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Protect Your Times Of Quiet

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Don't allow the enemy to rob you of quiet time.

Protect your quiet time with God.

There is something despicable about constant noise and entertainment. Everywhere we go, we are bombarded with advertisements, music, video, links to social sites. None of that is bad of itself, but the nonstop barrage is an assault on our peace. It chips away at what cushions and protects our spirits. We have to fight for times of quiet.

I think the enemy works very hard to keep us from being quiet. It is in the quiet time that we are still and know our God. It is when we hear Him speaking to our spirits and settling our souls. Any way to keep us from finding stillness is a victory for the wrong side.

Music, videos, activity can be good, but don’t allow all of it to consume your time and eat away at the peace of sitting with God. Guard that time. Protect it. Block it out as if it were an appointment, because it is. You need to still before your God and hear Him in the quiet place. You won’t hear Him like that any other way, which means that you would miss something significant.

The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. (Is 32:17)

Another post on peace in your life: Living Without Peace Is Wrong

 

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You Control Your Level Of Faith

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God is waiting for you to trust Him more.

Your faith becomes strong when you take off the limits.

Do you look at others and wonder how they got where they are in their faith? Does it seem impossible to you to be like that? Is there a place where you’ve decided that you can never get to?The truth is, you are in charge of your own growth. You decide how mature your faith is.

The servants who received the talents when the master went away to far country (Mat 25:14) all had the potential of earning the same profit. Some applied themselves more than others. The Israelites could have gone straight to the promised land, but their lack of faith prevented them.

Your level of faith determines your level of maturity and what God can do through you. How much will you believe? Is there a limit? You’ll believe so much and not more? Then your maturity will be stymied until you learn to trust more.

Faith is a decision. You choose to believe. You choose to believe a lot or a little. The more you choose to believe, the more God will move. He’s waiting for you to catch up to what He wants to do. If and when that ever happens is up to you.

Take the lid off your limits. Let God be completely God and your growth will become strong.

Another post on faith: Is Your Shield Of Faith Big Or Small?

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart
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God Knows You Like No Other

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God knows you better than you know you.

Trust in the One who loves you most.

No one knows you like God knows you. Psalm 139 is an amazing hymn to how intimate God is with us. He knows everything. He knows more about you than you know about you. He knows what’s wrong with your body. He knows all about your goals and ideas. He knows exactly what will be perfect for you.

And yet . . . we are so hesitant to trust Him completely. It’s the lie of Eden–that God can’t be trusted. Believing the lie is obeying the enemy. Renounce and confess any thoughts that you’ve had that God can’t be trusted. He is God. He is above all. He made it all. He is the only with all the answers.

Put your life in His hands and He will prove Himself to you in ways that will make you a believer for life. He will prove to be your safety and your provision, your source for ideas and creativity, and the answer to every need. He knows what you really want. He know what you really love. And He loves excellence, so His answers are the best.

Another post on amazing God: Who Is God?

Don’t hold back from Him because of guilt. Just confess it and get rid of it. Let Him be the One you turn to and He will be the One who answers.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart
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Balancing Heaven And Earth

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We live here and heaven is our home.

We are citizens of two places.

As believers, we live with a dual attitude. We live in a corporeal world with real needs and desires. We are also citizens of heaven with a future in eternity. Our hearts are divided between what we see and what we don’t see. Our attention must be evenly balanced. Too much on one side will harm  the other.

Salvation is all about knowing that when we die, we will go to heaven. That is a hope that keeps us looking up with longing and expectation. We must never lose sight of the reward being prepared for us. But if all we do it wait to die to be with the Lord, then we miss out on the joys that we’re meant to have now.

On earth as it is in heaven. Jesus made it very clear that we can believe for the things of heaven today. The blessings of God are ours in abundance. We are meant to live in destiny today, enjoying  the life we’ve been given. But if we focus too much on our life here, we lose track of our heavenly calling.

We walk a fine line between enjoying our lives and living with hope. We have dual citizenship until the day we release one for the other.

Another post on the meaning of salvation: Salvation Is Not About Avoiding Hell

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

Let God Out Of The Box

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Let God out of the box to be who He needs to be.

God is the God of the unexpected.

When you let go of your expectations of what God will do in your life, anything can happen. He will answer prayer in ways you never saw coming. For instance, I left for a church service feeling very low. I was sad and unhappy and hated feeling that way. I asked God to give me His joy.

I was eventually able to enter in to the worship service with real praise because I chose to set aside the bad feelings that I came in with. In the course of the evening, I met and was prayed over by two women so filled with joy that I was wrecked. These two women told me jokes until I cried and my stomach hurt. I had more joy running around my spirit than I knew what to do with.

I asked God for His joy and He gave it to me. I never would have guessed that He would send me goofy, joke-telling women to do that. Not only did I receive joy, but the three of us bonded in a way that none of us saw coming. We all felt it.

God is not required to be who you say He is. His ways can be quirky and radical, but they will always be what is needed.

Another post on how God answered unexpectedly: God’s Answers Can Come In Disguise

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

Stop Listening To The Lies

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The church is full of power.

It’s time for the church to rise up.

The biggest lie of the enemy is that we are powerless. It is his greatest fear that the church will realize her true calling and position in Christ. When we stand in our real authority and release the kingdom of God in love, everything and everyone is effected. There is no power that can stand against it.

The truth is that we are ready now to rise up, because we have everything we need to be who we are called to be: His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue. (2 Pet 1:3)  We have everything we need to world changers. The Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you. (Rom 8:11)

So what’s the problem? Why aren’t we changing the world? Because we listen to the lies. The lies say that we’ll be embarrassed if we say or do anything outside the status quo. Unfortunately, the status quo is letting the world go to hell. The lies say that there is no power in the name of Jesus anyway. The lies say that God doesn’t answer when we call.

It’s time to stop listening to the lies. Rise up church. You are powerful and ready to release the kingdom.

Another post on how to change the world: Pray Together, Change The World

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

Why David Is Such A Great Role Model

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God honors humility.

David’s humility established his throne.

In Psalms 132, God promises to keep the sons of David on his throne forever if they keep God’s covenant. (v 12) That is a remarkable promise to make to a man. This is a man we need to view as a role model. Why was David so valued by God? Look in Psalm 131.

Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lifted up. Neither do I concern myself with great matters, nor with things too profound for me. (Ps 131:1) For all that David did to save his nation, he never let it go to his head. To me, this sounds like an older, mature David comfortable with humility. He knows that it was always God’s strength that did the real work. There was no way he would take credit for what God did.

David also had an ability to rest. Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother. (131:2) He was intentional in calming his soul. He chose to be quiet because it is in that state that we commune with God the best.

The attributes of David that I will take away are his humility and peace. It made him a truly great man in God’s eyes. Enough to establish his throne forever.

Another post on finding peace in God: Listen To The Quiet Of His Grace

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

In Pursuit Of Jesus

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We must pursue after Jesus.

Jesus pursues us in love.

Our relationship with Jesus is a dance of sorts. He pursues us. He stands at the door and knocks on our heart to get our attention. By His kindness, we are convicted enough to hear His voice and receive His truth. And when we give ourselves to Him, He turns around and goes the other way.

Suddenly, we are pursuing Him! Once we see who He is in our life, when we really see Him, we want more. And there is so much more to have. He lures us forward step at a time so we go deeper into His grace, further and further into the holy of holies.

If we get sidetracked, He returns to the pursuit and convicts us to come back, and then we have to run after Him again. He will never let us be satisfied with what we have. He doesn’t want us be distracted playing with the wrapping paper when we haven’t even opened the gift.

Our pursuit after Jesus must never end. We must always want more and be ready to follow Him where ever He takes us. He knows what we love, so He will always have our best interest at heart. Pursuing Him is the best love story ever.

Another related post on finding Jesus: Finding Jesus Will Change Your Life

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

Grace Protects Against Sin

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Temptation gets harder when you step away from God.

You are always safe when you keep close to God.

When we live in the secret place of the Most High, under the shadow of the Almighty, we are covered with His grace for safety and protection. When we commune with Him and look to Him for our daily bread, we are filled with all that we need to be, who we are meant to be. But when we knowingly move out from under that protection, we expose ourselves to attack.

It’s easier to resist temptation under the shadow of the Almighty because our focus is on Him. The temptation isn’t that strong a pull. Yes, we see it, but the consequences of giving into it are too great to risk losing what we have.

But when we take our eyes off of God and walk away toward our own desires, we step out from His covering of grace. We are no longer protected with His righteousness, so sin becomes easier to  give in to. It becomes harder and harder to come back to where we were safe and blessed.

The combination of the subtly of sin and our own selfishness is a powerful force to battle. Spending time with Jesus every day will keep you safe in His protection. Keep your eyes on Him and stay covered in His grace.

A related post on temptation: Temptation Is Not A Sin, Yet

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

Prayer And Fasting Break Through Hard Places

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Prayer and fasting are powerful weapons.

Prayer and fasting breakthrough the hard places.

Jesus gave us His authority to use His name. His name is the greatest power in the universe. We can use it to speak to the enemy and declare victory over any situation that we struggle with. But sometimes we need to pray and fast.

I don’t know why, but there are some situations that we don’t just win outright. A man brought his epileptic son to Jesus when the disciples couldn’t help him. Jesus said that this kind does not come out without prayer and fasting. (Mat 17:15-21)

So we know that we will run into situations that require more than faith, declaration, and prayer. Prayer and fasting together are a unique weapon against especially strong enemy resistance. I don’t understand how it works, but it does.

It may be that God will tell you when it’s time for prayer and fasting, but I would suggest that if your normal prayer does not work, then it’s time to pull out the big guns. Be sensitive to fasting. It can be done in any number of ways, but it needs to be something that you miss terribly by not having. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you know how long and what you should do.

Your sacrifice builds a power against the enemy that nothing else does. Prayer and fasting will breakthrough the hard places.

Another post on prayer: How Do I Pray?

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart