News Flash: God Is Not Mad At You– He Likes You!

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God is far more loving and kind than you know.

God is far more loving and kind than you know.

One of the great lies of the ages is that God is made at us. The image of an angry, unforgiving God has been carefully crafted by the enemy since the beginning of time. But even the Old Testament trials of Israel were always softened by God’s kindness and graciousness.

What does God think of you? You are His precious one. He thinks of you constantly. He wants everything that is best for you, to give you a future and a hope. If you have received salvation through Christ, He sees you through the blood in His perfection. He is happy with you.

Don’t allow the enemy, or anyone else, rob you of God’s joy in you. He loves you wildly and you need to know it. Of course, you are growing and making mistakes, but He knows that. You haven’t ever shocked Him. That’s why He sent His Holy Spirit, so we would have help in all the areas we need help in.

Condemnation is not of God. Love, joy, peace, goodness, kindness–these are of God, and that’s how He responds to you. His heart is so big, you can’t do anything to make Him stop loving you. Soak in that and it will change you life. God is happy with you : )

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

There Is One Simple Way To Make Sure You Go Through The Narrow Gate

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The gate is narrow, but not impossible to get through.

The gate is narrow, but not impossible to get through.

The Christian path is complicated. It’s not as simplistic as non-believers like to say it is. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. (Mat 7:14) It’s not easy, but it doesn’t have to be hard. Emmanuel is with us.

If we focus on Jesus, we’ll be on the right path. Instead of what is right and what is wrong, if our desire is to know Him, we’ll be fine. There will be push back from the enemy so see how serious we are, but if our eyes are on our Lord, then we are protected and covered.

Have you ever made a point to really know your God? Can you say that you know His voice? Do you know how much He loves you? Stop trying to be a good Christian and start loving Jesus. Yikes! I know that sounds hypocritical, but we can be so caught up in doing good and being right that we redirect our attention to causes and off of God. He needs to be first, always.

And we He is first in our lives, He is there to bless, and heal, and protect, and be everything that we need Him to be, and more. Turn your eyes on Jesus, and never look away. There’s nothing more beautiful than the Bright and Morning Star.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

Does Your Life Describe You As Someone Jesus Said Was Going To Hell?

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Teach us to be faithful.

Teach us to be faithful.

Jesus does not mince words about describing hell. It’s a real place and there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. But what is really terrifying is who He says will go there. He tells the story of the faithful servant doing what he should be doing while the master is gone. Then He tells the story of the evil servant who beats his fellow servants and drinks with the drunkards. When the master comes back, he will be furious and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Mat 24:51)

With the hypocrites! Not mass murderers or pedophiles. When I look back on my life, I see how much I said I believed in God, only to give in to panic and fear over and over again. Yes, that was hypocritical. Hypocrite: a person who claims or pretends to have certain beliefs about what is right but who behaves in a way that disagrees with those beliefs. (Merriam-Webster)

God save us from hypocrisy. Help us to trust You and live as You taught us to live. Help us be light and salt to the world. Let us be Your good and faithful servants of the kingdom. Help us to grow from faith to faith, trusting You with everything we’ve got. Let us live in your blessing, on earth as it is in heaven.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

How To Be Made Perfect — Rejoice In The Trials

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Times of trail make you perfect!

Times of trail make you perfect!

What’s the deal with going through trials? Isn’t it hard enough with an enemy working against us and our own bad decisions? Apparently the shaping and molding that we need requires pressure, and that’s where trials work their best.

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,  (Jam 1:2) Trials test our faith. Will we freak out, or will we turn to God for help? That’s exactly what He’s looking for. Who will you turn to when the pressure’s on? It’s easy to fall back on habit and fear, but God is trying to get us to turn to Him. He may not take us out of the trial, but He’ll definitely go through it with us and work it all out.

That trust produces patience. Knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. (Jam 1:3-4) Now that’s something to be joyful about. All that pressure to mold and shape us to trust God does something in our spirit that God sees as perfect. And the next time you hit that situation again, you’ll respond in trust.

It won’t be easy or fun, but it won’t be bad either. When you feel the peace of God when you really, really need Him, you know it’s going to be ok.  You’re being made perfect!

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

Ask God How You Can Change The World Today

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You are responsible for being light to the world.

You are responsible for being light to the world.

Be the light in someone’s life. You know who. It may be the person who drives you crazy at work. The cranky neighbor. The old woman who collects aluminum cans from the garbage. There is someone you can reach out to and bless.

Don’t make them a project. No one wants pity or condescension. Be genuine. See them the way God sees them. He loves them wildly and died for them. Reach out in love. It may take work. It may take asking God to help you change your attitude. Ask Him to show you why that person may rub you the wrong way, or why they act the way they do.

Everyone needs Jesus. Everyone. And you are right there with Jesus in your heart, so you’re the one to reach out. You are a missionary and your life is your mission field. Everything you do and everyone you touch as the capacity of being blessed by God.

Ask God for inspiration and revelation. What does He want you do? What can you do in your life that will release the kingdom of God? There is so much good that can be released and so many people need to feel it. Don’t be shy. Let God be God.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

Don’t Allow Fear To Manipulate Your Life–Fear Not!

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Fear not, live in peace.

Fear not, live in peace.

Fear is insidious. I hate it. It sneaks in to make you nervous and anxious when you could be perfectly calm and at ease. Are you running late? How does that make you feel? Panicked? That’s fear. Are you facing a deadline, a report, a major inspection? Feeling a little scared? Feeling a lot scared? That’s fear.

We are told over and over again to “fear not” in the scriptures. That includes all the nervous, anxious, panicked, worried, and everything to do with being terrified feelings. It is the enemy’s favorite weapon because it’s so effective against us. We fall for it every time.

If we are to truly live without fear, then we have start believing that God has us covered. He is our shield and protector, as long as we put ourselves under His protection. The minute you recognize that you are worrying, or anxious, confess it and claim the peace of God for your life. You’ll feel it settle over your spirit and you can relax.

Even when you make a mistake and have to face the consequences, give it to God. He said to fear not, so He’ll work it out. He’s the best backup in the world. And life is so much nicer when you live in peace.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

You Don’t Need A Reason To Praise God — He Is Good All The Time

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God is good, all the time.

God is good, all the time.

At the end of the day, no matter what happens, God is good. When wonderful things come your way, God is good. When everything blows up, God is still good. Our circumstances don’t change His nature. And that’s very comforting, because we know that no matter what, He will always be good.

It’s not always easy to see His goodness in the middle of a big, hairy problem, but it’s still true. It takes effort on our part to rise up above the issues and continue to bless Him. Very often, that alone will send the answers we need.

Rain or shine, God is good and we bless His name because He is God. He deserves our praise despite how we feel. He’s that good! Even when we create our own problems, if we give them over to Him and trust Him, we can relax because we know He will work it out.

That ability to relax no matter what is a tremendous blessing to us, so we praise Him for His kindness, His goodness, and His constant love for us, even when there are bills to pay and kids with runny noses. Give the stress to Him and let Him show you His goodness. Rest in Him and bless His name. He’s there for you.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

God Is Making You Into What You Need To Be For Your Destiny

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God is working in you for your destiny.

God is working in you for your destiny.

How amazing it would be if we lived our lives “on earth as it is in heaven”. God sees us so differently than we see ourselves. He sees us through the blood of Christ without imperfection. We are perfect. He sees the destiny that He planned for each one of us.

That destiny can be ours, but we have to be willing to submit ourselves to Him to make it happen. Where we are today, who we are today is probably a long way from what that destiny looks like.

What will He need to do in us to make us into what we are called to be? We’ll have to be changed. Change usually hurts! We hate it. But when we stop and consider that we are being transformed, it’s easier to accept.

Whatever God has planned for you is going to be awesome, because He knows your heart’s desire, your gifts, and talents, so whatever it takes to get you to your destiny will be worth it. Trust Him. What you are going through now may not make sense to you, but it may have great value in shaping you for what you will become.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

You Are Never Too Busy To Rest In The Lord

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There is danger to being too good at what you do. You know who you are. The one with seven or eight balls in the air and a hoop twirling around your ankle. You’ve got so much stuff going on that you are busy all the time. Part of that may be perfectionism that won’t allow you to let other people do anything. And part of it is that what you do is very complex and needs your full attention all the time.

That’s not a bad thing, if you are doing it with God’s blessing. When do you stop having His blessing? When you stop trusting Him. When you stop spending private time with Him. When you get so busy that you forget, or just don’t have time.

Make the decision to find your rest in Jesus.

Make the decision to find your rest in Jesus.

That’s when trouble starts to happen. Burnout sets in and you get exhausted, or sick. That’s because you let your shield down and enemy is allowed to take pot shots at you, and he will. You are called to rest in the Lord, even in the middle of all that you do.

For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength. (Isa 30:15)

No matter how busy you are, learn to rest. Learn to trust God to help you through the day. He can do things with time that you would not believe. He will give you the help and resources you need. Just rest. You need it more than you know.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

Fully Functional, Armed And Dangerous (In A Good Way)

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The mature believer is a force to be reckoned with. She is strong in faith and a terror to the enemy. But it takes time and dedication to get there.

Jesus is always waiting to hear from you.

Jesus is always waiting to hear from you.

The first steps are quiet basic. You have to believe in Jesus as the Son of God. You have to confess your sins and accept that Jesus died for you so you can have forgiveness. That confess and acceptance will clean the slate, just like you never sinned at all. It doesn’t mean that you will never sin again, you will. That’s why we need to always be humble before God and not try to hide our sins from Him, but be open and allow Him to forgive us.

Now we must stop thinking and acting like we did before. Any fear that we used to carry around with us has to go. Any anger, frustration, bitterness, jealousy — basically any bad attitudes that don’t belong to Jesus don’t belong to you. Give them up. Ask Jesus to take them out of your heart. Ask Him to replace the bad stuff with His good stuff. Be filled with His Spirit and you’ll have His power to live as He wants you to.

After we have established our faith and let go of the old ways and embraced His new ways, we can begin to stand taller and look around the kingdom to see how He will use us. When you come to Christ and receive the Holy Spirit in your life, you become fully equipped with all manner of weapons and tools that He will use through you. You start to develop them by learning what they are. Reading the Bible voraciously and asking the Holy Spirit to teach you will ground you in His truth. Go to a church with strong teaching on the Holy Spirit and connect with other believers. Never go a day without having a heartfelt conversation with God. It’s in those times of intimate communion that will help you follow His leading in your life.

Trust Him. You have to trust Him. Once you start to stand tall in the kingdom, the enemy will try to take you down. Trust God to be your protection and provider. He’ll take care of you, because He promised that He would. But you have to trust Him.

Trust Him for other people, not just yourself. Go out on a limb and claim the impossible in full faith and watch God do a miracle. He’s awesome. Pray for healing. Pray for income. Pray for salvation. You begin to see places that need the touch of God because you’ve been put there to see them and do something about it.

The more you step out with God, the further He will take you. But be aware that you will never be completely mature. Some areas will be strong and other areas you will be learning. There will always be areas of learning. It keeps us humble, but the more we learn, the more He can use us. He’s just waiting for you to get on board, because there’s a lot of territory to claim for the kingdom and He needs you to do it.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart