Category Archives: faith

Are Your Feelings Affecting your Focus?

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13.  I remain confident of this:  I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  14.  Wait for the Lord;  be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
Psalm 27: 13-14

Do you believe that scripture? If not, what is it you are focusing on?

When we set our hearts on the goodness of the Lord we carry His presence into every situation. No matter what the circumstances are we must focus on the goodness of the Lord. If we look at our circumstances and ‘give in to our feelings’ we will sink into the circumstance.

David knew he could not let his circumstances dictate his feelings ; he had to keep his eyes on the Lord.  He said, “I would have fainted if I had not expected to see the goodness of the Lord.”  He did not always have a perfect day; his days were actually very hard, so hard that he said he would have fainted if he had pondered on how bad things were.  David discovered how to overcome the bad days; he set his heart and his expectations on seeing the salvation of the Lord. He set his sights high; he set his sights and expectations on the salvation of the Lord. He expected to see God’s deliverance and salvation in each situation he faced.

For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter; in the secret place of His tent will He hide me; He will set me high upon a rock (Psalm 27:5).

What are you giving into today that is pulling you away from expecting to see the Goodness of the Lord?

Finding a Safe Place

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  “Create in me a pure heart, Oh god and renew a right spirit within me.”  Psalm 51:10

There was a time in my life that I needed a safe place for God to do open heart surgery. My heart was broken and as hard as I tried, I could not recover. During that time, well-meaning friends said things like, “Can’t you snap out of it and just get over it?” No, it wasn’t that easy. I needed someone safe to understand what I was going through- to listen to how I was hurting and help me release the pain. I cried out for a miracle and God heard my cry, He created in me a pure heart and renewed a right spirit within me.

My healing didn’t happen overnight; it lasted for two years. At the end, I asked the Lord, “Why did it take so long?” The Lord told me I had taken the long journey so I could minister the shorter journey to others and help them find a safe place for their healing.

For the next few weeks you will be on a “journey of healing.” Each day as you read the devotionals you will be looking at your past to identify wounds that have not been healed. Unhealed wounds are painful and very sensitive, and they can affect how you feel about yourself.

Once your heart is healed, you will be free from the fear of rejection and you will be able to love others unconditionally, regardless of their mistakes and shortcomings. Unconditional love never fails, and it turns a home into a haven.

Heavenly Father,
As Your Word says, “Create in me a clean and pure heart, and renew a right spirit within me.”

You Can Trust

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“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your path”.  Proverbs 3:5

There is a reason why Proverbs 3:5 says, “all your heart.”  Trusting in the Lord with all your heart means that He alone is the One you are trusting to direct you to the right path.  You simply ask Him and wait on the answer. I like to write out my questions and then record the answer in my journal.

When you ask the Lord for direction and He gives you the answer, you trust Him even though you don’t fully understand it.  You can’t wait until you understand everything.  If you wait until you understand then you are trusting in yourself.  There are some things we will never understand and that is why we need faith to trust God.

Holding on to the past can be a major block when you are trying to trust the Lord.  If you are rehearsing all of your past mistakes, then you can’t hear what He is telling you to do.  You will be hindered from moving forward until you let go of the past and release all the people who let you down.  Forgive yourself and others and then trust God to direct your steps from this day forward.

Prayer:

Dear Lord, I need Your help. Please help me to stop looking backwards at the mistakes of the past. Lord, help me to overcome all fear and put my full trust in You as I move forward.                                                                                                   In Jesus’ Name,       

How to Discover Your Spiritual Identity

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“And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.  Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ” Galatians 4: 6-7

God has a place and a purpose for each of us in His kingdom.  In order for you to know where your place is, you must discover your identity.  Your spiritual identity is not based on worldly criteria, social status, or education.  You may be very successful in a profession, but still feel something is missing if you have not discovered your spiritual identity.

Healing is essential in discovering our identity.  Pain and scars from the past keep us connected to the past and distort the way we perceive ourselves and who we are to God.  God speaks to our hearts, telling us who we are, but we can’t clearly hear Him until we are healed.  Pain blocks and distorts our spiritual hearing.  Through the healing process we experience restoration, being restored into favor and fellowship with God.  Sin separates us; healing restores us!

In the past several years, I noticed a block in hearing the Lord, especially through dreams.  At the time, I could not understand why I wasn’t hearing Him or why I felt somewhat separated from Him.  But as I continue down the path of my healing, I am able to hear God speaking to my heart, speaking to me through dreams, and I feel a stronger connection to Him now than I ever have before.  It was because of my sin and pain that I was disconnected from God.  Communing with the Father is opening my eyes to how He sees me and showing me who I really am.

In Jeremiah 1:5, we read that God knew Jeremiah before he was in his mother’s womb.  God knows you and He is waiting on you to know yourself.  He wants you to know yourself as He knows you.  The prodigal son is an example of a spiritual son who finally discovered who he was.  He didn’t fully embrace his position and inheritance until he went astray and was restored to his family.  He had to go through the death of who he thought he was so he could experience life; and the same is true for us today.  The prodigal had a ring on his finger and a robe on his back as he sat at the banquet table that was prepared for him.  He heard his father say, “For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.” Luke 15:2

“Thy Kingdom come they will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” Matthew 6:10

Do You Know God’s Will For Your Life?

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Learning to Trust AgainHave you ever questioned what God’s will for your life is?  God’s Kingdom is distinct and a different way of life. Phil 2:13 says, “It is God in you that works to will and to act according to His excellent pleasure”.

I have actually discovered that I can pray the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy will be done”, and afterwards resist the work of Christ in me. “Col 1: 27 says, To whom God would make understood exactly what is the riches of the glory of this secret among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory”. I had to find out the difference between my will and His. My will includes doing whatever I wish to do, as much as I wish to do it. If I live according to my will, then I will consume all the food I want, invest all the cash I want, then whine since I am overweight and broke. When I abide and submit by His will, then I have criteria and borders. When I surrender my life to Christ and ask Him to be in charge, I am doing exactly what He desires me to do.

Your life will not be complicated if you surrender to God’s plan and will for your life. It is Christ working inside of you, changing your will to do the Fathers will. Take time to read His Word and you will quickly see who you are.

JOSEPH REPORT:  INSIGHTS ON PREPAREDNESS

You are His kid and a beneficiary. You are to live as a successor, a joint successor with Christ. It will alter your plan for the day when you get a look that you are here on planet earth as a beneficiary to develop and keep your Fathers kingdom.

Pray this easy prayer, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in paradise.” Journal as you ask Him to reveal you His will. What does it appear like?

Have you ever questioned exactly what God’s will for your life is? God’s Kingdom is distinct and a different method of life. I am doing exactly what He desires me to do when I surrender my life to Christ and ask Him to be in charge.

Your life will not be complicated if you surrender to God’s strategy and will for your life.