Monthly Archives: September 2011

Your Refreshing Comes Daily

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“And then many will be offended and repelled and will begin to distrust and desert [Him Whom they ought to trust and obey] and will stumble and fall away and betray one another and pursue one another with hatred.”   Matthew 24:10 Amp.

As you spend time daily, God washes your spirit from the trials and troubles of the previous day so you enter into the new day fresh.  Refreshing comes daily. When we take the troubles of the previous day into the next day, we have failed to cast our burden on the Lord.

Jesus said that in the last days many would become overwhelmed with the cares of the world.  When we become overwhelmed, it is so easy to become offended at others.  If you are looking at someone through their previous mistakes; after a week or so, it all adds up to a huge offense.  If you have been offended, you will find that all your thoughts are clouded and dictated by the offense.  The amplified Bible calls offenses, “snares and traps.”  So being offended is like stepping into a big trap that has been set up by the enemy.

Once you step into the trap of offense all your actions are dictated by the offense.  This is why Jesus warned His disciples in Mathew 24:10, “Many shall be offended and they shall betray one another and shall hate one another.”

I have stepped into this horrible trap before, and I know how hard it is to get out. But, Jesus made a way of escape out of the trap.  The way of escape is to forgive.

Today, forgive those who have offended or hurt you.  Begin fresh each new day.

Faith to Stand Firmly Planted

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“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”  I Corinthians 2:9

Firmly planted in FaithYour faith in God is the foundation that you stand on when times are hard.  The man that built his house upon the sand was swept away when the violent store came.  But, the man’s house that was built upon the rock stood strong.  You will be able to stand strong as you keep your faith in God and His promises.

In every situation look to the Word of God, declare and decree what His Word says.  Life and death are in the power of your tongue, so speak forth life. Don’t give in to the situation; declare what God says.  Take every fearful and anxious thought captive; overcome it before it leaves your mouth.  Those fearful thoughts must be overcome or they can cause you to fall and be swept away when the hard times come.

Put your faith in All Mighty God!  Be His representative.  Stand firm and declare His Kingdom come and His will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.  Then stand back and watch God change the circumstances as you declare His Word!

 

Discouraged? Perhaps Look at Your Expectations

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“I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.”   Psalm 27:13

God is With YouWhen we delight in the Lord and set our hearts on the goodness of the Lord we can carry His goodness and His loving presence into every situation.  David knew he could not look at the circumstances.  He had to keep his eyes on the goodness of the Lord.   He said, “I would have fainted if I had not expected to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”  He set his heart and his expectations on seeing the salvation of the Lord in every situation, no matter what giant he faced.  David set his expectations high, higher than the earthly realm and he overcame his enemies.  If you are feeling discouraged and defeated, maybe you need to change your expectations.

Look at Peter, he also had to keep his eyes and expectations set high.  He kept his eyes on the Lord as he miraculously walked on the water towards Jesus.  It was a great day for Peter in the middle of that miraculous situation.  Peter placed his eyes on Jesus and stepped out on the water.  It must have been an amazing moment for Peter as he exercised his Faith and stepped out of the boat.  Of course, as long as he had his eyes on Jesus he was overcoming, but… when he looked down and then he began sink.

Obviously, it is vital that we keep our eyes on Jesus.  Don’t look down; keep your eyes upon the Lord and your expectations set high on miraculous places He wants you to walk.  Just like Peter and David, we will see God work amazing miracles in our lives.

My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him.  Psalm 62:5

The Lord Will Raise You Up

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“The Lord raises the poor out of the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap and the dung hill, that He may seat them with princes, even the princes of His people.”  Psalm 113:7-8

God will Raise You UpThe plan of our Heavenly Father is to raise His children up to sit in heavenly places.  He wants to raise you up to a higher place than the place where you are sitting right now.  If you are poor and needy He wants you to shake off the dust of doubt and worry and trust in Him for your provision.

