Some Dreams Need To Be Buried Before They Become Real

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Dreams take time to grow and mature.

Dreams take time to grow and mature.

You know how thriving plants start out? They start out as seeds that get buried in the ground, out of sight, grimy, and forgotten. Then, when the time is right, they send up small shoots and tiny roots and grow into what they’ve been designed to grow into. Some trees require fire to open seed cones. The beginning of things is not always pretty.

Dreams and destiny may start like that. They get planted and need time to come to maturity. Or the conditions for making them happen may require extreme change — change that challenges your faith and equilibrium.

Just because your dream didn’t develop into sudden maturity doesn’t mean that it’s not right or real. It just means that it requires time to grow. You need to be changed. Conditions need to be right. Don’t give up. Don’t get mad at God for what you can’t see happening.

Hold onto what you know to be true. Thank Him for it just as if you have everything you want. Thank Him, praise Him, sing, dance and rejoice for what you know He will do. That kind of faith, believing for what you can’t see yet, can change the timeline. Mary’s faith made Jesus turn water into wine before He was ready to begin ministry. Your dreams need that kind of faith to come alive.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

How Do You Know God Loves You?

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God loves you. He really does.

God loves you. He really does.

How do you know God loves you? If you don’t know God, how would you know? It may sound as strange as being told, Cats think with an English accent. How would you know that? At first, by faith.

God has chosen to distant Himself from us physically, so we must respond to Him by faith. When we do, when we believe and receive His grace and salvation, then we receive Him into our hearts. Then we move from faith to knowledge. When the Spirit of God lives in you, you know Him.

But the beginnings are about trust. He says in His word that He loves us immensely. He made a plan for us to be with Him on purpose. You have to take that at face value. He is God and He loves you.

Accept it and receive His great joy. When you that, you can begin to listen with your heart. Your walls have to come down with Him. He sees through them anyway. You can be honest with Him like you can with no one else. Thank Him for His goodness. Allow yourself to love Him and you will feel and know the great truth of His love for you. There will be no guessing, no wondering after that. You will know.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

The Reason For So Many Religions–Why We Need God

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Find God and find life.

Find God and find life.

There is a reason why every society started out with some kind of religion. There’s a reason why people turn to drugs, alcohol, thrill-seeking. There’s a reason why so many people are depressed and sad. We were created to love God. We have a God-shaped hole in our hearts that only He can fill. Trying to fill it any other way will only make us unhappy, miserable, or sick.

The pull of God on us is strong, though not easily understood. Ask the average person on the street if they think they need God and they will probably say no. They may not be alcoholic or on drugs, legal or otherwise, but they wouldn’t admit to feeling incomplete. They just think that living with sadness is natural. When you grow up in a dysfunctional home, you think everyone lives like that.

But when people discover God and His amazing love, they realize what they’ve missed for so long. That place inside is no longer empty, but full of peace. Finally, peace. No amount of mediation and exercise can bring what God gives us. Not even close.

The only way to find real life is through the One who created it. It was His great plan all along to bring us into His arms. Find Him there and you will find everything you need.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

Look For Your Joy–It’s There

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Find your joy.

Find your joy.

You know how some people see the glass half full and others half empty? It’s a choice. You decide your own outlook on life. You may be cautious, but you can still be optimistic. God gave us joy. It’s up to us whether we decide to claim it.

All the fruits of the Holy Spirit are ours. You don’t have to pick one or figure out which one suits you. God gave you everything. So joy is yours, but you may need to look for it. In the turmoil of problem solving, the peace of God is with you. When you stop and decide to live in that peace, joy is not far away.

You decide. You control whether you want to have actual joy in your life. If you really can’t see any reason to be joyful, then ask God to help you. Ask Him to take away everything that blocks His joy in your life. You may need to repent or forgive or humble yourself. What ever you feel convicted to do, do it.

Then claim your joy. Tell God that you will live with His joy and thank Him for it. Then start looking for it everywhere you go. Once you start finding it, it will come easier and easier. Be thankful and full of joy. It’s God’s blessing to you.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

The Blessings of Blessing

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God bless you

God bless you

We say, “God bless you” all the time when people sneeze, but do we really think about what that means? When I sneeze and people say, “God bless you”, I tell them, “I receive that!” It always makes them hesitate because it never occurs to them that blessing could really be something you give away.

Blessing is to confer the goodness of God to someone else. You want to see them happy and all their prayers answered. You want God to be good to them. Having an attitude of blessing is very loving. It’s a mindset that sees the best, not the worst. It is love that hopes all things.

We carry the Spirit of God with all His amazing aspects of love, joy, goodness, mercy, and kindness. The authority we have to move mountain in faith can also bless other people with love and joy.

Blessings aren’t just for the people we love. But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you. (Mat 5:44) That power to bless can change lives. Imagine blessing your enemies and those who really hate you. Imagine how the goodness of God resting on them will affect them.

Be sensitive to the prodding of the Holy  Spirit when He wants to touch someone, and don’t hold back blessing. Give away what has been freely given to you.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

The Pressure To Be Perfect Is Hurting Everyone

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Let people be human and love them anyway.

Let people be human and love them anyway.

There is a lot of pressure in the church for Christians to be perfect, and it’s hurting everyone. The reason we have to pray “on earth as it is in heaven” is because we’re not living on earth as it is in heaven. We are still human whether we like it or not. We will make mistakes and bad choices and fall down.

Unfortunately, every time we make a bad  choice or fall down fingers get pointed. Assumptions are made. Judgement is given. When that happens, walls go up. We lose connection and we definitely lose love.

Look at all the major players in the Bible and find one that lived perfectly their whole life. Everyone was human, and God loved them. God used them in their imperfections to show His own greatness. Why are we so shocked when people act like people?

When Jesus said, He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first, He knew no one could do it. It’s only by God’s mercy that our sins are covered, not because we are perfect. We all have planks in our own eyes. We have to stop judging each other for being human.

The world is supposed to know us by our love. Love is not judgmental and does not point fingers. Love simply loves, even through the mistakes and bad decisions. Let people love your humanity while you love them in theirs.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

Don’t Loose Sight Of The One Who Is Answering Your Prayer

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Give thanks and stay humble.

Give thanks and stay humble.

When do you think your prayers will be answered? What do you expect God to do for you? How will He do it? Can He do it? There is a fine line between expecting answers and just trusting. There is also a balance in expecting what we ask for and just looking at the One who gives.

It’s very easy to get caught up in the faith of receiving and lose track of the awesomeness of God. Keep your eyes on Him while you’re asking for what you need. It’s by His goodness, His kindness, His mercy that our prayers are answered. Be grateful. Stay humble before Him.

God loves us so much and we need to respond back to Him in love. If we are continually asking and not loving back, chances are our prayers won’t be answered. He’s looking for hearts of love to bless. Imagine your children always asking and never being thankful or grateful, or even acknowledging your presence. (Ok, that may be too close to home for some, but you get my point.)

God is good. He is wonderful and generous. He deserves our praise and gratitude. As much as you need prayers to be answered, spend more time loving Him. You’ll be amazed at how fast those prayers come home.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

God Is Awesome At Working Out Impossible Situations

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Love God and He'll work it out for you.

Love God and He’ll work it out for you.

Life gets pretty tricky at times. All our best laid plans get thrown out the window and we’re left wondering what to do. Or a situation pops up and we really don’t have any idea what to do. That’s why God says to trust Him. He is awesome at working out impossible situations.

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Rom 8:28)

You see the stipulation there: To those who love God. We can’t give lip service to God and expect Him to be Superman for us. Jesus said the first commandment was to love God with all our heart. All our heart. When we are sold-out to God, He’ll move heaven and earth for us.

Stop panicking and start loving. Is that hard? Then ask Him to help you. Ask Him to give you the love that you need to love Him back. I know that sounds strange, but He’s actually ok with it. He is the source of all good things anyway. Love Him and in that love trust Him. You can’t trust and panic at the same time. Only when you take your hands off can He do what needs to be done.

It will work out, for your good, because you love Him.

The Authority That Jesus Gave Us Puts Demands On Us

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Authority puts demands on our love.

Authority puts demands on our love.

Wherever Jesus went, crowds formed when it was known that He was there. People were drawn to Him. Not just because He did miracles, though that would be a huge draw. I think they were also drawn to His authority. People like to be told what to do. We’re like baby birds, we like to be fed.

But Jesus left and gave His authority to us. Suddenly, we’re not just baby birds with our mouths open wide anymore. Suddenly, we’re supposed to be the ones bringing salvation, healing, and deliverance. The authority has some weight on our shoulders. It doesn’t feel comfortable.

We’d rather let someone else do that stuff while we continue to be fed. That authority takes responsibility, and responsibility makes demands on us. That’s what maturity and growth in the kingdom calls for. If we are to be known by our love, then we have to be open to loving when it’s needed. And that need rarely comes at convenient times.

The authority we’ve been given assumes that we want to be obedient to the Great Commission. If we’re not willing to do that, we have to ask ourselves why. Laziness is not an option. Selfishness is not an option. Love is the only option, and that will require maturity to be available when we are needed.

It’s time to grow up. It’s time to be who we’ve been called to be and love, really love.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

A Tip On How To Hear God

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God is always talking to you, even if you can't hear Him.

God is always talking to you, even if you can’t hear Him.

The ability to hear God is vital to spiritual growth, and without growth, we stagnate and die. When we don’t listen to Him, we’re probably going in the wrong direction. It can be very dangerous. Any tip on how to hear God is a good thing. So here it is:

Today, if you will hear His voice. (Ps 95:7)

1. He’s always talking to you. Everyday. He will always have something to say to you, and you’d better believe that whatever God has to say is worth listening to.

2. You have to want to hear Him. The hearing is conditional. If you will hear. God is not going to breakthrough the game you have going on your iPhone. He’s not going to “smote you in the side” like Peter and wake you up. He’s waiting for you to give Him your attention and your desire to listen.

3. He’s talking today. Get your head out of the future or the past. You can’t hear Him there. Whatever He has to tell you today will prepare you for tomorrow.

Never believe that you can’t hear God speaking to you. That’s a lie. Settle your heart and listen. Don’t expect that His language will always be what you grew up speaking. Allow Him to communicate anyway He wants, because He is. Today. Right now.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart