Don't Worry, Be Happy!

"Then, turning to his disciples, Jesus said, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear. For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing. Look at the ravens. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds! Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things?" Luke 12:22-26
 “No worries” is an expression that we often hear! Or, “Don't Worry, Be Happy!” was a song by Bobby McFarrin that summed it up too. So easy to be said, but Jesus was the originator of this. Just as in Luke 12:22-26, Jesus tells us to not worry about things in life for what will it do for you? It does nothing for you. God provides everything that you need, so why even go there to that place of worry? The verse that sums it all up is verse 25, “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” So true! Worrying gets you nowhere. I think of the people that are in Hospice right now and they would give everything they have to be in our shoes...they would be happy to take your worry right now and trade place with you. All those worries about getting the cookies baked, gifts wrapped, cards sent out, shopping done, finding parking places in malls, the patients in Hospice would take it all for you because they have lost everything and they are now in the last moments of their life and all of those worries are meaningless. We need to be at that same place as them. What really matters? What is it that counts in our life right now? It is our relationship with God and the relationships with others. As Jesus summed it up, we are to do two things, LOVE GOD AND LOVE OTHERS. That is what is important. So, may I encourage you, to focus today on what is really important and get your priorities straight. May all of our eyes be on Jesus and celebrate the blessings that we have today.

Transition in Our Lives

"Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way:  Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together.  “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." John 21:1-3

Can you imagine what Peter was feeling after the death of Jesus? Can you think about the difficulty it was to loose the “teacher” and beloved friend? They traveled, they were discipled, they ministered, they were all in a close relationship with Jesus  and then came the day when Jesus was gone. Everything changed. Life was not the same anymore. Life had turned up side down. Now what? What do you do when life as you know, suddenly changes and you are forced with the "now what?"  Well, what often happens, we may go back to the old and familiar way of doing things just like Peter, whom goes back to what he knows, the former life, the life of a fisherman. He goes to the default – fishing. That was the old life and with the transition of having this new life, he goes back to the old ways. We too can be like that. Our lives change. It may be the death of a spouse, moving to a new city, broken relationships, changing jobs – it could be any time in our lives when we are in transition. What would be the most common thing for us to do? It would be to want to go back to our old familiar ways. That is taking a step backward, to go to the “comfort zone” instead of moving ahead. It was a time for the disciples to not go back to their old life, as it was before Jesus. It was to move foreward in God’s Kingdom to another unknown but to move forward using all they learned with Jesus, then minister to others. It could be grief, it could be discouragement, it could be any of those emotions that could propel us to go backward to the “old ways”. We are to see these transitional times as opportunities to move forward into a new chapter of our lives. Let us build upon the old and not return to the foundation. Jesus had a better plan and that was like in Matthew 28 where he tells the disciples to “go” and to tell others the good news. Notice that Jesus did not tell them to go back to their old lives and live in complacency. That would mean that everything they learned and experienced was not to be used. It is like taking a class on how to use the Word Document on your computer and you know how to use it and apply it. Then as you finish the class, you go back to using a manual typewriter because it was familiar to you. This is a lesson we need to learn as it applies to our own lives. We are not to go back to our “old ways” and become complacient. We are to always move forward and keep doing God’s work, even when it is not familiar and we are in transitions of our lives. Let us not settle for the familiar but begin to always strive for newness and doing things built on our experiences with Jesus. In Hawaii, there is the saying, “Imua”, which means to “move forward”. That sums it up. We are to move forward and not go backward. Let’s learn this lesson from Peter.It was a good reminder for me today, not to stick to the old familiar ways, the old behavior patterns, the old mind sets and the comfortable way of doing things that were familiar. We are to take off those old comfortable shoes and put on new ones that may take awhile to wear in, but they are new and they are going to last. We need to always be improving and learning – so we can endure and finish the race! Imua!
Question: Are you in transition and want to go back to the "old and familiar"?

Wearing Peace

 “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid." John 14:27

 In Chapter 14 of John, Jesus begins to comfort his disciples when they realize that He is leaving and his words address the disciples' concerns and even fear. Jesus reassures them all that He is not going to abandon them, but when He leaves to be with the Father, that another is going to come and it is the Holy Spirit. He calls Him, the Advocate, and "The Advocate" gives us truth and guides as a counselor. When we get to Acts 2, we will see that at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit (The Advocate) comes upon the Disciples in power! But Jesus is reassuring them now, not to worry and not to be troubled or afraid. We too can become like that in our daily lives. We can get caught up in the troubles that may surround us, but it is the Holy Spirit that will guide, correct and will give us the most wonderful gift of all, Peace! Like in Ephesians, there is the full armor of God and the armor has the “shoes of peace”. No matter what situation we are in, we can be walking with those little pink fuzzy slippers of peace on our feet. If we are not in a state of peace at all times, then the enemy has stolen it! Yes, think about it, the joy of the Lord should be our standard operating system. If we are not in the state of joy, then the enemy has robbed us of our peace. This is what we call an oppression. I think of the earthquake victims in Haiti and when our mission team went there, the people that had nothing were still filled with the joy of the Lord. The missionaries reported of the most anointed worship sessions and people were praising God and singing love songs to God, even in the middle of their crisis. The enemy was not able to steal their peace! We should be the same, for that is the gift that Jesus left with us...perfect peace.
Question: Are you in a state of peace now? If not, what has stolen your peace?

Faith Requires Action

"When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?”  He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. " John 6:5-6

 Oh, I just love this!! I can just picture this scene. Jesus is watching all this from the Father’s eyes and knows the answer even before the question comes about. The disciples are worried and trying to figure out in their human logic, how can they begin to feed all the people. They seek human solutions and have not opened their spiritual eyes. They have not begun to believe in Jesus, that He is the son of God, even after miracle upon miracle. Hello?! Don’t you guys get it yet? Jesus says that He came from Heaven and that God was His Father and yet, the disciples go back to the same old human thinking and reasoning. Jesus was testing them with a real life situation. They could say with their mouths that they believed, but unless they put their faith and belief into action, it really does not mean anything. (James 2:17) This is the same for us. We can say we have faith and trust in God but when the real life situation comes to test our faith, do we exercise our faith? When the medical tests show a negative report, can you walk in faith? When you get laid off a job and there is no work in sight, can you walk in faith? When your aging parent is slowly declining, can you walk in faith? This is where all that we have learned in scripture is now going to take a physical action and response from us. Now we have to walk it and not just talk it! Jesus tested the disciples in their faith and in the end, Jesus performed a miracle not with the purpose of feeding the multitude, but to point the way to God through himself. He was the Messiah, the son of God. I am grateful for this verse today for it is about not just knowing about scripture and God’s promises, but it is about when the rubber meets the road, how are we all going to do? Will we actually put our faith into action?  We are to give Jesus what we have and then He will provide the miracle. It starts with us - we do our part and He will do his.
Question: Is your faith being tested? How can you walk in faith through this challenge?

Jesus Transforms

"Standing nearby were six stone water jars, used for Jewish ceremonial washing. Each could hold twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” When the jars had been filled, he said, “Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies.” So the servants followed his instructions. When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over.  “A host always serves the best wine first,” he said. “Then, when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best until now!” This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory. And his disciples believed in him. (John 2:9-11)

The entire chapter of John 2,  had so many things that I could write about but as I sat here and meditated on some of the details of the first miracle of Jesus, it became really clear to me that there was a deeper significance of the changing of the water to wine. Let me begin with a scripture from 2 Corinthians 4:7. It says:

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

Our bodies are considered, “clay jars”. We are like those water pots in John 2. But what I know of these waters jars is that the Jewish ceremonial washing was to take  dirty hands and to wash them in these jars as a purification and cleansing. So think about that jar! The jar has dirt and filth from the many washings. Get a picture of this when you think of washing your hands after being outside in the yard and then washing over and over again in the same filled sink. Ugh! So we know that these water jars were filthy and people would NEVER drink water from those jars. Not only that, the water that was poured into the jars, probably was not drinking water from the well, but household water for cleaning. So you get the picture now...really nasty water in really dirty jars. Gee, we are like those jars. Before we were born again - before salvation, we were like those filthy jars and then the miracle that happened, was Jesus pouring into us and changing us from the inside out. We have now gone from filthy water to the best of wine! We are transformed by Jesus! So the image I got this morning was deeper than just the first miracle of Jesus, it was symbolic of the ministry of Messiah, it was the transformation of our lives into being vessels to hold the living water. It is done only though Christ Jesus himself, son of God!! Boy, was that an eye opener for me today!
Question: What condition is your fragile clay jar today?

Taking Every Thought Captive

"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."  2 Corinthians 10:3-5

I teach in the Prayer 101 classes, this very concept when it comes to Spiritual Warfare. We come against the schemes of the enemy and his plans to “steal, kill and destroy” our identity in Christ and to steal our faith. It would drive you crazy if you had to try to hold back every single thought you have and try to take it captive. So what is it saying here? What thoughts do we take captive? When we find ourselves in spiritual warfare, that is the time we are called to action, to begin to identify our thoughts, match them up against God’s Word and to cast out those thoughts that do not line up with God’s Word. Let me give you an example. You are in a meeting and you represent a project that you had spent time, energy and it is your best effort. At the meeting, all the other projects are being discussed and your project is not. Everyone there is lifting up and praising the other projects with the exception of yours. The discussion ends and they go on to another topic, and your project was never mentioned. Now, you begin to feel offended. This is where it starts. Feeling insecure and unworthy the thoughts, “see, you didn’t do a good job”, “you are not important”, “everyone is better than you”. Are you getting a picture of the thoughts and lies that the enemy is influencing you to think. This is spiritual warfare! You can begin to believe the lie and accept the sadness, rejection, insecurity and unworthiness that the enemy is enticing you to believe OR you can stop and recognize these thoughts as coming from the enemy and TAKE THOSE THOUGHTS CAPTIVE. How do you do that? You tell your thoughts, “STOP”, those are lies and I will not believe them. Because they did  not mention my project does not define who I am nor does it say that my project was not acceptable. You stop that thinking, you begin to refocus on truth of who you are as defined in God’s Word. I am HIS masterpiece, I am the apple of His eye, He delights in me, He sings over me, I am a Child of God...”. Taking thoughts captive is to stop the negative thinking and replace them with God’s Word and with affirmations of who you are. We choose to not be offended for it is by accepting lies about who we are that we can become oppressed by the enemy. The best way to always come against principalities and strongholds is to use God’s Word to see the truth and be set free from lies of the enemy. It will become more automatic as time goes by, to renounce the emotions/lies and to redirect our thoughts to God’s Word and to thoughts that line up with it.
Question: What lies have you been believing that you need to renounce and take the thought captive?

Purification Process

"With promises like this to pull us on, dear friends, let's make a clean break with everything that defiles or distracts us, both within and without. Let's make our entire lives fit and holy temples for the worship of God." (2 Corinthians 7:1)

Becoming pure is the topic for today. It is like a water purification system. When there are elements in the water that can be harmful to us physically, we can use a water purification system to take out all the impurities of our water before we drink the water. Isn’t this exactly what Paul was writing about to the  Church of Corinth? What he had to do was to be honest and have to correct the members of the church. If you have never been corrected, then you have been spared a painful, but necessary process. What may happen,  is that well-meaning people start to get off tract and away from biblical practices and they believe they are doing things the right way – but they are NOT. One with spiritual maturity or one that is in authority over the person, sees that a correction needs to be made. Correction is not pleasant, and it is often painful. I have been corrected by those in authority over me and it does not feel good but it was the necessary growing process that I needed. The intent of correction is NOT to make you feel badly. It is to help us grow and get us back on the right tract and to make us more “pure”. We are humbled, repentant and begin to change in our ways. It is that purification process – like the water purification system. God’s Word does that same thing. We read the Logos (written word) and the Holy Spirit teaches, guides and corrects us (rhema). We  are convicted of our actions, deeds, words and the course correction or purification begins to take place. We now can remove the pollutant from our lives and we can begin to become more like Christ. This process is called “sanctification”. It is going from one level of learning to another and always be filtered through God’s Word and becoming more pure, through correcting our behaviors, actions, deeds and words to become more like Christ. This process is life long and we continue to keep working on being filtered everyday and staying in His Word. Honestly,  I don’t know what I would do if I was NOT in God’s Word everyday. I learn more and more about how God wants me to live this life He has given me. I am to be obedient and when I get corrected, I am to thank Him and know that it is that purification system that is taking out all the pollutants from my life.
Question: Are you reading God's Word daily as a purification process?

