Don’t Assume That God Is Not With You When Things Go Bad

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Trust God and relax in the storm.

Trust God and relax in the storm.

Do you need to have everything peaceful in your life to believe that God is on your side? It would be helpful to realize that God is always on your side. The disciples panicked in the boat when the wind and rain threatened to capsize them, but Jesus was with them and rebuked them for their little faith. (Mat 8:25-27)

The disciples needed to know that even when circumstances weren’t just bad, they were terrifying, God was with them. The wind and the rain didn’t affect how God would save and protect.

It is a lie of the enemy that says when things go wrong, or look scary, that God isn’t with us. Even if the situation is a problem that we created ourselves, He is still on our side. He is still working to save, heal, and deliver. He wants the best for us, no matter how bad it looks.

Fear not. Repeat to yourself, fear not. God is with you. His name is Emmanuel, God with us. Relax and trust Him. If you are not relaxed, then you are not trusting Him fully. Once you decide to let Him help you, you’ll see a world of difference. He will do what you can’t. He’s God, so let Him be God for you.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

Becoming A Better You — Don’t Walk Away From Blessing

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Becoming a better you.

Becoming a better you.

Criticizing other people isn’t actually helpful, because we already know our faults. We know where we lose our temper, our patience, and our joy. We can really beat ourselves up about it too. Maybe you know all that and want to change. Maybe you don’t think it’s possible. Maybe you don’t care — you know your faults and everyone else can live with it.

Our personalities are not written in stone. We can be molded and shaped by the hand of God. Unhealthy attitudes can be replaced with good, blessed attitudes from heaven. We can be a better version of ourselves.

How is that possible? By submitting to the Holy Spirit. He sees and knows everything about you. Put yourself in His hands. Ask Him to do a work in you. He may show you memories of events you need to forgive. He may show you where you need to repent. He may show you the root issues that will untangle a web of bad thinking.

And the awesome thing is, for every bad attitude that you let go of, He can replace it with something wonderful. If you don’t allow God to clean you up, you are leaving an abundance of blessings on the table that you’ll never enjoy. It’s worth the effort and you’ll be so happy.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

Does God Agree With Your Prayers? | Why Some Prayers Aren’t Answered

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What do you want God to do?

What do you want God to do?

What do you want God to do for you? I’ll stop and wait while you think about it. It’s a serious question that requires thought and a serious answer…. I’ll be honest and say that the things at the top of my list have been all for me. I want what will make me happy. I’m not completely selfish. It’s not far down the list that I want to bless other people in specific ways.

How we answer this question honestly has a lot to do with what God will actually do for us. I think the reason I haven’t seen some answered prayer is because my priorities were wrong. It’s taken a long time to realign them into the order that He agrees with. He won’t hesitate to bless what what is already on His heart.

You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. (Jam 4:3) I’ve been guilty of this and had to repent. I haven’t given up on what I was asking for, but I would rather have what God wants for me. I work to keep Him my priority. I know that when I want Him more than anything, everything else will fall into place.

What do you want God to do for you? Be honest. It matters.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

The Key To Calling Heaven Down To Play

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Enter the kingdom as a little child.

Enter the kingdom as a little child.

What’s it like to receive the kingdom as a little child? I was reminded recently of a visit I had with a young family once. The youngest child was a girl of about four years old. She and I hit it off right away. She asked me to come play Duck, Duck, Goose with her. This is a game that requires several people to sit in a circle. I asked her how we would play Duck, Duck, Goose with only two of us. She told me she played it all the time with Jesus and the angels.

That’s how you receive the kingdom as a little child. With joy and innocence. With carefree abandon to what others think is right. With a clarity to see God where others cannot. But above all, with joy.

This is not easy for adults, but I believe it is ours if we want it. We have to be willing to lay down our own agendas and to want God passionately. Do you want to play Duck, Duck, Goose with Jesus and the angels? Maybe not, but do you want to worship with the angels and talk to the Lord about what’s on His heart? You can. You absolutely can.

Set your heart on Him and receive His joy. It will open a new world and heaven will come down and play.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

We Need A Revelation Of How Much God Loves Us

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God's love for us is immense.

God’s love for us is immense.

We need a real revelation of how much God loves us. We don’t have the capacity to fully understand that, but we need to realize it better than we do. God’s great plan was to live in a kingdom of grace from the very beginning. He knew our frailty, so He made a way for His plan to become reality.

Jesus was destined to die for us. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Rev 13:8) He knew from the beginning what He was going to do, and did it as an act of love. Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb 12:2)

It was for the joy of loving us that He died! We are the joy of the Father’s heart. He is a wonderful, faithful, kind, generous Father who will do anything for us. Including sending Jesus to die for us.

That’s amazing love. That’s the revelation that we need to wake up to everyday. Now, it’s our turn to return our love to Him.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

Age Has Nothing To Do With When Your Destiny Kicks In

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God is working in you for your destiny.

God is working in you for your destiny.

If you became a believer as an older person, or even if you’ve been a believer for a while, but only recently realized there was so much more to the living in the kingdom, it’s not too late for your destiny to kick in.

Moses was an old man when God called him away from being a shepherd. Caleb was an old man when he asked to settle in the mountains because it was too challenging for everyone else.  Sarah had a baby!

The thing is, God knows all about you, and He’s known that since before you were born. So He is aware of the path you’ve been on, and your destiny, that calling that is yours alone, will have your history included in it. You haven’t lost anything. You just haven’t stepped into your destiny yet.

If you have no idea what your destiny is, ask God to show you. And when you do, pay attention to what you think of next. It may be an old dream or an idea that’s floated around in the back of your mind for years. It probably won’t be a surprise. It will probably be along the lines of what you know you’re good at, or always wanted to do. And don’t assume that it has to be a ministry. God uses talented people everywhere.

Don’t let age or time affect what God wants to do with you. Once you connect with His plans for you, it will be fun. Walk with Him and let Him open up doors of opportunity and development. It’s going to be awesome.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

Allow The Holy Spirit To Fix All Those Blind Spots For You

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Have you ever been around someone with an attitude that you just have to forgive them for? And then you wonder, how is it possible that they don’t see that what they’re saying is offensive or completely lacking faith? It’s a little scary, because it makes me wonder how blind I am to my own faults. I mean really blind.

The Holy Spirit is the best help there is.

The Holy Spirit is the best help there is.

That’s why we need the Holy Spirit so much. He’s not blind to anything. He sees exactly what we are, and He really, really loves us. He’s not shocked by our faults, but He does want to change us. And He’s amazingly kind about it. When He puts His finger on a problem area, He waits for us to ask for help. And, not only will He fix it for us, He’ll replace it with His own blessing.

But this is not an automatic process. You have to sit with Him and ask for help. You have to want to be changed. But first you have to recognize that you need to be changed. We all have areas we know about, and we all have blind spots. Ask God to show you what He wants to fix. He’ll bring up memories and you’ll know. Just confess anything you need to and give it to Him. Then ask Him to replace the stuff you got rid of for something awesome from Him.

It’s a step by step process. It’s called growth. And the Holy Spirit is the best help there is.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

The Secret To Living In The Power Of God

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If you are a believer filled with the Spirit of God, you are a great and mighty warrior armed with power and might. You have all authority on earth to declare the Word of God and release His kingdom everywhere you go. You are a powerful light of truth to a world looking for life. So how do you arm yourself?

Humility is a powerful weapon.

Humility is a powerful weapon.

The secret to walking in the power of God is humility. The Jesus mindset is to serve others. The first shall be last. Don’t worry, you won’t be left out. Gratefulness and thankfulness ground you in humility to keep you safe from ego and pretension.

Humility is an opposite characteristic to our humanity. We are naturally selfish, so it takes God to put His Spirit in us to change us. Ask for it. Ask for a lot of it. Humility is attractive. It’s absolutely beautiful, and God loves it.

Humility means that you don’t have to announce all your accomplishments or need to be recognized. It means that you want others to succeed, even in the area you want success. It means loving people. When you respond in genuine love, it feels good to put others first.

Hand in hand with that, is the heartfelt thankfulness for what God has done for you. When you know where you came from and what He’s given you now, you can be dazzled by His awesomeness and love Him with true gratitude.

Armed with humility and thankfulness, God can really use you, because He can trust that you won’t let it go to your head. Once that happens, you’re on your own, and it won’t be pretty. Guard your heart. Stay humble and see what God has planned for you. It’s going to be amazing.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

If You Don’t Ask For That Blessing, I’ll Take It

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Have you seen this viral video about WestJet airlines blessing their passenger with Christmas gifts?

It’s pretty amazing. If you go to the end and watch the bloopers, you see Santa asking a woman what she wants, and she says all she wants is warm socks. He looks back at her in frustration and says, “You’ll wish you asked for a big screen TV.”

I think God feels like that with us all the time. He is waiting to bless us with everything we need, and we feel “unworthy” because we’re not perfect for some reason. We still lose our temper, or we don’t feel as holy or “on fire” like other people. So we bow our head in meekness and decline any blessing that others surely deserve more than we do.

Not me. I know I’m not perfect and I know that my God loves me like crazy. I want every single blessing in heaven that has my name on it. I’m not shy about asking for it either. I know His blessings will shape me and form me into His image. I want that more that anything.

If you don’t think you deserve blessing, that’s ok. I’ll ask for yours too if you don’t want it. : )

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

There Is Beauty And Glory — And There’s God

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How beautiful can beauty get? Think of the things you consider beautiful — an absolutely gorgeous woman, a flaming orange and pink sunset, a rose with the dew of morning lingering on soft petals. Now add them all up, somehow. Think of the most beautiful thing ever. It’s not in this world. It’s the holiness of God.

Worship in the beauty of holiness.

Worship in the beauty of holiness.

Holiness is beautiful, and God is the source of holiness, so His beauty is beyond dazzling. I can only imagine, but my brain is finite. I don’t have the capacity to imagine outside the box. I think we will be stunned by what we see when we stand before God. I think His beauty will be so far beyond what we expect that it will take a few ages to get speech back.

We are told to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. (Ps 29:2) How is that even possible? All we can do is worship straight from our heart to His, to stand in awe at His glory and allow that magnificent presence to overwhelm us. I ask God to show me His beauty. Someday, I expect to get a peep, like Moses tucked away in the shelter of the rock. But I’m not afraid. If His glory is so powerful that I cannot stand before it, then what a way to go. I will be burned through with His beauty and received in presence. I’m ready.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart