Loving

Joyce Meyer Ministries

Loving God, Yourself & Others

by Joyce Meyer

Love requires action. It's not a thing we try to get for ourselves, but instead is an action we express to others through sharing and serving.

Because love is an action, I believe there are three different forms of love God has instructed us to demonstrate, or "live out." Each one needs to be in balance so they can work together. As you read on, consider whether each one is well-balanced in your life or needs some adjustments.

#1 Loving God

Deuteronomy 6:5 says, And you shall love the Lord your God with all your [mind and] heart and with your entire being and with all your might. In the New Testament, Jesus repeats this command and even points it out as the most important commandment of all (as well as loving your neighbor as yourself).

So, how do you express love for God? By telling God, "I love You"? Singing praises to Him? These are good things, but they only scratch the surface.

We show God we love Him through obediencebecause actions definitely speak louder than words. I believe our level of obedience grows as we get to know and experience His love, goodness and faithfulness in our lives. Our desire to follow and obey the Lord's commandments increases as we increase our love of God.

#2 Loving Yourself

When Jesus talked about the greatest commandment of all, He quoted Deuteronomy 6:5 and said we are to love God with all our heart. But He also added the second greatest commandment: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (See Mark 12:31.)

There's something important here that I think people often miss: You cannot give away something you don't have in you. How can someone love another person if they don't love themselves?

“ "You cannot give away something you don't have in you." ”

We all need to accept ourselves, embrace our personalities and even our imperfections, knowing that although we are not where we need to be, we are making progress. Jesus died for us because we have weaknesses and imperfections, and we don't have to reject ourselves because of them. God wants us to love ourselves and enjoy how He's made us!

#3 Loving Others

We know that we have passed over out of death into Life by the fact that we love the brethren (our fellow Christians). He who does not love abides (remains, is held and kept continually) in [spiritual] death (1 John 3:14).

Life, in this verse, is the life of God or "life as God has it." I don't want to be one of what I call "the walking dead"─someone who lives and breathes but never truly lives as God desires.

Loving others is the only way to keep the God-kind of life flowing through you. God's love is a gift to us; it's in us, but we need to release it to others through words and actions. Left dormant, it will stagnate like a pool of water with no outlet.

The act of loving others is one of the most exhilarating things I have experienced. I feel excitement stirring in my spirit and soul when I plan to do something to make someone else feel loved and cared for.

You can experience the same exhilaration just by "loving out loud." Here's a challenge: Think of three people you know who could really use a gesture of God's love. Then think of creative ways you can express His love to these people, and do it. I guarantee you will feel a wonderful sense of fulfillment and joy afterward.

How You Can Continue to Grow in Love

If you will devote yourself to developing your love walk in these three areas, you will experience a huge amount of blessings in your life.

I encourage you to seek God about this and ask the Holy Spirit to help you grow in your love toward Jesus, yourself and others. He will help you overcome anything that might hinder you in the process. Remember, God is love. And He loves you. 

The Choice is Yours

Deuteronomy 4: 9

 Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren, 10 especially concerning the day you stood before the Lord your God in Horeb, when the Lord said to me, ‘Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.’

Are we teaching/telling the what God has done in our life so that the next generation will know?

Deuteronomy 6:6-9

And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. ⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. ⁸ You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. ⁹ You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

It is our responsibility to teach, to tell, to speak of the goodness of God.  

Otherwise how will they know?

YOU have a choice to make it different in the lives of those you love for the next generation. Will YOU declare them if not who are you expecting to?

Look Beyond Your Limits

February 2012Article taken from: VictoriaOsteen.com

One Sunday, a woman came to me for prayer during the prayer time in one of our church services. She told me that she had made some wrong decisions in her relationship with her adult daughter, and they were in strife and not talking to each other. The woman was so distraught. It looked like there wasn't any hope for the situation in the natural. There seemed to be a mountain in between her and her daughter.

As I listened to her story, I honestly didn't know what to pray, but as I started, I heard myself say something that I don't think I had ever said before. I said, "God, it looks like her hands are tied. There's nothing else she can do." Then something just rose up out of my spirit and I said, "But God, even though her hands are tied, I know Your hands are not tied." As soon as those words passed my lips, something leaped inside of me and a light of hope shone on the woman's face. She immediately changed her focus and was filled with faith. She knew she didn't have all the answers, but she was able to look past her limits and open her heart to what God could do in her life.

