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Waiting On God Is Not For The Faint Of Heart

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Waiting on God brings blessing you won't get any other way.

Don’t lose your blessing by giving up.

God’s timing might be perfect, but sometimes it takes forever. Even when you know that He will do what He promised, it can still be hard to wait. I have no idea why He seems to linger when He does, but I do know that it’s for my own good. He knows what I don’t, so the timing is for my benefit. It’s probably shaping my character in a way that needs to be changed.

When the wait is hard, take heart: But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. (Isa 40:31) The results of your waiting will give you strength. If the timing is such that you will need to wait longer, then your patience will actually give you the strength to hold on as long as you need.

Therefore the Lord will wait that He may be gracious to you. And therefore He will be exalted that He may have mercy on you. For the lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all those who wait for Him. (Isa 30:18) One of my favorite verses. He makes us wait to bless us. It may be hard, really hard, but He promises to bless us.

Another post on waiting: When Time Stands Still

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

Dreaming Big Scary Dreams

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Believe that God wants more for you than you do.

The bigger the dream, the greater God can move.

You can always tell the dreams that God gives from your own. Your dreams will start with what you know and progress to something else that you know, only bigger and better. God’s dreams will make you excited and terrified, not because they’re the last thing on earth you would want to do, but because there’s no way you can see how it could possible happen.

That’s exactly where God moves the best. He wants so much more for us than we want for ourselves. He has the power and knowledge to do what we cannot. He can see around the corner and knows how it will all work out.

And the amazing thing is, He’s not at all bothered by our mistakes. His big plans for us include all the failings we’ve had along the way and He knows how to use to them to our advantage.

When God shows you a dream that you just don’t see for yourself, ask yourself if it’s because you don’t trust God to make it work. The big dreams require faith. We won’t get there without allowing God to do what we cannot. And when we do, He delights to bless us beyond what we thought was possible. It’s ok to dream big. Now trust God to make it happen.

Another post on dreaming big: What If Your Dreams Are Too Small?

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

How To Grow Faith

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It's ok to start small.

Feed your faith and it will grow.

Faith is a living, breathing substance. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Heb 11:1) I say it’s living and breathing because it can grow or die. Your faith will determine your destiny and what happens in eternity. How you treat it is vital to your life.

Without faith it is impossible to please God. (Heb 11:5) You can’t get to the very next step in the kingdom without it. You can’t even get into the kingdom without it. Fortunately, God has given everyone just enough faith to be saved. (Rom 12:3) What you do with it is up to you.

If you want your faith to grow, you have to treat it like anything else that needs to grow. You have to feed it. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Rom 10:17) Immersing yourself in the Bible will give your faith something to chew on.

Then you have to exercise it. Faith grows when you use it. If it’s too hard to believe in really big things, then believe for what you can. God will bless that. When He does, you’ll see how faithful He is and you can begin to believe for bigger things. Keep going. Miracles don’t happen by wishing. They happen by believing.

Another post on faith: Faith Is Not Trying To Help God

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

God’s Touch Will Heal And Restore What Is Broken In Your Life

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God can fix anything.

Give God everything and He will make it beautiful.

God is the restorer of lost souls. He takes what is broken and corrupted and turns it into holiness and praise. Beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. (Isa 61:3) It’s almost hard to believe the complete restoration that is possible.

Never believe that anything in your life is too messed up for God to fix. He can fix anything. What is required is your compliance. You have to want to let Him. You have to hand over every area of your life and let Him touch it with His goodness. Hold nothing back. Anything you hold back will continue to corrupt your life. You won’t lose anything. As the bad drops off, He replaces it with great. You become so much better than you were.

This is not an instant change. This is a journey, and the process will come in steps as you trust Him more and more. The more you give to Him, the more you are strengthened in faith and blessing. Give it all to Him and watch what He will do in your life. He will take the ashes of your devastation and make it beautiful by His goodness.

Another post on transformation: Spiritual Growth Takes Time

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart
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It May Take Time To Love In The Family Of God

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Love is key to the family of God.

You may have to learn to love your new family.

We are the family of God, so that may take some reconditioning. I don’t know about you, but my sister and I used to fight when we were young. My mother and father used to fight as well. Yes, we had lots of good times, but I doubt that we had the family that God intended.

It’s hard to love each other as brothers and sisters if you didn’t have a great model growing up. We aren’t meant to hold grudges or compete against each other. We’re meant to love and bless each other. We’re to rejoice when we see someone get breakthrough in the exact area we’ve been struggling in. We’re be there for the late night phone calls and emergency mess clean-ups.

We don’t keep score–if I do this for you then you owe me. We’re to honor each other above our own interests. Family should support and help and celebrate. Family should have open arms and short memories.

If this is really hard for you, ask God to help you forgive and repent for old hurts. It may take time to let it all go, but it will be worth the freedom and blessing. Allow a Christian brother or sister to walk with you and help you along. That’s what we’re here for.

Another post on the family of God:The Body Of Christ Is There To Help

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

We Were Never Meant To Judge Each Other

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Ask God to show you when you judge other people.

A loving heart does not judge others.

Judgement is dangerous and destructive. It hurts not only you, but the person you judge. And we all do so easily, never giving any thought to how often we do it. Someone does something we don’t approve of and we close a part of our heart and claim a bit of superiority. That hardness creates a shell over our heart which prevents us from expressing kindness and also blocks any real honesty with the other person.

Judgement is a weapon used by the enemy to separate the family of God. Sometimes we call our judgments jokes made in jest, but once we speak them, the judgment has been given. Other times, they are called gossip, hurt feelings, or insecurity.

Ask God to show you ever time you say or think something judgmental about someone else. You’ll be shocked at how often it happens. A heart of love will not judge other people. A heart of love will look for the good in them and help them in their weakness and failings.

We are not perfect, but we can work to live better. God has given us His love to help us be more than we are. Repent when you know you need to and ask for a greater heart of love to be a blessing to others.

Another post on loving others: God Loves Through Us When We Can’t

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart
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All Knowledge Is Yours If You Ask

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Ask and it will be given to you.

All the promises of God are yours, if you ask.

God is so amazing to us that He really has provided all that we need in our lives. He said if we seek Him first, He would take care of all the basics–what we eat, what we wear, where we live. He has it covered. And then He gave us even more;

For you were made rich in every way in him, in all your speech and in every kind of knowledge. (1Cor 1:5)

How cool is that! What do you need to know? You have it. You need to explain things clearly to others? You got it. It’s all yours.

But wait, you say. How do I have that? That’s like saying you can’t drive when you’re sitting in a car with the keys in your hand. The car is yours. All you have to do is learn how to use it.

The Holy Spirit is the source of all you need to connect with the promise. You must go to Him and ask. It’s easy–“Holy Spirit, You promised that I have every kind of knowledge. How do I access that?” Now listen with your heart. The answer may not come instantly. He may wait to see how serious you are. Will you continue to ask for the promises of the Bible? Will you continue to claim them? There are so many amazing gifts that are yours if you will only ask.

Another post on pressing into God: Don’t Limit God

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart
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How Can You Talk To God

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God always wants to talk to you as well.

Talking to God requires listening as well.

When you understand that God is a person not a thing, it makes sense that He wants us to talk to Him. We are made in His image, so our need to communicate comes from Him, not us like we like to think. He is a Spiritual being, so He made us with spirits as well. When we talk to Him, we’re actually communicating in our spirits.

That sounds a bit squishy, but that’s because we live in a physical world and tend to trust only what we can experience through our five senses. We also have a mind and imagination and that’s where God loves to communicate with us.

You can talk to Him anyway you want to. You can speak out loud or quietly in your heart. But a conversation requires communication from both parties, so be aware of how He will talk back. He will give you pictures in your mind, a memory, a song, a scripture, a conversation with a friend that touches on what you’ve been asking Him.

How you talk to God is not the issue. The issue is how you hear Him talk back. You must choose to be aware of Him talking to you, because He is. He made you to be in relationship with Him, so He wants to talk and He want you to heart Him.

Another post on talking to God: How To Talk To God

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

Time With God Fills You For Times Of Need

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Filling your tank with God's presence will prepare you in times of need.

Time you spend on the mountaintops will refresh your work in the valley.

The mount of transfiguration was on a…mountain. Jesus frequently went to the mountains to pray and spend time with God, then He went back to the valley to minister and do His work. The high places filled and refreshed and brought communion with the Father.

The good news is that rain always flows down from the mountains to the valleys where we live and spend our time. The valleys are the places where fields are plowed and crops are planted. It’s where the fruit trees are cultivated.

The mountaintops are refreshing and we need them, but the valleys are where the fruits of our labors ripen. Spend time alone with God. Get away to hear His voice and be restored. Then take all that you’ve been filled with back to the valley and give it away.

To carry the metaphor of rain even further–when it rains a lot, lakes and dams are filled and rivers flow. When you spend time with God, you essentially fill your reservoir of His presence for when you need it later on. The lakes are filled with the flow from the high places–those places of worship and praise and listening to His voice. You need it for yourself and for everyone you touch.

Another post on waiting on God. Wait On The Lord, Learn To Fly!

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart
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You Determine Your Level Of Blessing

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When you put others first, God will put you first.

How you treat others will determine your blessings from God.

The culture of the kingdom of God is that we get as good as we give. We are forgiven to the same degree that we forgive others. We are blessed according to our level of generosity and kindness to others.

The key behind this kind of thinking is to get our eyes off of ourselves. When we stop thinking of ourselves first, we receive the blessings that God wants to give us.

Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you. (Luk 6:38)

The measure that you put others first will always be the measure that you receive what you need. And not just to other people, what you give to God is the ultimate measure. How much will you give Him of your time, your tithe, your praise and worship? Will He be ignored and slotted into your busy schedule, or will He be honored and sought after?

Spiritual growth in God’s kingdom requires a change of attitude that can only come from putting others first and giving everything from your heart.

Another post on the law of giving: Getting What We Pay For

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart
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