Choose Your Perspective

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!  So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

I bet that you are looking at the image above and wondering, "What does that dual-view screen have to do with our bible verses today?" but it is an important visual that will reinforce the concept of our perception of situations. One day, I received this visual revelation from the Lord and I have shared it many times in my teachings on spiritual warfare. You will see that there is one screen in the center and there are two screens on either side of the center screen. The middle screen represents a situation and/or event in our lives. That seems pretty simple, right? Things happen to us all the time, but I am talking about an EVENT, one that has an emotion attached to it. Let’s say, a co-worker comes to you and tells you that the project you worked on for months and have just submitted to the boss for approval, that it does not seem to fit the standard of the company and it will not be approved. Now, here is where the dual screen comes in to play. We have two ways to perceive this event (middle screen). We can see it through the world and the image that the enemy has created (left screen). This screen would show discouragement, despair, self-doubt, insecurity and the list goes on. Now, what is playing on the other screen? This is the perception from God’s Word (right screen). It is everything that God tells us who we are and what is truth according to the Heavenly Kingdom. This would be that of success and the perception that God inspired the project and through us during our best, it WILL be approved by the boss and he will see it as wonderful and just what he wants. So, we always have two choices of which screen to watch. Do we want to filter the world through the eyes of the Lord or the eyes of the enemy? It is your choice! You do not need to not get offended or hurt in situations  but you are  to focus your perception on God’s Word and what He would say about the situation. Just as it says in verse 18, we can fix our gaze on troubles OR we can fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen, that is God’s Kingdom and truth. Here is what we do according to God’s Word and it is to begin to take your “thoughts captive” and we focus our thoughts on:

"Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise." (Philippians 4:8 NLT) 

We can choose which screen to watch, it is your choice! Once you begin to watch the movie that the enemy has scripted just for you, you begin to watch it, continue to focus on it and then your mind gets on a “roll” and all you can do is play that movie over and over again in your mind. Begin to realize today that we have our free will to say “no”, I will not watch the screen that was created by the enemy and begin to look through the perception of God’s eyes, through His Word and through the thoughts that are “excellent and worthy”.
 I have used this example over and over again to minister to others about God’s perspective vs. Enemy’s perspective. We need to always remember which screen we want to watch. It is a choice we make daily.
Question: In the situation you are in today, which screen are you viewing? 

God Never Wastes a Hurt

 

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. 2 Corinthians 1:3-7

Why do we have to go through those tough times in life? The Apostle Paul writes to the church of Corinth his thoughts about the tough times and challenges that face us. When we find ourselves in the midst of trouble and strife we know that we can look to the Lord and He is the one that will provide comfort. It does not say that God takes it away, it says that our Father  “comforts us in all our troubles”. What was written in the same verse is the “why”. We often go through these struggles because we then can comfort others. I remember hearing that “God never wastes a hurt”. Often we go through those tough times because we will be so equipped to minister to others. I have so often ministered to others and when I share, “I have been there also”, helps them know that I understand what it is like to be in their shoes because I too have shared the same struggle. It is so often that God will give us the ministry of the area in which we have struggled the most. If you are a cancer survivor, guess where God is going to have you minister? If you have gone through a rough divorce, guess where God is going to have you minister? Yes, the toughest times that God got you through, that is YOUR ministry area. God is our comfort and the way to get through those tough and dark times. We can go into those dark places to find hurting people and take their hands and walk them through their pain. There is always a God purpose in healings and it is to point the way to Him. May we be the ones to point the way and to show others the way to light, life and salvation. He is the great Healer and He will do the same to others as He did for us.My job is to always point the way for others. As God has rescued me from the pit and a lifetime of hurts, He too can use me to now, show others that there is a God that will comfort one through life’s difficult trials. God will get others through the tough times, just as He got me through them too. 
Question: Can you identify the past hurts in your life and begin to see that God had you go through that, so you can guide and comfort others?