Today, you may be facing a situation and feel like your hands are tied. Maybe the negative voices are constantly playing over and over, reminding you that it's not going to work out, or how impossible things seem. It may be true that your hands are tied in the natural, but always know that God's hands are never tied. With Him, all things are possible. He can do whatever is necessary to bring you through. His power is unlimited! Nothing is too difficult for Him!

Not only are His hands free to help you today, they are stretched out toward you, inviting you to come and find rest for your soul. It doesn't matter what you've done; it doesn't matter how you ended up in the situation you're in, God's love knows no limits. He is ready, willing and able to help you when you submit yourself to Him.

Today, I want to challenge you to look beyond your limits and consider what God can do in your life. You may not see a way, but God can make a way. No matter what may come against you, face it in faith and don't back down. His hands are never tied, and He is more than able to do the impossible in your life!

"Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear…" (Isaiah 59:1, NKJV).

FAITHFUL

The Lord woke me up today with the word FAITHFUL.  

faith·full

adjective

1.strict or thorough in the performance of duty: a faithful worker.

2.true to one's word, promises, vows, etc.

3.steady in allegiance or affection; loyal; constant: faithful friends.

4.reliable, trusted, or believed.

5.adhering or true to fact, a standard, or an original; accurate: a faithful account; a faithful copy.

Deuteronomy 7:9
“Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments;

God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 1Cor 1:9

When God says something or has a plan - it WILL come to pass.  Just because we waiver in our little human minds, typically our thoughts are based on our circumstances and emotions, this does not change the fact that God has said something.   We are not keeping in perspective the BIG picture, the whole of eternity as God does.  

 Isaiah 14:24

The Lord of hosts has sworn, saying,
“Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass,
And as I have purposed, so it shall stand:

Numbers 23:19

“God is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent.
Has He said, and will He not do?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? 

Why can we not just take HIS Word for what it says...literally?  Yet

when we get a note from someone or talk to them, do we not literally take what it says and believe it?

  If Aunt Sally wrote to you and said she was coming for Christmas, we would all expect to see her at Christmas...Right?

So why is it so different with the Word of God? The one who GAVE His ONLY Son, to die for us, thats YOU and

me, how shall he not also freely give us all things?

Our disbelief toward the Word of God for our life today; It ought not be this way. 

My encouragement for you (and myself) today is this...get in your knower, so that you know that you know, in your heat of hearts ~ GOD IS FAITHFUL!  

If He has said something to you, if He has placed a desire in you, IT WILL BE!  

Take heart, Jesus overcame this natural garbage you and I deal with, and is now seated beside God in Heaven

John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

We will too!

Chosen~Set Apart~Appointed

Our true lasting value and self worth must be based on our love and acceptance of our Heavenly Father

He choose us, He set us apart and appointed us for the place we are in right now. 

Before I formed you in the womb I knew [and] approved of you [as My chosen instrument], and before you were born I separated and set you apart, consecrating you; [and] I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. Jeremiah 1:5 AMP

Now you may not chosen be a prophet, but the message is still the same, and it is still for us today. 

Before you were even formed, thought of by your parents, He knew you and approved of you, before you were born, while you were being formed in the womb He set you apart for such a time as this; Appointed for your situation, for your life right now, as it is.  He preferred YOU over anyone else to be mother, father, sister, brother, friend, employee, spouse, neighbor, Y-O-U!  With all your talents, abilities, relationships, problems, issues, lack, quirks.  HE saw you as FIT for the situations and people you would encounter in this life right now; That person, handpicked by God Himself.

This was not a halfhearted decision on Gods part, it was methodical, calculated and full of wisdom.   He knew what He had put in you, He knows your full potential, even in you haven’t realized it yet.  The personalized talents and abilities that are hidden somewhere in there, HE placed them in you as little seeds so that one day, when the timing is perfect you are were faced with a situation, you could reach down on the inside and harvest what you need.  It’s all in there we just need to look for it.  We need to take the time to discover what’s in there and ask Him how he wants us to use it. 

