life with love, not anger, and with patience, joy, and peace. Come in and fill every area of my life with your peace, and help me to be a bridge builder and not a wall builder. Help me to take the initiative and not wait on that other person. Help me to find the right time and place, and then help me to have the courage to confess my part of the conflict and to be humble. Instead of attacking the person, help me attack the problem. Help me to consider the other person’s perspective. Help me to speak the truth, fix the problem and not the blame, and to focus on reconciliation instead of resolving all the disagreements. I ask this in your name. Amen.” -Rick Warren

Miracles Always Come from Unexpected Sources

Amen!! Thank you Daddy!

Jun 27, 2014

Miracles Always Come from Unexpected Sources by Rick Warren “‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the LORD. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.’”(Isaiah 55:8 NLT) Most of us have some need in our lives that we want met. And many of us try to figure how to get them fulfilled. You may be looking around saying, “Maybe God could do it that way” or “Maybe I could help God along with this” or “Maybe I could give a suggestion here.” You’re trying to manipulate God, and it doesn’t work! The source of a miracle will not be where you think it’s going to come from. It’s always unexpected. God told Abraham that he was going to have a son, and that son was going to be the father of a great nation. Abraham was nearly 100 years old and had a little trouble believing God’s promise. So he took matters into his own hands and had sex with a woman who wasn’t his wife, and they had a son named Ishmael. Bu God said, “No! That’s not the one I promised. That’s the one you came up with using your plan, but that’s not my plan. My plan is I’m going to use your wife Sarah and do a miracle long after she’s capable of having children.” The way you want to meet the need in your life is not the way God wants to meet the need in your life. Your way is second best. God’s way is always best. If you could understand God, you’d be God. But you’re not! Let me give you a little stress reliever. Repeat this 10 times: “God is God, and I’m not.” Isaiah 55:8 says, “’My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the LORD. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine’” (NLT). The path to a miracle is always through uncomfortable territory. The source of a miracle always comes in an unexpected way. So what do you do when you’re on this road? You don’t fret. You don’t fear. You don’t try to figure it out. You just have faith. You trust God, and say, “I don’t know how God is going to do it, but he will do it.” If God tells you to do it, even if it doesn’t make sense, you do it. Even if going in that direction, or to that location, or to talk to that person doesn’t make sense, you simply obey God and do what he tells you to do. And then, you get ready for a miracle.

God Provides

Feel like this is so much an answer to my prayers right now for His discernment in steps that have been presented. Thank you Daddy!

Jun 28, 2014

God Provides on the Way to the Miracle by Rick Warren “My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”(Philippians 4:19 NIV) Some of you are in a rut, and it’s cold and dark and lonely. Some of you are on the road, and it’s scary and insecure, and you have no idea where you’re going or how long the journey’s going to take. And some of you are at the refinery, and the pressure is on. No matter where you are on the way to your miracle, here are some things you need to remember: God is all you need. You don’t need the government or even a job. If God wants to, he can have ravens drop food on you as his way of providing. If he turns off one job opportunity, he can turn on another just as easily. Don’t trust in your bank account, which changes daily. God is all you need. Where God guides, God provides. If God tells you to go to Zarephath, leave now! When God gives you direction, he will provide what you need to get there. You must trust him one day at a time. Why? Because something like a recession isn’t going to come at you all at once. It’s going to come one day at a time. God’s promises hinge on your obedience. God wants you to take a step, and then he’ll show you the next step. Take that step of faith. It may not seem logical, but you do what God says because God’s way is always best. The Bible says, “My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus”(Philippians 4:19 NIV). The first step of faith is asking Jesus to take control of your life. If you’ve never done that, then pray this prayer. Do you know Christ Jesus? If you don’t, you need to get to know him right now. “Dear God, thank you that you love me and want to keep me from depending on other things instead of you. Forgive me for when I’ve depended on my job and other people instead of you. Thank you that you haven’t forgotten me. Lord, the days ahead may be a little scary at times, but I understand now that the path to a miracle is through uncomfortable territory. I understand now that the source of a miracle will be unexpected, so I shouldn’t try to figure it out. I should just trust you. When you tell me what to do, and it doesn’t always make sense, I will still do what you want me to do. Help me to remember that you’re all I need and that where you guide, you’ll provide. I want to learn to trust you one day at a time. I want to go your way, not my way. I want to follow you, and I ask you to save me and come into my life. I claim your promise that if I trust you, you’ll meet my needs. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

Path to Miracle: Goes Through Uncomfortable Territory

Path to Miracle: Goes Through Uncomfortable Territory by Rick Warren “Then the LORD spoke his word to Elijah, ‘Go to Zarephath in Sidon and live there. I have commanded a widow there to take care of you.’ So Elijah went to Zarephath.” (1 Kings 17:8-10a NCV) When you’re scared to death and vulnerable, you don’t know where you’re going, you don’t know how long it’s going to take, and you don’t know what’s going to happen when you get there, what do you do? You remember that the path to a miracle is always through uncomfortable territory. The Bible gives an illustration in 1 Kings 17:8-10: “Then the LORD spoke his word to Elijah, ‘Go to Zarephath in Sidon and live there. I have commanded a widow there to take care of you.’ So Elijah went to Zarephath” (NCV). God told Elijah to walk more than 100 miles during a drought through dangerous territory, where everyone knew who he was, and everyone knew King Ahab had a price on Elijah’s head. When Elijah finally made it to Zarephath, he met a poor widow who was going to feed him, but how could she help defend or protect him from a pagan town full of people who wouldn’t hesitate to kill him? Miracles don’t happen when things are comfortable. Miracles happen when things are uncomfortable. Elijah didn’t say, “God, there are three things wrong with this plan. One, you’re sending me in the wrong direction. Two, you’re sending me to the wrong location. And three, you’re sending me to the wrong protection.” Elijah just obeyed. The path to a miracle is always through uncomfortable territory. For instance — When Moses led the Israelites out of slavery to the Promised Land, they had to go through the Red Sea first. Before David could slay Goliath, he had to walk onto the battlefield. God told Jehoshaphat to put the choir before the army, and he’d win the victory. How much faith do you think that took? Miracles never happen in your comfort zone, when everything’s great and convenient. You don’t need a miracle when everything is settled in your life. You only need a miracle when you’re on the edge, when you’re scared to death, when you’re insecure, when you can get hit at any angle. Are you at a place right now in your life where things are a little uncomfortable — financially, emotionally, relationally, or physically? You’re a little nervous, a little on the edge, a little insecure. Congratulations. You’re on the path to a miracle! Just like Elijah, God wants you to obey, so you can see his miracle at the end of the road. Talk It Over What is God asking you to do that makes you uncomfortable? What do you want God to do in your life? How have you expressed your anticipation of his miracle in your life? Who are the people who can encourage you on the uncomfortable road you may be walking right now?

Trusting Absolutely

Such beautiful words today!  Father help me to trust You absolutely!!

Today, maybe you’re at a crossroads and need to make an important decision. I want to encourage you that it is not always about seeing everything perfectly, but more about trusting a perfect God absolutely. Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6, NKJV) The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, and He delights in his way. (Psalm 37:23, NKJV)  I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. (Psalm 32:8, NKJV)