Even in the most horrible conditions, we can trust in God to lift us up.  He is a very present help in times of trouble. (Ps 62:1)  Even if, like the Prodigal son, you look around and wonder how you got yourself into such a mess.  At this very moment, you can come to your senses and realize as a child of God you are in the wrong place.  The low places are not the places where God’s children are to stay.

He wants to lift you up.  So, look up to your Heavenly Father and ask Him to take you up to the place where you belong as His child.

Learning to Trust Again

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“He heals the brokenhearted and bindeth up their wounds.”  Psalms 147:3

Learning to Trust AgainGod has made full provision for healing the pain of past so you can trust again.

Have you ever trusted someone to love you that did not know how to love? Or have you ever loved someone that did not know how to receive your love? In both cases you will experience rejection. This type of rejection is very painful especially when it comes from someone whom you really trust. The pain from being hurt by someone you trust is much greater than being hurt by a casual friend. It takes years to build trust, but it only takes a moment of rejection to tear down trust. This is because when you trust someone, you open your heart up to them. When they reject you, the natural tendency is to close your heart to them in order to avoid being hurt again. The pain that comes from rejection creates a big wound that must be healed in order to be able to trust that person again.

Jesus made complete provision for our physical and emotional healing. But many people are stuck, “locked in time” desperately needing to be set free from the pain of the past. One way many people try to get rid of pain is to just forget what happened and forget about the person who hurt them. You can tear that person out of your address book and for a while you will be able to forget what happened but if healing did not occur the pain is still there. The pain that lingers from the past keeps you tied to the past. Isaiah, the prophet, said in Isaiah 1:4-6 that those people who have not been healed will go backwards. Like taking one step forward and then two steps backward, you aren’t getting anywhere.

Another way many people deal with pain is to run from it or pretend it really isn’t there. Pain is like a shadow you look around and it is still there no matter how fast you run. That is why so many people are walking around with the shadow of the past still on them. Pain must be faced and dealt with in order for it to be put away. Instead of running from pain, stop, turn around and face it. Pain must be faced to be healed. You may be one who has received some healing, but the pain still remains. Jeremiah 6:14 also says that when a person has only been healed slightly, they say peace, peace, but when there is no peace. The amount of peace you are having can be a good indicator of how much healing you have received. Once you are healed and the pain is gone you will be ale to hold your heart open again and trust. Healing produces trust in you. If the person that hurt you has proven over and over to not be trustworthy, suggest they also receive healing. Healing produces trustworthiness in them. Then wait on the Lord to give you peace.

The following steps can be taken to work through healing. These steps will need to be repeated out loud or written down several times during the healing process. You will experience the peace of the Lord as you go through this process. Now is the time for healing!

1. Step one for healing is to face it.

Who hurt you? _________

Who left you? __________

Who did not receive you? __________

Who refused to love you? ___________

 

2. Step two for healing is to face what you lost.

Did you loose a good friend?

Did you loose a husband?

Did you loose a wife?

Fill in the blank, I lost _________.

 

3. Step three for healing is to accept that the thing you lost is gone.

Make a list and write down all that you have lost.

I accept the fact that ____________is gone.

 

4. Step four for healing is to acknowledge to the Lord that you have been hurt and angry.

Lord, I have been angry at __________ for ___________.

I ask you to forgive me, and cleanse my heart of this anger.

 

5. Step five for healing is to release what you have lost.

Lord, I ask for your help to be set free from this pain. Lord by myself I can not accept the losses. I ask for your help to accept what I have lost. I accept the reality that _________ is gone; and I release (person or thing).

6. Step six for healing is to forgive the person.

Lord, I choose to forgive __________ for hurting me. They owe me nothing.

 

7. Step seven for healing.

My hope is in You, Lord. I know You are the one that gives life. Not the person or the things I have lost.

 

8. Step eight for healing is to choose life.

Lord, I choose Life; help me to continue looking forward towards the life you have given me.