The Heat of Temptation

" So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!  No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." 1 Cor. 10:12-13

Certainly we have all been tempted. Temptation comes from the enemy. Once I heard a person say that God was tempting them, and there seems to be no biblical base to say that God tempts, but he "allows" temptation to come you way to see how you stand up to it. What God will use challenges in our lives to see how we respond and how obedient we are to His Word. The enemy is the one that tempts us to fall. Oh yes, we have that carrot dangled in front of us, the Holy Spirt is telling us “don’t go there”. The enemy is on the the other side saying, "go ahead, no one will know" or other justifications to fall into sin. There is that moment in time where we are to make that choice. Which way do we go. Do we give in to the flesh, the desire, the want...or do we use the fruit of the spirit (self control) to be able to withstand the temptation? It is our choice. Do we feed our fleshly desires or do we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and follow His Way, the Truth and the Life? What I like about these two verses, is that God tells us that He will “provide a way out” so we can ENDURE. Notice that it does not say that God will remove it...but we are to ENDURE IT. I heard a wonderful example of this. God never gives us anything that is too hard for what we can “bear”. It is like an iron. On the iron you have many settings. Each setting is selected for the specific material type. So when you have linen, you put the iron setting on linen. If you have a synthetic setting, you put the iron on that setting. Why? Because if you use a higher setting than the material requires, it will burn. Well, that is like the temptation and challenges that come our way. God will only press into us, like the iron, just the proper setting. We will receive the heat at the right setting. Hot? Yes, but it will NOT burn! God knows just how much we can endure, but endure we must. So this scripture is so true when you look at the iron example. We will NOT be given more than what we can bear. Isn’t that reassuring? God knows our settings and He will only use what we need to straighten out the fabric in our lives!
Question: Have you found yourself in an area of temptation and had to go through the process of ironing to get out the wrinkles of your life?

Embroidery Behind

”For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”-Isaiah 55:8,9

 As I read this scripture, I saw a vision of an embroidery piece. From the top, you see the beautiful stitching and how every stitch has a pattern and is connected to make a design for us to see. But what do you see from below? You see a tangle of thread, knots, unrelated threads tangled with others. It is chaotic...well that is what we see. God sees it from the top. His pattern is different from what we see. We see it from the bottom. So true of life, we may see tangles and twisted knots but God see the ultimate and beautiful hand crafted design — designed by the master craftsman himself. When we are going through challenges in life, we should think of the embroidery design from the top and not from behind so that we can begin to realize that God's plan is bigger than our plan.  Often times, we don't understand why things are going the way they are. That is why faith comes in to play a big part of this plan. We need to trust, that God has the perfect plan for our lives, even if we cannot see it ourselves. Bottom line here, God has everything under control, we just need to trust in His perfect plan for our lives.
Question: Are you seeing your life through the perspective of the embroidery design from below?

Night Watch

 Come, bless God, all you servants of God! 

   You priests of God, posted to the nightwatch 

      in God's shrine, 

   Lift your praising hands to the Holy Place, 

      and bless God. 

