The Small Words

Day 46...2 Corinthians 1:20 For ALL the promises of God find their YES in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for His GLORY. 

I was asking my mom the other day, "have you ever noticed how, when we read the Bible, we tend to skip over the small words?" Words like all, yes, amen, find or phrases with small words like I will, he has, we are. I tell you this because I've been focusing on the small words lately and find that they have great power.

ALL the promises of God FIND their YES in Him. Do you know the promises that ARE given to you? We FIND them in His Word! And then there's that word, amen. Amen means so be it. So when we read His Word and we Amen (so be it) His Word in our life, we are coming into agreement with God about His promises for us and when we come into agreement with His Word, we are coming into agreement with God and Oh the GLORY that we give to Him! 

I encourage you today to FIND out in His Word what He WILL DO for you and AMEN it!

Do You see....

.....or do you SEE?

Like most churches, my church, Life Church Salisbury, begins a reading plan every January through YouVersion. This year they are doing the chronological reading and I have determined in my heart to read with them. Now, let's be honest, reading through the Old Testament has been a struggle for me in the past. I had a tendency to just skim over some of Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, but this time I prayed....God SHOW me what You want me to SEE and the importance of it all. Open my eyes to things that I have never noticed before because "I've read this before or I've heard this story my whole life." All you have to do is ask and God will do.

This morning is a prime example of some things that God has been showing me. We are beginning in Deuteronomy 1-2, where Moses is reminding the children of Israel of their journey and why they are in the wilderness. As I read these verses, the word SEE kept jumping up at me.

Deuteronomy 1:8 See, I have set the land before you. Go in and take possession of the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their offspring after them. 

Deuteronomy 1:21 See, the LORD your God has set the land before you. Go up, take possession, as the LORD, the God of your father's, has told you. Do not fear or be dismayed.

Deuteronomy 1:35 'Not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land that I swore to give to your fathers.

Deuteronomy 1:36 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh. He shall see it, and to him and to his children I will give the land on which he has trodden, because he has wholly followed the LORD! 

God had told them time and time and time again, "SEE, I have set the land before you. Go in and possess it." What was the difference between Caleb and the other ten spies? I believe it was the size of their see.

The see of the ten spies was on what their physical eyes were seeing. They were seeing the land as good but they weren't seeing God as good. They were seeing that God told them this is the land I've told you that I'm giving to you, but they were also seeing the people in the land and their size, and they chose to see that they were as "grasshoppers" to them. They were seeing with their physical eyes. But Caleb!

Caleb had a bigger SEE. Caleb could SEE that the land was flowing with milk and honey and that it was good and that God had promised to give it to them. He SAW and held fast to the promises of God! Caleb was SEEING with his spiritual eyes! He was choosing to SEE beyond what his flesh was saying to him and to SEE what God was saying to him––SEE, I have set the land before you. GO IN take possession!

I could hear God say, "SEE, I have promises that are for you. Your SEE needs to be on the promises of My Word, not on what you see in the natural. Your SEE can be bigger. SEE Me in every situation! Don't just see My Word, but SEE My Word as truth. SEE My Word as healing. SEE My Word as salvation. SEE My Word as redemption. SEE that your sins are forgiven and that I don't remember them any more. SEE that their is no condemnation in Me. SEE that you are a new creation in Christ and that old things are passed away and all things become new. SEE! My child, SEE that I am good and my promises are yes and amen. SEE!"

Brett and I are in the midst of fundraising, getting health insurance and preparing to head back to South Africa. I could get discouraged with the size of the budget as "it like a giant and I am like a grasshopper," but I have chosen to SEE what God has promised us. I chose to SEE that my Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills and this budget is nothing to Him. I chose to SEE that He makes all things work together for my good. I chose to SEE that He is the King of kings and I am His beloved daughter!

I chose to SEE!!

Bless the Lord!

Psalm 103:1-5 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not ALL His benefits, Who FORGIVES ALL your iniquity, Who HEALS ALL your diseases, Who REDEEMS your life from the pit, Who CROWNS you with STEADFAST LOVE and MERCY, Who SATISFIES with GOOD, so that your youth is RENEWED like the eagle's. 

Look at His benefits towards us in the first five verses! He FORGIVES ALL! He HEALS ALL! He REDEEMS! He CROWNS you with LOVE and MERCY that is STEADFAST! He SATISFIES with GOOD! He RENEWS our youth! 

What awesome promises! What good, good promises! Let's remind ourselves today of HIS benefits!!

Love and Good Works

Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day approaching.

Let's face it, the world is today is full of hard stuff. I very rarely even watch the news because I can not handle all the negative that goes on in it. So, when I read this scripture today, I started asking myself, "What do I do to encourage others to love and good works?"

Do you ever wonder what it is, in you, that encourages others? We all have gifts and talents woven into our very DNA that God put there to encourage others. (Psalm 139 ) Mine will be very different from yours because God created us each with our own unique skill set.

I am a very social butterfly! I love encouraging people in the Word. I love giving gifts to lift someone up in a rough patch, but I especially love giving "just because" gifts! Brett, however, is wired completely different. His giftings are more along the lines of teaching and discernment. He loves to give as well, but it's a little lower on his list, which is great because it keeps me from giving away everything! Man, God sure knows what He's doing!

If you don't know what it is that "makes you tick," I encourage you to go to this link http://www.spiritualgiftstest.com/test/adult and take this test. Remember, it's only one resource that's out there. After you take it, spend some time talking with God about the results. Send it to your pastor or your best friend and talk about it. I'm pretty sure they'll see it right away. Why? Because others can see things in us generally before we do.

Have a great day and remember to encourage someone to love and good works!

Convincing Ourselves

Mark 5:28 For she said, "If I touch even His garments, I will be made well."

Imagine having a disease for twelve years that, under the law, you weren't allowed any human contact. Do you think that there would come a point where you might say, "I'll be this way the rest of my life." Or, "Why, why, why doesn't God love me?" Having a disease for twelve years, we could all come to a place where we convinced ourselves, "Things will never change and I'll be this way forever."

Now imagine hearing about a man that was going around healing everyone He touched. Do you think she went through the law in her head? Do you think she thought to herself, "If I go out there, I could be stoned?" Do you think she allowed her physical condition to rule her? Honestly, I don't know, but I do think she began to hear the stories of Jesus touching and healing those in her town and she began to say, "If I touch even His garments, I will be made well." I think, as she walked through the streets trying to get just close enough, that she repeated that phrase over and over again, convincing herself!

If I touch even His garments, I will be made well.
If I touch even His garments, I will be made well. Oh! There He is!
If I touch even His garments, I will be made well. So many people!
If I touch even His garments, I will be made well. Let me just squeeze in right here.
If I touch even His garments, I will be made well. Just a little further!
If I touch even His garments.....there! I touched His hem! Oh! My!

The Word then says in verse 29 Immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in here body that she was healed of her disease. Immediately!!

It is my belief, that as she walked through the streets repeating the words of her heart, she began to convince herself that she would be made well. You see, God, our good, good Father, doesn't need convincing that we should be healed. It's His desire! He sent Jesus to the cross to bear ALL our sickness and disease. Jesus took them ALL! So, thought....if Jesus took all our sickness and disease, why would God want to give them back to us....let that simmer just a bit.

We are the ones that need convincing! We are the ones that need to repeat to ourselves, If I touch even His garments, I will be made well. We are the ones that need to reach out in faith to touch His garments. The best way to convince our hearts and our souls that, If I even touch His garments, I will be made well, is to continue to speak His Word of LIFE over our lives. The more we speak His Word of TRUTH and LIFE over ourselves, the deeper into our spirits it gets and then one day....IMMEDIATELY happens!

Absolutely Nothing!

Jeremiah 32:27 Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is there anything too hard for Me?

If we could get one thing down in our hearts and spirit, this would be it. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is too hard for God!

This scripture says, "The God of all flesh." He is our creator, He created every cell, every organ, every blood vessel, He created them all. Since He created them all, don't we think that He would know how to fix it?!

God is truly aware of all the things that come across our path in any given day. He knows about that awful person you work with that needs Him. He knows about that Doctor report. He knows about that child that is running wild. He knows! And this morning, I believe He is saying, "Beloved, there is nothing too hard for Me!

Pinpoint your focus today on the NOTHING is IMPOSSIBLE GOD and begin to see the things in your life turn around.

The Cost

Yesterday I had a conversation with someone and this morning I continued to have it in my head. This morning, while I was having said conversation, the Holy Spirit dropped five words into my heart....You don't know the cost. That's it! You don't know the cost. 

We complain about someone, usually a preacher we don't like, because they fly first class instead of coach.....you don't know the cost.

We complain because "they" drive a nicer car than we do.....you don't know the cost.

We complain when people we KNOW aren't perfect get blessed.....you don't know the cost. 

 

We, as Christians, complain an awful lot about others being blessed.....you don't know the cost. 

We recently met a man who has diamond status with the airline that he flys. He frequently gets bumped to business class and, even better, first class. I found myself a little, OK, a lot, jealous. "God," I thought, "why don't Brett and I ever get bumped?" Rabbit trail warning!! Brett and I needed to fly to Baton Rouge for an interview with the ministry that we are hoping to become a part of. Having flown with American for several years, we had miles that we could use. So! When Brett booked our seats we were on....wait for it....the first row! This was a puddle jumper, so it wasn't first class, just the first row. We have never been at the front of any plane! Here we were, enjoying the extra leg room of the front row, when the stewardess asked for a volunteer to move to the back of the plane to even out the plane. It became obvious that the two fellas on the opposite side of the aisle were not going to move, so Brett went to the very last row of the plane. Bumped backwards! I guess that's why this hit me a little hard....end rabbit trail.

As the person continued to talk about getting bumped to first/business class, I began to hear the "you don't know the cost" part of the story. This person flys more than 200,000 miles a year. He flys to every country that they are in to speak with country directors. He flys to churches all over to talk about and raise money for the ministry. He flys a lot! Now, do you want to know what the cost is? He is married and his wife doesn't travel with him because she taking care of the ministry and their three children. Do you want to know the cost? His time with his children is probably about 1/4 of the time you get to spend with yours. 

You see, what we don't see when we are judging others and how God blesses their lives, is the cost that they are paying. We're not seeing the years of flying in coach and not complaining. We're not seeing the time spent before the Lord to preach that sermon. We're not seeing how many times they got a phone call in the middle of the night to go to the hospital for a birth or a death. We're not seeing the hardships that they endured planting a church and only having 20 people in the first service.

So, the next time you want to judge whether or not that person deserves that blessing they're telling you about, remember these five words....

You. Don't. Know. The. Cost