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Setup NOT Setback

Aug30

Broken PiecesOne of the greatest stories ever told in the Bible is about the young man, Joseph. God gave him a dream at a very young age. However, he wasn’t given the “how” or “when” of the dream.

Joseph’s life was a whirlwind of events. He was his father’s favorite son, which unfortunately, lead to his brothers’ jealousy. I’m sure Joseph didn’t realize that this jealousy would lead him to being thrown into a pit, sold into slavery by his own brothers, and being thrown into jail for something he didn’t commit.

Think what must have ran through his mind. He must have wondered about “why” bad things keep happening to him. Why did his brothers do this? Why would God allow this? What happened to the dream?

Here he was a young man that received an incredible dream from God Himself. You can only imagine his excitement. The Bible even tells us that he was so excited, he shared the dream with his family. Even though Joseph was excited, his family…especially his brothers were not enthused about it.

Best yet to comeJoseph found himself going through terrible things in his life. The more he tried, the worse things became. I’m sure he had no idea that he would hit every brick wall imaginable just for doing what was right.

So, what was his response to all the “so called” setbacks? He trusted God. No matter how bad things got or how many setbacks he encountered, he trusted God. As Joseph said in Genesis 50:20, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.“

Joseph never could have imagined that he was going to be one of the most powerful men of his time. He had no idea that he would end up saving so many lives; including his own family. The very brothers that sold him into slavery.

Yet through it all, Joseph remained faithful to God. There is so much we can learn from his story. No matter what adversity you encounter, no matter how bleak your circumstances look right now…know that God is setting you up for something amazing.

Just like Joseph, we need to stay focused on God who promises that all things will turn out in our favor. We will be victorious and successful against all the odds. It doesn’t matter what is happening in our lives right now. It doesn’t matter if we can’t see a way out of our situation.

We might not know the “how” or “when”; but we can be absolutely certain that our FUTURE IS GOING TO BE BETTER THAN WE COULD EVER DREAMED! GOD PROMISES IT AND IT WILL BE SO!

SIDE NOTE:

From time to time, I share song links to help you stay motivated through difficult times. Here is another wonderful tune that I hope helps you stand strong when everything seems to be going haywire. It is from the Fireproof movie called “While I’m Waiting”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3b2jw1rjBc

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The Fiery Darts

Aug15

23_grace-temptationWhen the Bible tells us “Emmanuel is with us” (Matthew 1:23), then we can rest assure that no matter where we go, no matter what comes against us, no matter what circumstances happen…we have Almighty God with us during all the good and bad times. God is our supply! He has provided us with wisdom, understanding, redemption, deliverance, salvation, forgiveness, healing, and prosperity. So, if God has provided everything for us, why do we need to put the full armor of God on?

Simply put…we have a very cunning adversary who knows how to corrupt, deceive and steal our joy. The devil and the spiritual warfare that rages against believers can turn our world upside down. We may not even realize what is happening because evil and deception come in many forms. Let’s face it…the devil is really good at using those closest to us for his evil purposes. However, our war isn’t against human enemies; it’s a full out assault against the rulers, powers, and the world forces of darkness and the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)

The full armor of God has been given to each of us so that we can stand against the devil’s schemes and satan’s forces. (Ephesians 6:11) We cannot defeat satan and the dark spiritual forces with any natural weapons. The Christian armor is made to be worn daily. While you grow, mature and finish your course for the Lord, the devil and his schemers will continue to hone in on you and will do everything they can to stop your progress. So what does the full armor of God mean?

The Full Armorarmor_of_god of God

Ephesians 6:13-18: “Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14: Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, 15: and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; 16: in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.… 17: And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God . 18: With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.”

God has supplied us with the armor to defeat all the attacks but we must put it on! We need to dive into His Word daily to know the truth, understand the Good News of His Gospel, to build our faith and know who we are through Christ. With His spiritual protection and authority, there is nothing that can defect us! Christ already gave us the VICTORY!

So the next time a fiery dart of satan and his cronies come against you…use your power and authority of God’s Word to crush and squash the evil desires and thoughts as they rise up within you. A well understood and rightly applied Word of God destroys any menacing adversary!

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SHOUT OUT LOUD…

I am a Child of the Most High God. Today and every day, God is with me! It is through His love, His amazing grace, His truth, His salvation, His forgiveness, His healing, His understanding, His strength, and His Word that I am and will be victorious over all darkness. With God for me no one can possibly stand against me!

Hallelujah, Give Praise to the Lord!

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Run Your Race

Aug9

sadnessHow many of us feel like the picture to the left? Depressed, sad, alone, frustrated, stressed, worried or even all of the above. It is so easy to allow our feelings to get the best of us. Sometimes things come at us so quickly that we don’t have enough time to take a breath.

That’s when it’s imperative that you stop and take a moment to assess what’s happening. Satan knows that his time is running out. And for believers, we have a difficult and rough road ahead. Satan is going to throw everything he can in order to get us off track. Satan loves to bring persecution, trouble, trials, and opposition into our lives. As a believer, God told us that we would have trouble just like Jesus did. However, we are also told that we are to put on the full armor of God!

The Bible is like a treasure chest filled with promises, hope, love, guidance, truth, direction and peace. One of the best quotes from the Bible is:

Every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable…(2 Timothy 3:16)

Armed with such a statement from God, you can confidently know that everything you read in the Bible is true. When you open the treasures of the Bible, God, Himself tells us that whatever He starts…He’ll finish. We are also told that we’ll never be alone, we are healed by His stripes, Jesus is closer to us than a brother, that He gives us the power to get wealth and of course the list just goes on and on.

We need to be armed with God’s Word like never before. If we are going to win our race, we need to open our Bibles today and fill ourselves with His word. God will make sure to give you the revelation and direction you need in order to make it through your trial, but we must be willing to spend the time to really get to know Him. Not an “on-the-surface” kind of knowing Him but a deep-rooted realtionship that even when the whirlwinds are swirling around us we remain rooted in His truth.

God is good and there is absolutely nothing…and I do mean nothing…that is too hard for Him to handle. Fill yourself with His word. Get to know Him. Ask Him to have a real relationship with you. Because when you do, I can promise that absolutely nothing can stand in your way. You are victorious in Christ. It is because of Him and His amazing Grace that you will be more than a conqueror through Christ.

The best news of all…

BELIEVERS WIN!

Today's Forecast

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Unleash Your Potential

Aug2

God's PlanEver feel like you are going in circles? Just when you think you are heading in the right direction, you seem to hit every road block there is or something happens in your life that makes you second guess yourself. It never fails that when you are spending time with the Lord and you are stepping out in faith, things seem to come against you in a fury.

According to Jeremiah 29:11, God has an amazing plan for every single one of us. A plan that is far greater than anything we could imagine. However, as God’s plan starts taking shape, you will find that great adversity comes your way too.

God’s plan should give us great hope for our future. God’s plan is so incredible that most people will not understand what you are doing or where you are going. God’s plan is filled with peace, love, joy and prosperity…but as you step out towards that plan, there are many things that will come against you. It is during those times that your faith is being tested.

When you find yourself in adversity and everything that can go wrong ~ goes wrong…do you allow yourself to wallow in the pain, hurt, frustration, anger and lack or do you come running boldly to the Throne of God to place it all at His feet?

God has unlimited potential for your life but we need to cooperate with God and His plan. We need to break the barriers of contentment, pain, frustration, hurt, and anger while continuing to learn and grow through it all.

Every day is important. Every day we need to be spending time with God. This is the only way He can help develop us into the person He knows we can be. You may have had someone prophesize wonderful things over your life or you may have been given a wonderful vision. However, if you do not take the time to develop and understand God’s ways then your ultimate plan may get off course or never materialize. We have to stay the course and allow God to direct our footsteps. Without Him we are nothing but with Him we are everything! (John 15:5)

Don’t settle for contentment or feel the need to fit in. God has a specific plan for your life and it needs time to develop. Let God show you your God-given gifts and talents. For when you allow Him to take control and step out in faith, He will open doors that no man can shut and shut the doors that no man can open.

Don’t waste another single moment! Reach out to your Lord and Savior today! No matter how you feel, no matter who talks badly about you, no matter what you see in your life…God wants the absolute best for you and is willing to make it all come true. But you need to cooperate with Him by meeting Him first in the morning. Let God be God in your life. You will never know what you’re capable of until God gets involved. It is because of Him that you have unlimited potential and unlimited grace that comes upon you.

Be that one light shining on the hill that no one ever has seen until today! God will make a way when there is none. God will provide when you can’t see how. God will give you peace in the middle of any storm. No one and nothing can do what God can do! He is the great physician. He is the great peace. He is your strength when you are weak. He is your friend when all others fail you. He is closer than a brother. He is all this and more. So place all your cares upon His shoulder and allow Him to do all the heavy lifting.

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So…I wish to encourage you to seek His plan above all else. Seek His wisdom for it is finer than gold and silver. Seek His presence through all your difficulties. He promises to deliver you and fulfill the plans He has for you!

Unleash Your Potential Today!

YOU WILL BE VICTORIOUS IN THE END!

 

 

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