 Many years ago a friend of my gave me a little plaque that say “bloom where your planted”.   I still have it hanging in my home and each time I look at it, it makes me think, am I truly blooming where I am planted by God, or am I wanting to transplant myself somewhere else?  Thinking I know better than God…..

One last scripture to think on in John 15:16 it says

 “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you” 

Do we trust that God choose us and appointed us for our lives and situations right now, or are we thinking we know better than Him, where we should be, what we should be doing and with whom we should be doing it with? Are we waiting for Him to do something, or are we moving by faith trusting that He has it all lined out al we must do is take the first step.   

Tapistry

Our lives are like a tapestry woven together over time, not quite seeing the whole of the picture until one day we see fully and discover what the image is.  It is beautiful, but we must let each thread be woven into place to see the full majestic outcome, even when we don’t understand why certain colors and stitches  are used, we must trust that the weaver of the fabric of our life knows what He is doing.

Decision to make a Decision.

Each of us has a decision to make a decision.   

Every day we are faced with the fact that we must choose whom we will serve.  Will we serve self and what we want to do say and be, or will we submit to Gods plan for our lives? 

There are many, many people walking around today with a victims mentality, OH poor me, this person did me wrong, I got dealt a bad “hand” in life, if only I could have this or that, then….  Sound familiar?  It could be you or someone you know.

Well, here is the truth, everyone has had their own set of circumstances they have had to “deal” with in life.  They may look different on the outside but on the inside it is the same battle; what kind of decision did they make to “deal” with their circumstances.  We cannot blame others for where we are, sure there may have been some pretty rough patches but ultimately what kind of choices are you making to shape your life.  Are you choosing to be bitter and live with the bad choices someone else has made, are you living off of someone else’s good  choices   taking a free ride?

Hebrews 4:13 says And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

We must all give an account for our time here on earth.  Whether you know Gods plan for your life or not, it is not based on social economical status, geography, color, weight, male or female, God’s plan for each person is individual and WE have a choice to make. 

The apostle Paul for example, he was a highly educated, wealthy ,raised in a strict Jewish home, and major persecutor of the Christians of his time. A martyr, witnessing the execution of Christians.  His life was the law, the temple and the traditions of his people, anything against that deserved to be challenged.  One day when he was about 30 years old he was on his way to another city when God knocked him off his ride, appeared as a bright light, and as Paul describes it in Galatians 1:16 “was pleased to reveal His Son to me, in order that I might preach Him among the Gentiles”. 

Paul had a decision to make at that point , God himself talked to him and showed him Jesus , now,was he going to believe what had really happened to him and serve God , walk into the plan God had for him rather than the traditions of his family? But his family traditions was all he had known, in fact he spent years studying traditions and the law so he could me more advanced, top of his class if you will.  And now, this.  He had a choice to make. 

You may not have had a “visit” from God like Paul, but the choice is still the same.  It shouldn’t take a major event  or dramatic situation to get us to realize God, who is the same yesterday today and forever, wants to have a real relationship with you. He has a plan for your life that is far above anything you could ever imagine.  But based on the decisions we make or choose not to make that is how far we will go with the plan he has laid out for us. 

Lucky for us Paul choose to serve God and go against his beloved education, the reasoning he was brought up with, and he choose Gods plan for his life.  It changed history forever.  You can too. 

You can change the history of your family, your friends, and your neighbors by the decisions you make on a daily basis.  I know for me it is sometimes a moment by moment basis.  But the things we choose to do or not do, people to talk to or not talk to that is history in the making whether we think so or not. 

Gods plan is divine and He will bring people, situation, things into your life to make it work, its not up to you to make it work out all we must do is decide.

So now is your time.   You have a decision to make a decision.  What or whom will you choose? You may not have to answer right now for your choices, but one day we will all have to give account to our Heavenly Father, What did we do with the time He entrusted to us here on this earth?   Did we take advantage of the things, resources and people He brought our way or did we ignore and squander it?

Intentional Resolve

The New Year is often associated with “resolutions”.  But our life is truly a resolution.  Our intent, our decisions our declarations that we make each day, each moment of every day is our resolution, our statement to the world and others around us that this IS how we determine how we are going to live. 

See our resolutions, our daily decisions, are making us who we are, they determine the life we end up living, the tomorrow we are shaping, the lives we are influencing, all by the little decisions we choose to make, (or NOT make in some cases). 

So since decisions are what we do all the time anyway the question we need to ask ourselves is this; 

Am I intentional about the decisions I make?  

Am I making the decisions to choose the life I want to live?

We need to make sure that the sign that is written and posted above our lives, the one authored each minute of every day by the choices we make and the decisions we choose, is announcing clearly to the world and our loved ones,  who we genuinely are and what we stand for.  That as we look in the mirror each morning and each evening it is a reminder to US that we are not given to the wind and waves of this ever changing world, but that we are sailing in the direction WE determine, the direction God has for us.

When choice comes a decision has to be made, will you or won’t you, do you go with it or don’t you, whether you can or you can’t….the choice is YOURS.  And when a decision has been made or not made, and the time slips by, because it will if we make a decision  not to choose,  the verdict is in and the conclusion is YOU have just decided how your tomorrow will be. 

The choice is yours and only yours to make, how will you act, respond, do in any situation, are you the victim or the victor, are you the one who is making changes happen or seeing change happen? 

We need to stand up and do business with God.  The word says “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” Hebrews 4:16

WE are to go to the throne so the WE can FIND grace, Gods ability, to help in time of need… decision making.  See if we go to God it will be HIS ability, His Grace that will help us in our time of need to make decisions, stick to resolutions, have a resolve about a particular matter.  We don’t have to do it on our own, we were not designed to do it on our own.  God created us to have a relationship with us!

He is faithful! 

Firstly, When we choose to run to God and not try to do it in our own strength we are accessing His ability in the situation, the choices we make and decisions we face are more than just within ourselves, they are backed up by our Father in Heaven, He is there to comfort you, encourage you, equip you and empower you with His strength, so that you can carry your  sign high and proud and want to share it. 

And secondly when we resolve to go the throne of grace, the throne of Gods ability, it will impact our loved ones, those around us who see our sign.  Even if no one seems to be looking at the sign posted above your head, or actively supporting your efforts to make positive resolutions… they‘re looking, your friends, co-workers, husbands, wives, children, neighbors, in-laws…everyone you come in contact with sees.  The deep impact you have, again not only on you yourself but on the others around you, may not be truly known until you get to Heaven some day but the effects will absolutely change the fabric of your life and those around you. 

The miracle you will feel in your heart when you know it is Gods ability to help make those decisions, stick to those resolutions, in EVERY area of your life; you will look in the mirror and know that you are living INTENTIONALLY, shaping your tomorrow by the little steps of  today. 

I encourage you, Live intentionally, make your resolve, your resolution at the throne of Grace. 

Shape your tomorrow today, with purpose.

The People in our Lives

Those around are placed there from God.  Are you using/ listening to what they are saying? 

God places us in a job, in a family, around certain peopel for a reason, we are to gleen from those around us and always be listening. 

Is what they are saying confirmation to you, or in regards to a situation you are in or going through.  You dont have to shout it from the roof tops if you hear something some one says and it "speaks" to you on the inside.  But be aware.  this is how we get answers.

Its much like a mega puzzle; there are thousands of pieces and they fit somewhere but sometimes we are not sure where until one day after much time has been put in we see the full picture of the puzzle.
that is how our life is.  The Lord graciously and patiently waits for us to pick up the pieces and lay them where they are to go and fills in all the beautiful scenery until one day we "see" the amazing picture.

Don't take for granted the ones God has placed in your life.  It truly is for a much larger more detailed picture than we could ever know.

Benefits of a Plan Laid Out

Friends we have a choice each day facing us of what we are going to do.  We can do our own thing, think up our own "plan", or we can go with One who created this world and everything in it, including Y-O-U, and have loads of benefits while following what He has laid out.

Here are just a few Benefits of following the Lords plans for our daily lives.  

• The LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth
• The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face
• The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand
•  He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you
• The LORD will open to you His good treasure
• The LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath

WOW!  Notice how THE LORD is the one blessing, commanding, making things happen on your behalf?  And these are just SOME of the benefits lined out for those who obey the voice of the Lord....who follow His plan.
        
                Who wouldn't want these benefits?  


The way to attain the above is simply to spend time in Gods Word on a daily basis.  He will be faithful to fill you with what it is you need for the day ahead.  
He is faithful, all we must do is go to Him, spend time with Him. 


Please read the whole context of the scripture I took this from.  It comes from Deuteronomy Chapter 28 in the New King Jams Bible.  I have attched a link here:  Deuteronomy 28

Humbled to go Higher

Many of us in church or christian circles, have heard people say or be prompted them selves to say " I am the head and not the tail I am above only and not beneath"
Whether in good times or bad they/we confess this about themselves and their situation.  I too have on occasion done this; but the Lord lead me to go back and read in Deuteronomy where our confession is based, the REAL scripture. As a friend of mine would say  "get your eyes on it"
Deuteronomy 28:13 says:
And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God...

What I had missed before was that it says The Lord will make you, not just confessing, I am the head and not the tail, above only and not beneath- Its not ME saying continually I am the head an not the tail, NO its the Lord- Not you, not me, confessing, Doing, being "religious".  NO it is the Lord who will make you the head, and above only, in all situations!

We do have a  part and that is to obey the leading's of the Lord and do what He asks of us- it may well be confess something so our mind becomes renewed by saying out loud the "right" things,  it may be doing something, or NOT doing something, or it just might be that with our daily step of quite time with Him, in His Word, He infuses us with a knowing and when we act on that Heavenly Wisdom, that is what brings us up.

It is not by our works or good deeds that will elevate us above others or our situations- quite the contrary; We are to humble ourselves before the Lord, and He will lift us up, He will guide, BUT the choice is ours to follow His leading and His promptings.

When we do choose His ways we will descend even Higher- We shall be Above only!

Are YOU Dripping?

What more, you may ask, do we want? Ah, but we want so much more- something books on aesthetics take little notice of.  But the poets and the mythologies know all about it.  We do not want merely to see beauty, though, God knows, even that is bounty enough.  We want something else which can hardly be put into words- to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become a part of it.  ~ CS Lewis

We who are of Christ ARE it!  When we spend time with the Father, He soaks us in His bounty, lets us feel the beauty that He created us for.   Just as a child is set gently into a warm tub, drawn especially for the purpose of cleansing.  So to for us.
 As we go about the day our bucket spills out, leaving drips, splashes, of His beauty, fullness of  lave, and magnitude of His goodness, everywhere we go.  Drawing others to see what this refreshing substance is,  and cleansing the vessel it is carried in.

I encourage you Dear one to take time with the Father today!

quote from the book
The Weight of Glory and other Addresses - CS Lewis

Call upon the Lord!

Psalm 116

Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Death

 ¹ I love the LORD, because He has heard
         My voice and my supplications.
 ² Because He has inclined His ear to me,
         Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.
        
 ³ The pains of death surrounded me,
         And the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me;
         I found trouble and sorrow.
 ⁴ Then I called upon the name of the LORD:
         “O LORD, I implore You, deliver my soul!”
        
 ⁵ Gracious is the LORD, and righteous;
         Yes, our God is merciful.
 ⁶ The LORD preserves the simple;
         I was brought low, and He saved me.
 ⁷ Return to your rest, O my soul,
         For the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.
        
 ⁸ For You have delivered my soul from death,
         My eyes from tears,
         And my feet from falling.
 ⁹ I will walk before the LORD
         In the land of the living.
 ¹⁰ I believed, therefore I spoke,
         “I am greatly afflicted.”
 ¹¹ I said in my haste,
         “All men are liars.”
        
 ¹² What shall I render to the LORD
         For all His benefits toward me?
 ¹³ I will take up the cup of salvation,
         And call upon the name of the LORD.
 ¹⁴ I will pay my vows to the LORD
         Now in the presence of all His people.
        
 ¹⁵ Precious in the sight of the LORD
         Is the death of His saints.
        
 ¹⁶ O LORD, truly I am Your servant;
         I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant;
         You have loosed my bonds.
 ¹⁷ I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving,
         And will call upon the name of the LORD.
        
 ¹⁸ I will pay my vows to the LORD
         Now in the presence of all His people,
 ¹⁹ In the courts of the LORD’s house,
         In the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
        
         Praise the LORD!

Gods Word for us TODAY!

Psalm 34

 ¹ I will bless the LORD at all times;
         His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
 ² My soul shall make its boast in the LORD;
         The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
 ³ Oh, magnify the LORD with me,
         And let us exalt His name together.
       
 ⁴ I sought the LORD, and He heard me,
         And delivered me from all my fears.
 ⁵ They looked to Him and were radiant,
         And their faces were not ashamed.
 ⁶ This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him,
         And saved him out of all his troubles.
 ⁷ The angel^[a] of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him,
         And delivers them.
       
 ⁸ Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good;
         Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
 ⁹ Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints!
         There is no want to those who fear Him.
 ¹⁰ The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
         But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.
       
 ¹¹ Come, you children, listen to me;
         I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
 ¹² Who is the man who desires life,
         And loves many days, that he may see good?
 ¹³ Keep your tongue from evil,
         And your lips from speaking deceit.
 ¹⁴ Depart from evil and do good;
         Seek peace and pursue it.
       
 ¹⁵ The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,
         And His ears are open to their cry.
 ¹⁶ The face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
         To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
       
 ¹⁷ The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears,
         And delivers them out of all their troubles.
 ¹⁸ The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart,
         And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
       
 ¹⁹ Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
         But the LORD delivers him out of them all.
 ²⁰ He guards all his bones;
         Not one of them is broken.
 ²¹ Evil shall slay the wicked,
         And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
 ²² The LORD redeems the soul of His servants,
         And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.

You are placed .....for such a time as this!

 God puts each of us in positions where we can serve Him, even though that’s often not clear until the moment we’re called upon to act.

Read this about Esters Call. 

You are placed exactly where God wants you...for such a time as this!

During our waiting period it may be a bit frustrating.  We know there is something greater, something more meaningful that we are called to do other than these mundane tasks that seem to rule our days, but what these daily tasks do is prepare us for the greater work we are called to do.  Are we using our days to grow and mature, to learn and to expand our thinking or are we being overwhelmed by our responsibilities and not focused on eternity and our part to play in it? 

I pray that reading Esters Call  would encourage you to remember
You are placed exactly where God wants you...for such a time as this!

Who Do You Spend Your Time With?

                     Its not what you know its who you know! 

We are said to live in the information age..right?  Well it's true, our minds are overloaded with TONS of information on a daily basis. Sunday a.m. through Saturday and 11:59 p.m, we are bogged down with the good & inspirational, the bad  and the ugliness of this planet we call home.
    I mean how can we accurately remember every little instruction on "how to", the sermon we heard on Sunday, or the name of a new business partner, a family members birthday, stop at the grocery store for french bread on the way home, send an email off that you promised days ago to someone, the fantastic idea for a new gadget to make peoples lives easier,  finish up on a project that's over due and not to mention the homework of the kids, give them lots of love and attention and oh yes, get 8 hours of sleep every night, do unto others as you would have done to you, set goals, plan for the future, be kind and courteous to others around you, pay your bills, And that's just part of our day. 

Well here's the good news. We were not put here alone to just "deal" with life and try to remember all our stuff.  We have a faithful Father just waiting to talk with us and help us. 

   When we spend time with our Father, the Lord on a daily basis the things that are "known" but often forgotten an locked away in  storage some place if not used often and refreshed, the Holy Spirit will refresh those things in our life and "bring to our remembrance all things....
 Because truly its not how much you know or how educated you are or where you've been, a good list maker or the most courteous person on the planet; The knowledge gained in the past will NOT help you now unless its applied to the present. 

When we spend regular time with our Father in heaven and get the refreshing we need, we open our selves up to divine understanding and the ability to use whats in us.  When circumstances arise throughout our days we have the knowledge and the information that is  needed, that is necessary for that time.  God will enable you to remember the important things and even the little things. 

Those emails, birthdays and thoughtful ways are all important to Him and He knows they are  important to those around you as well, that's why He will remind you of your 100's of thing swirling around in you brain. 

