I was lifted by the spirit, and taken to a holy place High above the clouds, surrounded by His grace Was a river flowing and embraced by so many …
THE RIVER OF GOD
Tag Archives: Inspirational
LET GO
letting go can be such a difficult thing to do. The famous saying, let go and let God! We throw it around as if it is such an easy thing to do. The truth of the matter is, letting go is very hard to do for most of us. Yet everything difficult seems to be the most rewarding. What exactly is letting go? I believe it to be, letting go of anything that keeps us bound up. So many of us hold on to childhood pain, we have trouble forgiving ourselves and or others. Some of us simply need to forgive ourselves. If we have asked God for forgiveness, we have been forgiven.
Psalm 103:12New International Version (NIV)
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
Letting go, is trusting God to direct your path.
Luke 9:23 [Full Chapter]
Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
To deny oneself, is to let go. Why so many of us struggle to surrender to God? The world is alluring to all of us, always trying to gain control of our hearts. Anything that we haven’t given over to Christ, is holding us back from the fullness of Christ! I talk to people and they always say I’m not ready yet! Not ready? If your not ready now, what makes you think you will be ready later? What lies have power over you? Are you listening to lies about who you are? What bad you have done? Are you listening to lies saying you can’t quit smoking, quit drugs, quit drinking, looking at porn, you can’t leave an abusive relationship, You can’t overcome your fear, your anger, your gambling problem? GIVE!!! Give it over to Christ, Let Go!
James 4:1 [Full Chapter]
[ Submit Yourselves to God ] What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?
Seek Him, follow Him. Matthew 11:30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Once you do, that heaviness over you will leave. Bound up!! He came to break the chains. Psalm 2:3 “Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.”
Psalm 146:7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free,
Let Jesus take the wheel of your life, put Him in the drivers seat. Trust God and see what will come of your life He is faithful. trust me, I did and when I did He blessed me! This gift of poetry came at age 31 when I gave my life to Him. When I surrendered. I will never tell you it is easy what I will tell you is it will be worth it! If you wont do it for yourself do it for those you love.
Jesus father I pray that today’s message would reach hearts! Today Lord anoint this word to touch the heart of everyone who reads it, and give them the power by the Holly spirit to let Go! Help them surrender to you today God. Give them the courage to pick up their crosses and to follow you. Break the chains now Lord by the blood of Jesus! For those who have been following you and are stuck simply of letting go of something you have already been speaking to them about God, give them the strength to let go> In Jesus name Amen!
PLANTING TREES
PLANTING TREES
I’ve planted trees of the worst of winters.
Trees as empty and bare as they come. The lies I’ve told, the words I’ve spoken.
The bitterness I’ve held inside. The judgements my heart held tight.
I remember each leaf that fell, as my heart turned cold,
as in the depths of hell where barren trees belong. The days I pushed my Lord away,
I walk alone as if it were the coldest winter day.
The days were dark the winds seemed to never stop blowing.
I was caught in the current of the river that flows by the dead tree orchard.
The dark clouds a constant reminder of the season I’m in,
yet in my insanity I continue to plant empty trees.
Trees that belong in a graveyard of the wicked.
Seasons change and so can I as I remember the trees I’ve planted in my past.
Trees of strength and glory, trees so big one could climb to the top and see the world.
Trees as green as the rain forest.
Trees that flourished because they were watered by the hand of God.
Trees of true heart, true light, and true beauty, trees of conviction!
Trees that were planted by the choice to serve, to love, to forgive , to give.
Trees that opened my heart so bare that all I knew was to care.
The warmth of the sun shining down on me spoke of Gods pleasure.
Today I’m planting my first good tree of this season,
hoping to never see an empty tree in my orchard again.
Inspired by God, written by Ken Hernandez
Isaiah 41 (Expanded Bible)
Only the Lord Can Save Us
8 ·The Lord says, “People of Israel, you are my servants [L “You Israel, my servant].
·People of Jacob, I chose you [L Jacob, whom I have chosen; 44:1].
You are ·from the family [descendants; offspring; seed] of my friend Abraham [Gen. 12:1–3].
9 I took you from ·places far away on [L the ends of] the earth
and called you from ·a faraway country [its farthest parts].
I said, ‘You are my ·servants [L servant].’
I have chosen you and have not ·turned against [rejected; thrown away] you.
10 So don’t ·worry [fear], because I am with you.
Don’t be ·afraid [dismayed], because I am your God.
I will ·make you strong [strengthen you] and will help you;
I will ·support [uphold] you with my ·right hand that saves you [or righteous right hand; C a symbol of power to save and protect; Ex. 15:6; Ps. 63:8].
11 “[L Look; T Behold] All those people who ·are angry with [seethe/rage against] you
will be ashamed and disgraced.
Those who ·are [strive] against you
will ·disappear [become nothing] and ·be lost [perish].
12 You will look for your enemies,
but you will not find them.
Those who ·fought [wage war] against you
will ·vanish completely [be as nothing].
13 [L For; Because] I am the Lord your God,
who holds your right hand,
and I tell you, ‘Don’t be afraid.
I will help you.’
14 Do not be afraid ·even though you are weak as a worm [L you worm, Jacob],
you ·few people of Israel who are left [or people of Israel; or maggot, Israel].
I myself will help you,” says the Lord.
“·The one who saves you [Your redeemer/protector] is the Holy One of Israel [1:4].
15 Look, I ·have made [or will make] you like a new threshing ·board [sledge]
with many sharp teeth.
So you will ·walk on [thresh the] mountains and crush them;
you will make the hills like ·chaff [straw].
16 You will ·throw them into the air [winnow them], and the wind will carry them away;
a ·windstorm [gale; tempest] will scatter them.
Then you will ·be happy [rejoice] in the Lord;
you will ·be proud of [boast in] the Holy One of Israel [1:4].
17 “The poor and needy people look for water,
but ·they can’t find any [there is none].
Their tongues are ·dry [parched] with thirst.
But I, the Lord, will answer ·their prayers [L them];
I, the God of Israel, will not ·leave them to die [L abandon/forsake them].
18 I will ·make rivers flow [L open rivers] on the ·dry hills [barren heights]
and springs flow through the valleys.
I will change the ·desert [wilderness] into ·a lake [pools] of water
and the ·dry [arid; parched] land into ·fountains [springs] of water.
19 I will ·make trees grow [plant; put] in the ·desert [wilderness]—
cedars, acacia, myrtle, and olive trees.
I will put pine, fir, and cypress trees
growing together in the desert.
20 [L …so that] People will see these things and ·understand [know];
they will ·think carefully about these things [consider] and ·learn [comprehend]
that the Lord’s ·power [L hand] did this,
that the Holy One of Israel [1:4] ·made these things [created it].”
Our journey with God, who can know and understand the ways of God? How is it that we can see to the spirit of His word and apply it to our daily lives. Understanding God is understanding He is using everything in our lives for His glory! This scripture describes Gods children as His planted trees. Trees that are planted where the river flows. Planted by the river of His presence. You see no one in the bible got it all right. Every prophet and servant of God struggled with flesh and heart. Trees take time to grow especially the trees of God. He did not make dead lifeless trees. He made trees of faith and glory! Will we see it today or tomorrow? Is that faith at all? Trees go through many seasons and changes. Trees grow mightier in time.
Faith my fellow trees, will be the answer in its time! Will you choose to find the strength of a tree no matter what the weather is or the season? Will you extend your branches when the leaves fall or a branch breaks? Will you see it through the storms of winter to see the blossoms of spring? Faith and drawing from the river that flows next to you will show itself true. God will not leave you or forsake you, but I must tell you, your faith will be tested and rewarded by the heart that grows roots deep towards the source of water.
Today you can choose to believe the truth and defeat the enemy by simply believing truth and pushing out the lies. You are not alone in your struggles. He is with you and all of us other trees are praying and pressing in with you. Hopefully strong trees are being planted today, I’m believing you are!
18 I will ·make rivers flow [L open rivers] on the ·dry hills [barren heights]
and springs flow through the valleys.
I will change the ·desert [wilderness] into ·a lake [pools] of water
and the ·dry [arid; parched] land into ·fountains [springs] of water.
19 I will ·make trees grow [plant; put] in the ·desert [wilderness]—
cedars, acacia, myrtle, and olive trees.
I will put pine, fir, and cypress trees
growing together in the desert.
20 [L …so that] People will see these things and ·understand [know];
they will ·think carefully about these things [consider] and ·learn [comprehend]
that the Lord’s ·power [L hand] did this,
that the Holy One of Israel [1:4] ·made these things [created it].”
