God requires us to be fruitful.

Jesus gave some dire warnings about how we should be living. It’s pretty clear that we need to live in Him and we need to be fruitful.

Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down. Why does it use up the ground?’ (Lk 13:7)

If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered, and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. (Jn 15:6)

This is not a pretty picture. We can’t be Christians in name only. We can’t sit in church, listen to sermons and go home having met our obligation for the week. If we have no relationship with Jesus at all, we risk being cut off and left to burn.

I’m sorry that sounds provocative, but that’s what it says. No one can take you out of God’s hands, but if you’re not in His hands to begin with, you’re going to be in big trouble.

The opposite is true. When we do live in Him, we can expect that our lives will be fruitful. We will have something to point to and thank God for. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. (Phl 2:12) In other words, make sure you know God and have the fruit to show for it.

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The body of Christ is there to help.

There’s a reason to be part of a church body. We need each other. Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much more as you see the day approaching. (Heb 10:25)

To exhort means to build up, or lift up. If you have friends who know you and love you, you have a net to fall into when you need it. Everyone will need to be lifted up at some point. Your friends are the best ones to turn to. You don’t have to explain anything to them. They understand and they know how to pray for you.

That’s why the church is a body. We need all the parts, not just to function as a church, but to help each other when we need it. Don’t hesitate to get help, ask for prayer, or counseling. We are here for each other. No one wants to see you fall or in pain. But you have to let people know.

The body of Christ is a beautiful thing. When it functions properly, it’s a safe place to grow spiritually and emotionally. Make friends. Be a friend. Be willing to help someone else when they need it. You’ll need it yourself some day.

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You destiny depends on your faith.

We always want to know the future. Prophetic words are awesome because we get a peek at what God sees in us and what our destiny is. Your tomorrow has the potential to being the beginning of a new season of hope. The question is, how much of it will you give Him?

Your destiny will require you to be hands off in some respects and hands on in others. If you totally trust Him, He can guide you into positioning yourself for what He wants to do. If you do not trust Him, you will miss out on what is yours.

Don’t assume that you don’t have a special destiny. That’s just wrong. You have a calling that is unique and wonderful. You just have to ask God to reveal it to you and trust Him in walking it out. He may need you to stop behaving in a certain way. He may need you to trust Him to open doors for you.

Your tomorrow can be the beginning of wonderful times. Only you will determine if that will happen. God wants to bless. Will you let Him?

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God always wants to heal.

When Jesus said to heal the sick (Mat 10:8), He did not qualify it with, if it is God’s will. He said–heal the sick. Why, why, why do we pray, if it’s Your will, God, please heal this person? Did Jesus ever not heal anyone who came to Him? No. He healed everyone. Everyone.

It is God’s will to heal. Why would it be His will to not heal us? Would you do that to your children? Would you ever say, I think this will teach you a lesson. I know it’s hard, but you’ll be better for it.

That is the wrong premise to start with. Always begin with the understanding that God wants to heal. I know the arguments are forming now. But So-And-So believed and didn’t get healed. So-And-So died. I know.

We do not have all the answers, we only have Jesus’ commandment. Heal the sick. We have His example–He healed all the sick. That’s where we have to start and believe. Once you start questioning if it’s God’s will, you have already given territory to the enemy.

By His stripes we are healed. There is too much sacrifice in that to question His will. Yes, God does want to heal and He always will.

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Speak peace to the storms.

If you have the Holy Spirit in you, then you carry the presence of God to change the atmosphere everywhere you go. You know those situations where everyone is tense? You can change that. When frustration seems to be out of control? You can change that.

When Jesus sent the disciples out to practice doing miracles, He said, And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near you’. (Lk 10:9) You carry the kingdom of God with you where ever you go. What is the kingdom of God? Righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Rom 14:17)

So all those situations where everyone is unhappy and defensive, you can release righteousness, peace, and joy. Of course, you must have it in you to begin with. Settle your heart. Ask the Holy Spirit to release His presence. Speak peace to the storm. Jesus did it to show you how.

You don’t have to be flashy about it. In fact, if your draw attention to yourself, you block what God wants to do. When the kingdom of God comes near someone, it should affect them. They should feel the peace that you carry.

Feel the presence of God inside, then let Him out!

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Will you choose to obey?

We know that as Christians we’re supposed to be good. We need to stay out of trouble and help people when we can. But what do we do with scripture like this: Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. (Mat 10:8)

The church has moved so far away from the commandments of Jesus that we think it’s not Christian to follow them. Cast out demons? Raise the dead? Do we believe that? Maybe the better question is, does Jesus lie? If He is true, then we have to face up with what we’ve been told to do.

Freely we have received everything that we need to do what He said we could do. The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives in us. It’s His power, not ours. It’s His commandment to raise the dead, not ours. Either He said to do it, or He didn’t. I can turn to Matthew 10:8 right now and see that He told us to do this.

What do you do with that? Will you ignore it and pretend that it doesn’t apply to you? How will you face Him later and explain that you didn’t think He meant it? God’s word is true and He absolutely means what He says.

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You are attacked in your areas of greatest strength

I’m not a war strategist, but it seems like in the movies the enemy always wants to take out the big guns on the high ground. That clears the way for easier advancement. That’s exactly what happens to us when we fall under enemy attack.

Have you noticed those times when you’re trying to get to church and everything blows up before you get there? If you do happen to make it, it’s usually a great experience. When  you’re doing what you know to do and you run into resistance, it’s usually a sign that the enemy is scared. He doesn’t want you to have breakthrough because your growth in the Lord is mighty powerful.

Pay attention to the areas in your life where you fall down. Anger may flare up. Frustration under pressure can get ugly. (A recent experience of mine. I know.) Those are the areas of great strength when we allow God to mold us.

The enemy will always try to take out the big guns on high ground. Your area of greatest strength is targeted because it is the source of potential power. You don’t see it, but the enemy does. Don’t be discouraged by your weaknesses. Give them to God and let Him turn them to powerful weapons of offense.

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We need to live as heirs with Jesus

If we are seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, shouldn’t our prayers be with God, not to God? Shouldn’t that change our perspective on how we live? If we live as heirs with Christ, we should pray from heaven, not to heaven. Continue reading →

What do you do with dreams that blow up in your face? How do you go on when everything you believed for just fell apart? What do you do when you’re Mary or Martha and your brother just died because the Lord didn’t come in time? That depends on whether or not you believe in resurrection power.

Sometimes we have to experience loss to experience God’s power to resurrect. He’s not being mean, He may be trying to bring you to a higher place of faith and revelation. What would happen if you just kept pressing in? Are your dreams any deader than Lazarus was for four days?

We shortchange God so much by not believing in His greatness. David believed in the anointing that he would be king, despite the circumstances that left him homeless and running for his life. He continued to praise God and honor what had been given to him.

If those lost dreams are important to you, don’t let go of them, no matter what it looks like. God is watching to see what you will do with them–give up or praise Him for what He will do. What may look mostly dead may be deceptively alive.

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