Maybe you don't have such a busy life but you have a hard time "getting with it".   God is in that.  He wants you to do and be all that He has created you to for.  With our daily time in His presence reading His word, He will reveal what it is we are to do and how we are to be. He will help up remember & prioritize.   

See friends I think that most Christians don't need as much NEW knowledge as they need the APPLICATION of the knowledge that's already in them.  Throughout our week we get little nuggets if you will, of information and if we just apply those we would be a whole lot better off! Not off in overwhelmed land not knowing where to even begin. 

It's about who you know, and who you spend your time with that will help you.   Are they bringing you UP or tearing your DOWN? 

 God our Father who wants nothing more than to build us UP, has placed inside each one of us His Spirit to help stir up what He has place in us, but in order to get the stirring we need to take some time with Him...

Las (Forest)

Attaining Wisdom

 ^{1Corinthians 1:30}  But it is from Him that you have your life in Christ Jesus, Whom God made our Wisdom from God, [revealed to us a knowledge of the divine plan of salvation previously hidden, manifesting itself as] our Righteousness [thus making us upright and putting us in right standing with God], and our Consecration [making us pure and holy], and our Redemption [providing our ransom from eternal penalty for sin].

God made our Wisdom from Him (God) attainable to us through Jesus Christ

and revealed by the Holy Spirit.

SO How important is it we listen to the Holy Spirit in our daily lives? 

 I think extremely important and valuable . 

Blessings to you this Glorious January day!

FAVOR

Favor is the greatest harvest that you could ever receive from God

Favor will determine the level of your income

Favor will show up in your life when you associate with the right people

favor will cause you to regain in one day what the enemy had stolen for years

Favor must be a seed before it becomes a harvest

Favor will become a shield of protection around your life

Favor comes when you concentrate on the success of others

Favor will cause you to rise to the top in whatever you do

Favor will accelerate your destiny

A day of favor will change your life forever!!

quotes for "The Force of Favor" by Dave Martin

The Meeting

I want to share a little personal story, I know you'll be blessed.  


On Wednesday mornings I go to a study on the book of James, it is filled with Amazing women of all ages & walks of life, who look at things from many different perspectives and always speak love and encouragement over each other.  It has been such a blessing to me.  Well, Yesterday we went through the study as usual and instead of breaking  up into groups at the end of our time together to pray for prayer requests we all stayed gathered around the table to pray corporately.


As these beautiful women went around and prayed one women whom I had only seen come to the group twice (so I really didn't know her) prayed for her daughter and mentioned her name.  My heart started pounding out of my chest I wasn't sure if I had heard the name correctly so I wanted to be sure to talk with her after we were done.

So after the group finished up praying and ladies started going their own way I made my way across the room to approach  this woman who had prayed for her daughter.  I asked her about her daughter and she told me all about her and  repeated her name, even spelling it out for me ( even thought I didn't ask her to) It is an unusual name one I had only heard ONE time before and that is when the Lord spoke it to me to pray for this person months earlier.  That is why when I thought I had heard her speak the girls name in her prayer my heart started pounding out of my chest, I had never met anyone in my life with this name nor have I ever heard it spoken, yet it was a familiar name to me told to me only from the Lord.

  See in the latter part of 2010 I had some names of people on a list I was praying for, mainly for salvation but the Lord told me to get a pen and write this name out on my list.   He said it and as I started to write the first letter, He told me each letter just as I wrote it, HE spelled it out for me.  So when this woman  SPELLED out her daughters name just as the Lord had done for me months earlier I KNEW it was confirmation that this is the girls mother, the girl I had been praying for, the girl the Lord put on my heart!!

I proceed to tell the mother this story and she was in tears just knowing that someone, a stranger, had been praying for her daughter all this time too!!

Isn't it WONDERFUL how our GOD works!  He knows everyone on the planet, he knows their name and HE knows when they need prayer and if WE will just listen to HIM and follow HIS leading we will see miracles happen, lives change.  We many not see or meet them here in this life but surely in Heaven!!!

I hope this blesses you and encourages you today dear ones, WE DO HEAR FROM OUR GOD!!

Be Blessed!