God’s Plan Will Stand

June 18, 2013 — Leave a comment

Proverbs 19:20-21  “Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.  Many are the plans in the mind of man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.”

Did you cringe a little at the end of that verse?  It may sound crazy but I did because unfortunately at times I start to bolt ahead with something and then I read a verse like this and I stop and panic for just a second thinking back to see if I really prayed before I made my “big plans”.  I have even stopped before to say, “Oh please Lord, let this be your will.”  Silly me!

Sometimes we forget that we are not above advice just because we are adults.  There are many times I wish my Dad was still here on earth because I miss being able to go to him for advice and wisdom!  I have learned though that God does a great job if we allow Him to replace those people we have had in our lives that pour into us and give us instruction and wisdom.  God Himself will pour into you and give you His wisdom if you will take the time to listen and then do as He says.

If you are in the will of God then you can truly always rest assured that even if things seem to be falling apart around you God’s plan will stand.  He may change things up a bit in order to fully accomplish all He desires to accomplish through you but His plan will not fail for you if you just follow Him!

I am still a firm believer that everyone needs a godly mentor in their lives!  I cherish the lady that has mentored me for years, her wisdom has saved me from many mistakes even when I wasn’t crazy about what she had to say.  Seek out godly friends and mentors, don’t just bolt ahead and then regret your decisions.  Pray and ask God to give you the direction you need and know that He will keep you from making a mistake if you ask Him to!  God loves you and wants His best for you ~ the best is yet to come!

Quote:  “Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.”  Carl Bard

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God’s Plan Will Still Stand

June 18, 2013 — Leave a comment

Proverbs 19:20-21  “Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.  Many are the plans in the mind of man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.”

Did you cringe a little at the end of that verse?  It may sound crazy but I did because unfortunately at times I start to bolt ahead with something and then I read a verse like this and I stop and panic for just a second thinking back to see if I really prayed before I made my “big plans”.  I have even stopped before to say, “Oh please Lord, let this be your will.”  Silly me!

Sometimes we forget that we are not above advice just because we are adults.  There are many times I wish my Dad was still here on earth because I miss being able to go to him for advice and wisdom!  I have learned though that God does a great job if we allow Him to replace those people we have had in our lives that pour into us and give us instruction and wisdom.  God Himself will pour into you and give you His wisdom if you will take the time to listen and then do as He says.

If you are in the will of God then you can truly always rest assured that even if things seem to be falling apart around you God’s plan will stand.  He may change things up a bit in order to fully accomplish all He desires to accomplish through you but His plan will not fail for you if you just follow Him!

I am still a firm believer that everyone needs a godly mentor in their lives!  I cherish the lady that has mentored me for years, her wisdom has saved me from many mistakes even when I wasn’t crazy about what she had to say.  Seek out godly friends and mentors, don’t just bolt ahead and then regret your decisions.  Pray and ask God to give you the direction you need and know that He will keep you from making a mistake if you ask Him to!  God loves you and wants His best for you ~ the best is yet to come!

Quote:  “Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.”  Carl Bard

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Are You Wondering Why The Rebellious Seem To Be Doing “Ok”?

June 17, 2013 — 1 Comment

Proverbs 23:17-18  Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day.  Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.

Ladies have you taken a look around while you are doing everything you can possibly think of to live right and do right and while you struggle those around you who are living any way they want seem to be doing just fine?  Are you frustrated wondering why you are working so hard to do what is right?  Have you ever felt as though life seemed easier when you didn’t care so much?

Satan wants you to feel that way!  Have you ever thought that maybe all the “blessings” that person is getting that is living a life of rebellion aren’t from God?  Maybe Satan just isn’t fighting them any more because they aren’t a threat in fact maybe they are benefitting Satan’s cause by their rebellion so why would he fight them?  Do you want your life to count for God?  Do you want to be able to stand before Him one day and know that in spite of all you faced you did your best?  Easy doesn’t always mean right and getting what you want doesn’t always mean it is best and right for you.  If you ever feel as though Satan has stopped fighting you it may be a good time to stop and look at your walk with God and if you feel as though Satan is after you with a vengeance then thank God that Satan feels you are that much of a threat to his plans.

Don’t envy those around you that are not living for God!  “Surely there is a future” – God has a plan and He will not allow “your hope to be cut off”!  You may not be able to see His plan right now but He has one and His blessing will far exceed anything you can imagine!  God is always good and He always does what is right but you must trust Him even though you can’t see what He is up to.  There are times you will look back and realize that part of His biggest blessing came during the struggle, feeling God so close and feeling His love surround you knowing that the God of All is working out a plan on your behalf – yes, you mean that much.  He is not allowing things to happen by chance, He has it all planned out if you will let Him finish what He has begun in you!  The best is yet to come girl!

Quote:  “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”  Martin Luther King

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If You Rush It You Could Miss Out On God’s Best

June 16, 2013 — Leave a comment

Ruth 3:18a   Then said she, “Sit still my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall.

I was always one of those people though that wants to “fix it” and I don’t want to wait, I wanted it done yesterday, I want an answer now!  Patience hasn’t always been my forte’ in life and I have had to learn over the years that rushing things doesn’t help.  In fact, until we learn to wait on God, we seem to face the same type of situations over and over until we learn to “be still” and allow Him to finish in His time.  When we jump in and take over instead of waiting we just mess things up!  In Ruth’s case Naomi was telling her to wait for Boaz to respond to the fact that he was her “next of kin” and needed to marry her or at least find out if there was someone else that was a closer kin that should marry her to carry on the family name and do right by her.  If she had pursued the situation instead of listening and waiting, she could have ruined her reputation and destroyed what God was trying to do in her life.

When she started out, she was only looking for a field to find food for herself and Naomi, what she didn’t know was that God wanted her to OWN the field!  What are you trying to rush that God is telling you to trust Him and He will bring it to pass in His time?  Do you want to just find the field or do you want to OWN the field.  In Genesis 15:6 it says, “and he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.”  God had been talking to Abram, telling him that he would make his family as numerous as the stars in the sky and Abram didn’t have any children and he was getting old but Abram chose to believe and wait.  His wife of course as we read on got tired of waiting and gave Abram her maid to have a child by and then got jealous and angry because of it!  God was still faithful though and still gave Abram and Sarah a son.  If she hadn’t given her maid to her husband there probably wouldn’t be so much turmoil to this day in the middle east.  Thank God we can’t usually cause that many problems in the world with our impatience today, but we can cause issues for ourselves and our family.

Ruth waited, Boaz married her and she owned the field.

Sarah took over, gave her maid, lost her respect and it has caused wars for years to come.

What choice will you make?

Quote:  “If you don’t think every day is a good day.  Just try missing one.” Cavett Robert

 

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A Daddy’s Love

June 15, 2013 — Leave a comment

Psalm 68:5  Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.fathers

Father’s Day is upon us this weekend and I am sure we all know of some great dads and some not so great dads and I am also definite we all know some single Moms that face father’s day every year knowing in some of those cases the only male role model her children have is a seemingly non-existent Dad.  In some cases maybe “Dad” has gone on to heaven.  Whatever the case may be when a Mom or Dad is missing in the lives of children there is a gaping hole that desperately needs filling.  I was a single Mom for 14 years and my children’s hearts were broken at the lack of a quality relationship with their dad.

I would like to encourage you today if you are a single Mom or if you know a single Mom who is facing that type of situation to turn to God to be the “Father” her children need.  Teach them to trust Him for everything, not just their needs but their “wants”.  Go to Him just like a Daddy and ask Him.

Maybe it is you who grew up without a “Dad” for one reason or another.  Do you realize that God loves you and wants to fill that role in your life?  It doesn’t matter if you are 6 or 60 God knows that need and desire never goes away and He would love nothing more than to fill the role of Daddy in your life whether you were missing a Dad or the one you had was an abusive Dad, God wants to be your loving, heavenly Dad who dotes on you and loves you and sees you as His beautiful Princess.  His heart breaks when His children’s hearts break and He rejoices when they rejoice.

If your children are fortunate enough to be growing up in a home where both parents are actively involved in their lives look around, do you have a friend whose son needs a man to walk with him?  Could your husband take another boy along on some activities so another young man is influenced by his godly character?

My prayer today is for all of the children, young and old alike that have a gaping hole in their lives due to the lack of a Father’s love, that you will find all the love you can imagine in your Dad in heaven.  Allow Him to wrap His arms around you and fill you with His love today.  Let Him shine His grace, mercy and love on your situation.  Don’t push Him away because of hurts from a man who was so wounded in life he didn’t know how to love.  Ask God today to show you His love for you and to help you open your heart up to Him completely.

Quote:  “I expect to pass through this life but once.  If, therefore, there can be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, for I shall not return this way again.”  William Penn

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Do Your Priorities and Motives Line Up?

June 14, 2013 — Leave a comment

1 Timothy 6:11  But as for you, O man of God, flee these things.  Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.  Fight the good fight of the faith, take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.  I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ

We all want to be successful in life, but what is it that drives you?  The verses before this one talk about being driven to be rich.  There’s nothing wrong with having a lot of money in fact I am in favor of people having a lot of money versus not, but the key is what are your reasons for wanting more?  Do you want more so you can have more toys, a bigger house, multiple vacations or is your first goal after you have taken care of your family to serve God with the extra?  Once again, there’s nothing wrong with having a beautiful home, toys and vacations but do you look for ways to bless others with whatever abundance God gives you. Stop and think of it this way;  what are your first thoughts and goals when you think of having a lot of money, is it to give to God and help others or do you immediately think of all you can give yourself first?  Here in these verses Paul is trying to help Timothy understand that it is all about priorities.

If your first goal is to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness and to fight for what is right then if you are blessed with abundance by God then you will use it in the right ways.  Our first goal should be to live life in such a way that we are living above reproach to keep our testimony unstained.  As it says in Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”  More money will only make you more of what you already are so if you are selfish you will be more selfish, if you have pursued righteousness, godliness, faith, love and steadfastness and gentleness then you will be more of all of those so it only makes sense that if we want God’s blessing then we need to pursue godly character and attitudes first and foremost.

Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself also in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.”  When your heart is right and your mind is set on Him your desires will be right and in line with what God has planned for you which leaves you wide open to God’s fullness and blessing on your life.

Ask God today to line your thinking up with His instead of asking Him to line up with yours.  Ask Him to give you His desires for your life.  If God has put a passion for something in your life there is a reason and He has equipped you to fulfill that calling but it may be that your attitude about your passion needs a little tweeking.  Ask God to give you a “check in your spirit” when you are being selfish or your attitude doesn’t line up with His.  Seek Him today instead of worldly success a good verse to start with is Joshua 1:8 “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do all that is written therein.  For then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have good success.”

Quote:  Recognizing a problem or weakness is the first step in remedying it.”  Donald Laird

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Good Gifts

June 13, 2013 — Leave a comment

Matthew 7:11  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

Typically all parents enjoy Birthdays and Christmas as much if not more than their children because they love to see the looks on their faces as they open up their gifts.  A lot of thought, effort and saving goes into those events.  I used to have an uncle who would get so excited he would wake his children up at 3 or 4 AM to open their gifts because he just couldn’t stand it any more!  God loves us so much more than we could love our children so how excited do you think He gets when He can bless you?

Sometimes I think we just get too bogged down with everything in life  and we don’t feel like we deserve anything from God.  I know I have had days where I felt, “if God will just get me through the day today do I really have any right to ask for anything else” because I was just so overwhelmed.  Don’t allow the weight of the world to hold you back from spending time with Him and pouring your heart out to Him for even the little blessings of life that you need.  Don’t kid yourself, we all need everyday blessings in our lives to keep us going.  God’s blessings don’t always have to be grandiose, sometimes the best blessings are the little things in life that put a smile on your face.

Look today for God’s blessings and be thankful for them.  You may be so caught up in the struggles that you are missing seeing all He is doing on a regular basis.  God loves you and He loves to bless you.  He knows your struggles and He knows exactly what it will take today to encourage you so don’t hesitate to ask Him to pour out His blessing on you today.  Seek Him, seek His face and acknowledge all the good He is doing in your life now.  Draw close to Him and watch for His power and love in your life.  The best is yet to come!

Quote:  “Beautiful light is born of darkness, so the faith that springs from conflict is often the strongest and best.”  R. Turnbull

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It Is Time For Hope, Joy and Peace In Your Life!

June 12, 2013 — Leave a comment

Romans 15:13  May the God of hope fill you with  all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Have you lost your hope?  Maybe you have just lost it in one area of life or maybe you feel as though you have faced so much lately you really don’t have any hope left.

Our hope is found in God and my prayer for you today is that He will fill you with His hope today!  There is no other true hope in life other than what we find in Him, that new job isn’t where your hope is found or that new relationship, or even that new necklace you were wanting to buy so allow Him to fill you with new hope today.  His hope is fresh and new and it is available to you each day if you will just ask.  We all know what it is like to be overwhelmed with life but why would you want to live out your days that way when all you have to do is ask Him for His hope and encouragement?

God is available all the time and He is ready to fill you with all hope, joy and peace so what are you waiting for?  God doesn’t want His children walking around moping around in their frustrations, we all face frustrations in life but we are called to be the example.  If we have no hope visible in our lives then why would someone else want what we have?  I have a friend who decided to study the Muslim religion to see why it was that they were so much more passionate about what they believe than most of the Christians she knew did – how sad is that?  She was a Christian and couldn’t understand why they had so much more passion – were we missing something?  The answer to that could be that they are headed down a road that Satan isn’t going to fight, but we need to understand that Satan’s attacks can make us stronger in our faith if we will allow it to, but moping and feeling sorry for ourselves on a daily basis isn’t going to help.

We all have “down days” at times, we are human but don’t live there!  Don’t allow Satan to get such a  hold on your attitude that you can’t pull yourself up!  Your hope is in God and He has already won the victory over anything Satan may want to throw at you – Satan was and is foolish for taking on the God who created him.  God loves you and wants to give you victory today over everything you are facing but He wants you to grow in the experience as well.  So, grab onto your hope today – turn on some praise and worship music, get in God’s word, find some positive people to hang around today and talk with and allow them to rub off on you a bit while you are down.  Focus on the good and when you begin to feel those nasty lies of Satan’s coming on reject them before they have time to take root!

God’s victory is waiting for you and His favor and blessing as well.  Look to Him for His peace, hope and joy today and allow Him to fill you so you are an example to others.  There’s nothing that reveals God more in your life than His presence when you are facing difficult things in your life. Hold your head high today and look for His encouragement everywhere you turn!  The best is yet to come!

Quote:  “Courage doesn’t always roar.  Sometimes it is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.”

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Healing Often is Found in Revealing – Hidden Sins

June 11, 2013 — Leave a comment

Joshua 7:1  But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things, for Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things.  And the anger of the Lord bruned against the people of Israel.

The people of Israel were all of a sudden realizing that everything was going wrong!  They had just had a mighty victory at Jericho and had God’s favor and then everything changed. They sent men up to Ai which was a smaller city and they ran from them and 36 men lost their lives.

Do you feel as though you have lost God’s favor?  Are you struggling on a daily basis trying to survive while everything seems to be going wrong?  That is how the Israelites felt and Joshua was so distraught he tore his clothes and fell on his face on the ground.  The problem was there was hidden sin in the camp and it was affecting the entire camp.  Hidden sin leaves open doors in your families lives, it doesn’t just affect the person doing it, it affects everyone.  If you can’t figure out why you seem to feel as though God’s hand of discipline seems heavy on your household it may be time to pray and ask God to reveal to you any open doors within your household. God’s response to Joshua when he threw himself on the ground was this (Joshua 7:10-13) The Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings. Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted for destruction. I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you.Get up! Consecrate the people and say, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the Lord, God of Israel, “There are devoted things in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the devoted things from among you.”

There is still victory to be had in your life but you must close any doors that have been opened to Satan in your home.  My husband wrote a blog that covers how to cleanse your home that you may want to read.  Pray and ask God to reveal truth in your family and pray for Him to show you anything that has left a door open to Satan’s attacks.  God is a God of light and truth and He will show you what you need to know.  His desire for you and your family is for you to have victory in every area of your life so you can better serve him.

Thank goodness we don’t live in the days of Achan where he and his children were put to death for his sin.  We live under God’s grace because of the price Jesus paid and that is why we can cleanse our homes and have victory.  There are still consequences for sin and often those consequences seem grievous  but we can still find victory through Jesus!

I challenge you today ladies to get to the bottom of it and ask God to show you any areas that need to go or need to change in your home.  Ask Him to reveal anything that shouldn’t be there.   Sometimes it can be as simple as a bad collection of movies, books, magazines or music that need to be tossed, other times there may be hidden sins that need to be brought to light and dealt with.  It could be a combination of things but trust me God will reveal anything that is causing a problem in your walk with Him and disrupting your home.  God loves you and He loves every member of your family and He wants that relationship restored to Him.

Quote:  “A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”  Chinese Proverb

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Forgiveness

June 10, 2013 — Leave a comment

Acts 7:60  And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”  And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

That was Stephen’s comment as the Jews were stoning him for his testimony.  I don’t know about you but I don’t think I have quite reached the point spiritually where I am that forgiving sad to say.  What about you?  Do you forgive easily or are you a grudge holder?  Maybe you don’t hold grudges and you do forgive easily but someone has hurt you to the level of your not being able to find it within yourself to forgive them yet.

It is time to let it go!  I forgive easily but I have had a time or two in my life where I was just so overwhelmed with hurt that I found it difficult to forgive.  When you get to that point the thing to remember is that forgiveness doesn’t set the other person free, it sets you free!  You are not excusing wrong, you are choosing to let it go and choosing to forgive, it doesn’t mean you aren’t hurting and it doesn’t mean you have to trust that person but it means you are choosing to let it go and move forward so you can be healed and so can they as they get their hearts right with God.  I have said time and time again; “holding a grudge is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.”  Let it go, the other person probably either doesn’t even know you are still upset or maybe they don’t care so just choose today to release yourself from those frustrated feelings and choose to ask God to help you to forgive and give it all to Him!

Healing comes only after we make the decision to let it go and forgive.  You will never find healing in the midst of unforgiveness, it just cannot happen, that is like expecting clothes to dry outside on a line in the middle of a rainstorm.  It is a choice to forgive and until you do you are bound in chains right where you are in life, you cannot move forward.  If you are divorced and still holding onto bitterness do not move forward in another relationship because it will not be a healthy one.  Forgiveness doesn’t mean you won’t remember all the hurts, it means those past hurts don’t rule your days. God wants to heal your heart but you have to give it all to Him!  Don’t let another day go by allowing that hurtful past ruin your present and your future, you have too much potential in your future for that!  Choose God’s grace and forgiveness today, both for yourself and for anyone else in your life you may need to forgive!

Quote:   “You can’t have rosy thoughts about the future when your mind is full of blues about the past.”  Tidbits

 

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