May our Lord Jesus Christ poor His presence over you and this message, I love the trees of God, they are the weakest yet the strongest. They are more glorious than any other tree, for they are courage’s and full of heart. God bless your day www.fullofrosesinspirationals.com
please check out this video and also check out my other post rainbow symbolism of promise 🙂
COURAGE
Joshua 1:9
New International Version (NIV)
9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
The greatest example of courage is what Jesus Christ modeled for us. To lay down ones life for another. Sacrifice, the denial of self.
1
: an act of offering to a deity something precious; especially : the killing of a victim on an altar
2
: something offered in sacrifice
3
a : destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else
b : something given up or lost <the sacrifices made by parents>
John 10:18
New International Version (NIV)
18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
As Jesus talks about His life purpose I realize this is the calling, everything centers here. All of the mysteries of life find its purpose here in one laying down their life for another.
John 12:24
New International Version (NIV)
24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.
Think about this, when you plant a seed, it actually dies before it produces life. This is the ministry and call of Jesus and from Him to us.
Matthew 10:39
New International Version (NIV)
39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
This apply s to everything, think about when you get discouraged or feel like a failure and you have internal battles in your heart about what is right and what is wrong, and what you should do to change the results of your choices.Those feeling are connected to the flesh by the spirit producing conviction. The spirit knows it ‘s goal and will work on your heart until you submit to the spirit. The flesh desires pride and ownership of our hearts. the flesh wants to be first, the flesh is selfish, self righteous, greedy. The lust of self-will. The path of holiness is found by offering your life to Christ. allowing the spiritual seed of your body to die so that it will find it’s life in Christ. One day our physical bodies will die and if we die in Christ He says the dead seed of our bodies will produce life eternal. The seed of a sinful mans body glorified by God in death.
John 3
New International Version (NIV)
Jesus Teaches Nicodemus
5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit[b] gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You[c] must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”[d]
Flesh and spirit do not go together, one must replace the other. The flesh must die for the spirit to live. This is what Jesus modeled. This is why we love and respect Him above anything else. An all powerful King of the universe humbled himself, died to Himself, came to earth as a defenseless baby, so that we would know how wide, how deep His love is for us! Courage, His name is Courage, and I pray this very morning that we together will find courage to walk in love, dieing to ourselves that we might find life!
Proverbs 21:21
New International Version (NIV)
21 Whoever pursues righteousness and love
finds life, prosperity[a] and honor.
May the Lord fill your spirit with truth and your heart with divine love. May He stamp your heart with courage.
Courage can be purchased at our store www. fullofrosesinspirationals.com
FACING GIANTS
When I became a Christian I had no Idea about how to face the giants in my life, at least not from a Godly perspective. I think I looked at it pretty much as challenges come and you just have to tough it out, or party through it. Now as I am a Christian, facing giants has a whole new meaning. The kind of giants I am talking about are things like finding out you have a terminal illness, someone very close to you has just passed away, you lost your job and are now loosing your house, you were abused as a child and you are dealing with the anxiety of facing the internal issue and seeking healing. There are so many more. When I first got saved I truly hated myself and facing that giant was very difficult. Getting to the heart of the giant takes courage, faith and God. I had so much fear in my heart and I didn’t believe in myself. I grew up bullied by other kids, when I was younger I was very small and skinny. It wasn’t until I turned sixteen yrs old that I sprouted and those problems ended. Even though they ended I still deal with some of those emotional issues from back then. What I can tell you is even though I still have some emotional issues and fears, I will take on the giants that come. I have learned as David did with the lion and bear. God is faithful and full of joy when we put on faith believing in Him and His word. Lets look at Davids heart in facing Goliath.
1 Samuel 17
New International Version (NIV)
David and Goliath
33 Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”
34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”
Notice Saul, doesn’t he sound like the whispers of satin? “You are not able” Isn’t that just like our enemy filling our heads with fear and doubt! If I could count how many times I have heard those thoughts “you are not able”. This is where truth comes in. Listen to David “when a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God”.
This is how David did it,with His truth in God
Romans 8:37
New International Version (NIV)
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
If you have conquered a giant before, you can do it again! As David defeated a lion and a bear, he knew if God helped him then, He will do it again! If you haven’t faced your giant yet, then you need to trust God and walk through it trusting Him. Once you have defeated a lion with God you will be ready to take on Goliath! Whatever giants you face you can trust God, you can take hold of His truth, you can put on the faith to be victorious in whatever you face in this life. David didn’t wait for the giant to come to him, he went to the giant, with God at his side.
God bless you and may your faith move mountains by overcoming the giants in your life. God bless you and keep you victorious.
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SHINE
Isaiah 60
Expanded Bible
Jerusalem Will Be Great
60 “Jerusalem, ·get up [arise] and shine, because your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord shines on you.
2 [L Look; T Behold] Darkness ·now covers [or will cover] the earth;
deep darkness covers ·her people [the nations].
But the Lord shines on you,
and people see his glory [C his manifest presence] ·around [upon] you.
3 Nations will come to your light;
kings will come to ·the brightness of your sunrise [or your radiance].
Isaiah had a powerful message to give to the people of God which I believe stands even more today! There are messages all through the bible telling us to shine and I think we read it and at the moment think how powerful but never light the fire. If we do light the fire most of the time we have the shade over the light. I believe this happens for many reasons. First I think most Christians do not really know what it means to SHINE! How do we SHINE?
shine
v. shone or shined, shin·ing, shines
To emit light.
To reflect light; glint or glisten.
To distinguish oneself in an activity or a field; excel.
To be immediately apparent: Delight shone in her eyes.
To aim or cast the beam or glow of (a light).
past tense and past participle shined To make glossy or bright by polishing.
Brightness from a source of light; radiance.
Brightness from reflected light; luster.
Excellence in quality or appearance; splendor.
To reflect light! We are to reflect the light of Christ. Again how do we do it? First we have to understand what we are using to reflect the light. We use our hearts to reflect the light of Christ. We must position our hearts in such a way that His light reflects from our heart. So first our hearts have to be positioned towards Him. Getting our hearts into focus, think about it, have you ever tried to reflect the sun with a magnify glass to burn a piece of paper? You have to get it into perfect focus and then it begins to smoke and then burn. His word is the magnify glass, our hearts are the paper. We need to get our hearts smoking in Gods word. Do you remember the two men that were walking on the road when Jesus resurrected? After Jesus left them, one of them said, didn’t His words burn in our hearts? His word needs to smoke in our hearts to begin to burn.
1. To aim or cast the beam or glow of (a light). Once you have your heart smoking and burning in His love and truth, you have to refocus the light. Intentionally aim the light. How do we aim the light? Wherever the light is shinning on your heart you aim it. So for example the word of God brings conviction in a certain area in your life, you intentionally refocus the light on that area bringing even more light to it, which can be done by confessing your sin and acknowledging it. Repenting causing the sin to burn away by Gods truth. Then casting the beam or glow from your spirit that is now free from the heavy burden. Now shown on your face from your smile and the sparkling of your eyes because His spirit will emanate from your eyes the more you reflect His light (His Truth).
Removing the shade from your light is very important. Many people struggle doing this. Removing the shade means you have to share your light (His Light). Sharing can be difficult for many of us. Sharing is the greatest act of love and love is light. I have found that giving simple testimony to people causes my light to reflect Him. I aim His light towards others especially if I have walked through something very difficult with God and through that time God did so many things inside my heart that I now have something to give. What I now have to give is a talent and the word of God says not to bury our talents. If you overcome a stronghold you now have a talent in that area that reflects Gods light and Glory. Give your light away by reflecting His love to others.
This can also be done in your marriage, for example lets say your marriage is struggling and Gods light ( Gods Word) Causes the pride in your heart to burn. You refocus His light to your spouse with Humility and you aim His light ( His Love) at your spouse and once again your marriage begins to SHINE! Isaiah was and is telling us to emit light. Excellence in quality or appearance; splendor.
God bless you and may your heart smoke and burn the light and love of Christ. May God bless you and SHINE upon you!
SHINE can be purchased at our store www.fullofrosesinspirationals.com
HILL SONG
Everyday is a new day, some clearer than others. There are days of a clear focus, full of Gods spirit. Days when you feel you have one foot in heaven. There are days heaven feels a thousand miles away. Days where tears are stored in a bottle and lonely hearts go faint. When hope is differed and questions seem to go unanswered. Trials seem to never end, may it be the wilderness before your public appearance, or the valley of death training the Jedi Knight. We all know what it means to grow in the Lord. Your beginning in Christ found at the end of addiction or addiction found its way in after years of serving. Thinking it is impossible to fall from the strength you have in Christ, only finding yourself beginning again. The hope we have calls us to rise up in every situation leading us all to one place. The foot of the cross worshiping Him. Hill Song is where the river flows. Where we follow the river of God. Where we worship and find ourselves at the foot of Jesus. The place our true lives are found. Where healing and freedom takes place. The place of promise we climb to. The river of truth, living water.
Isaiah 41 (New International Version)
Isaiah 41
New International Version (NIV)
The Helper of Israel
17 “The poor and needy search for water,
but there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.
But I the Lord will answer them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
18 I will make rivers flow on barren heights,
and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert into pools of water,
and the parched ground into springs.
19 I will put in the desert
the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.
I will set junipers in the wasteland,
the fir and the cypress together,
20 so that people may see and know,
may consider and understand,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
that the Holy One of Israel has created it.
Things are never what they seem. God is in control and always working to lead us into His everlasting peace and joy. Stay strong, follow the river of His presence. Remain in prayer and encourage one another. Be the shoulder to cry on, the smile that strengthens the one in need. Be His hands and feet along the river’s edge. You never know when it will be you in need. Join hands as we follow the river of God.
May your day be full of encouragement. May your heart overflow of His goodness as you walk towards the river of life. God bless you.
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GRACE AND CONSEQUENCES
Isaiah 53:5
New International Version (NIV)
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
I think it is very important to understand grace and to understand that even with grace we still suffer the consequences to our sin. The grace of God is the most beautiful thing in the world, to the person who encounters it. The bible says he who has been forgiven much loves much. The day I knew I was truly forgiven changed my life forever. The reason I serve Christ today is because of the encounter of love and grace I experienced. Guilt, shame and damnation are very heavy to carry. Imagine carrying the worlds guilt and shame because that is what Christ did. He forgave all who will come to Him, for yesterdays, today’s and tomorrows sin. We have been covered by the blood of the lamb who was slain. So there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Whoever is set free, is free indeed. Grace came at a cost, a tremendous cost. Have you seen Mel Gibson s The Passion Of Christ? I cried through the whole movie like no movie I have ever seen. The movie brought what Christ did home to me. I don’t think I really ever truly took myself that close to the cross. The experience I had with the movie made me feel like I was there. I could imagine being one of His disciples and witnessing what took place. I can also see why these men where willing to give their lives to Christ in the ways they did. It is very important to understand the fullness of what He did and then to bring it home to our hearts. So if all of our sin is taken care of what then?
Slaves to Righteousness
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
19 I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[b] Christ Jesus our Lord.
I have told you I like to live my life in Christ by correlations such as spirit, flesh, life, death, forgiveness, damnation, holiness, sinful, blessing and curses. To understand grace is to know in Gods eyes you are clean, forgiven by His blood. When you die you will be perfected and completely holy If you have received Christ as your Lord and Savior. Why then are we still suffering from sin and the consequences that come from it. The answer to that is flesh. In this world we still have flesh to tend with. Christ says walk by the spirit.
Galatians 5:16
New International Version (NIV)
16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
Everything has an opposite! That is what repentance is, doing the complete opposite. If we walk in sin yet live by grace we will live a very cursed life.
The Offer of Life or Death
11 Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. 12 It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 14 No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.
15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.
17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.
19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
If you are wondering why You are struggling with curses still in your life, curses grow from your sin. If you continue to plant sin in your life, your harvest will be curses. If you plant holiness in your life your harvest will be blessings. Sowing to your Christian walk is everything. What you plant will be what you will feed off of for the years to come. The good news is, if you are suffering curses, you can plant new seed. You can always change what you are planting and what your future harvest will be. He has done His part, you are covered, now walk with Him by the spirit and plant to the spirit, the seeds of the spirit, which are, read His word, worship, pray and reach out to those in need or those whom God calls you to, like certain ministries.
May the Lord bless you and bless the seeds you are planting or are about to plant! May your day be filled with his spirit that it will guide you to walk in it. 🙂
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IS YOUR GLASS HALF EMPTY OR HALF FULL?
Is your glass half empty or half full? I have noticed the answer to this question may have a greater impact then you think. If we are living our lives with the attitude our glass is half empty it might explain why we are not finding the breakthroughs we were hoping for. I don’t know anyone who isn’t struggling with something in their lives. I have seen what works through our struggles. How we handle and look at our struggles, can actually add to our struggles rather than find the breakthrough we are hoping for. I also have noticed this same attitude towards the things we are walking towards or the things we are not walking towards because of the attitude we are holding in our hearts.
John 4
New International Version (NIV)
Jesus Talks With a Samaritan Woman
4 Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3 So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.
4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.
7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.[a])
10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
17 “I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
Before her encounter with Jesus her glass was definitely half empty. You can tell by how she responds to Jesus. You can also see the transformation that takes place in her simply by encountering Jesus as her glass turns from being half empty to half full. This is so powerful to me because of the symbolic meanings of water and the well. We know Jesus is the well and His spirit is the living water. The Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink? I want you to imagine Jesus asking you for a drink, because by then end of this post He will do just that, ask you for a drink. 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.[a]) Look at how she sees herself. She has an identity that someone else gave her, not her true identity that is found only in Christ. She says I am a Samaritan. She might as well have said I am half empty.
10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
Listen to the words “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink , you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
If you knew who it is that asks you for a drink, you would ask him for a drink and He will take your glass that is half empty and make it half full of living water. living water never comes up empty. Living water never dry’s up. Living water will give you an Identity. Living water will give you Hope! Living water will give you truth! Living water will transform your life!!! Living water takes your emptiness and makes it full! Living water never gets discouraged! Living water is Eternal! Living water is promise!!!! Living water gives you the power to believe, living water gives you the power to achieve!!
Now! Ha! are you blessed yet? I am, bless you Christ!!!! Where there is doubt, where there is discouragement, where there is hopelessness, where there is fear, Where there is shame, where there is emptiness, where there is a false identity, where there is hope deferred, there is Christ the living water!!!! Friends there is a resistance from this truth everyday we wake to a new day. The devil wants to hand you a glass that is half empty! If you drink from the glass he offers you, your glass will remain half empty and your attitude will be of one whose glass is half empty. You will struggle with your identity, You will struggle to take chances, you will struggle to love yourself, you will struggle to be free!!! Now Christ offers you a drink if you will ask Him, a drink of water so you will never thirst again!!!!
Christ is now going to ask you for a drink, so offer it to someone you love, OK? God bless you, and may your day be filled with living water! 🙂
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WAITING WITH AN EMPTY NET (PART TWO) THE ALTER OF DREAMS
Jesus and the Miraculous Catch of Fish
John:21 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee.[a] It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus[b]), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
5 He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”
“No,” they answered.
“No,” they answered. Is this how you feel? I know it is how I feel some of the time. I have all of these dreams and hopes, most of them come from visions God has placed in my heart. I am a risk taker, I live by faith. There are times I get disappointed by God. Things He has done to direct my path that I know I am suppose to be doing, yet, they don’t work out as I thought they would. I know what it is like to fish all night only to come up empty. Are my dreams to unrealistic? Are they to big for God? I don’t think so. I want you to think of His words to peter and other disciples.
5 He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”
Is there a chance Jesus is asking you and I this same question? If so what can we do? First look at the definition of disciple.
Disciple: One who excepts and assists in spreading the teachings of another.
We must be discipled before we can disciple. So lets look at Gods word and see His plans for us.
Jeremiah 29:11
New International Version (NIV)
A Letter to the Exiles
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.[b] I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”
His plan is to prosper us. Bless us! So what happened next with peter and the disciples?
John 21: 6 He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.”
He said to change the direction. Meaning try something else. So I will tell you where Jesus led me.
Ecclesiastes 1:12
New International Version (NIV)
12 I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind! 14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
Son of David, King Solomon says all is vanity, meaningless! So could it mean that God isn’t filling our nets because it could be harmful to us. Could there be a lesson from Jesus to you and I, His students? Could the something else be surrendering our dreams, our will to His? I believe so! I believe deep work needs to take place in us before God can do His greatest works in us. Character comes before blessing. Maturity before responsibility.
Matthew 10:37
37 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
Saints here is what I did today. I went to a quiet place in my room. I got down on my hands and knees, closed my eyes and built an alter before the Lord. I imagined all of my dreams and hopes as I placed them in the invisible bowl in front of me. It was a very intimate moment. I felt the loss of each thing I place in the bowl. I felt incredible humility. Surrendering to the will of my Lord Jesus Christ. Dieing to myself and my dreams as I picked up the bowl and raised it above my head and gave it all to him. I believe I was casting the net to the other side, off of my side over to His. I then placed the bowl back on the ground and asked Him to fill it with His will. I picked up the bowl once again, this time I drank it.
Saints may the Lord bless you! If you choose to cast your nets to the other side I pray your teacher Christ will bless you deeply. Be encouraged and may your life be meaningful.
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