   In turn, may God of Zion bless you— 

      God who made heaven and earth! (The Message - Psalm 134)

What stood out to me was the words “Night Watch”. I know that there are specific times during the day and night that are set aside for prayer. One of the prayer shifts is called the Night Watch. That is approximately from 12 midnight to 6am. As I read more from IHOP (International House of Prayer), they have prayer shifts for all the time periods. What is interesting, was that the Night Watch is used to “ praise God”. This is so in line with God’s Word and that this shift is set aside for praising God. Here is what is said on the website according to IHOP on “Night Watch”

“Our cities are filled with sin, especially during the night hours when these deeds of darkness are meant to be hidden. The IHOP–KC NightWatch takes a stand, knowing that the night belongs to the Lord. Worship and prayer through the night hours keeps the fire of adoration burning to change the spiritual atmosphere over our cities. And the small schedule change is worth having this kind of eternal impact.”

This reinforces the concept that praise is a form of warfare! We can worship and praise as a means to spiritual warfare but mostly to glorify God. IHOP also used Psalm 134 as their scriptural base for the praise during this watch. Doesn’t this give you a new perspective on praying during the night. I often wake up at night with songs going through my head. Now I know why...I thought it kind of weird, but it now connects and make a whole lot of sense. I am to praise and worship Him when I am awoken at night...this is a night watch concept. I am grateful for what I learned today about praising during the night watch. There is a great spiritual significance when praising during the night watch and I should never take it for granted.

Question: Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night with a worship song on your heart? Sing it through to bring light into the darkness in the Night Watch.

He Surrounds Us

 

Those who trust in the Lord are as secure as Mount Zion;

      they will not be defeated but will endure forever.

 Just as the mountains surround Jerusalem,

      so the Lord surrounds his people, both now and forever.Ps 125

So true, there ARE mountains that surround Jerusalem. Just this morning, I was praying for a young man for protection and I saw huge wings covering him. So I felt it was Psalm 91:4 where we are protected by God's wings as a shelter and  I sensed he was “under His wings”. But then, I read this morning and realized it was not wings, it was being “surrounded” by protection and then I saw the hills around Jerusalem and went, WOW, that’s it!! Not only are we protected by God's covering but we are surrounded by the protection also. We too are like that, to keep the image in our minds, that our God surrounds us and how very secure we are!! We will not defeated by the enemy, but we have the Lord surrounding us and what a praise to come from our lips. I will not only remember that His wings protect and cover me but He is like the mountains that surround Jerusalem...because His Word is His Promise to me that He surround me.

Chains of Oppression

 Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness,
   prisoners suffering in iron chains, because they rebelled against God’s commands
   and despised the plans of the Most High.  So he subjected them to bitter labor;
   they stumbled, and there was no one to help.  Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
   and he saved them from their distress.  He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness,
   and broke away their chains. Psalm 107:10-14 

 As I read about “prisoners in iron chains”, I thought about chain gangs that were chained to each other in iron shackles, and they were required to do hard labor on the railway tracks. Not only were they chained but their tasks were back breaking and laborous.We too can be prisoners in chains and not even realize it. We can be chained to burdens that are not ours but are for God to deal with. The chains can be made of something called “unforgiveness” which hold us to spirits of resentment, bitterness, anger, rage and even hate. What chains do is they bind and restrict our movements. Isn’t that what sin does in our lives, it prevents us from having a wonderful spirit filled and free life? Like in Isaiah 61, the prisoners (captives) are freed from their captivity. We can be prisoners and have invisible chains on us and not even realize it. We need to be set free from those chains that are binding us to sin. How do we get free? We begin to spend time in prayer and ask the Lord to cleanse our hearts and make us free from all those sins that are tying us down. We need to forgive those that have hurt us and have caused us pain. Secondly, we need to realize that we have a loving God that will free us, but all we have to do is ask. Ask God to remove those chains of oppression right now, today and not to let any time go or you will be a slave to sin and be like those prisoners on the chain gang – bound and enslaved.
“Create in me a clean heart and renew a right Spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10)
Question: Are you bound in chains and need to be set free? Are you willing to forgive and be released as a prisoner of sin?

Sing a New Song

1 Sing to the LORD a new song; 

   sing to the LORD, all the earth. 

2 Sing to the LORD, praise his name; 

   proclaim his salvation day after day. 

Turn to the Lord in prayer and receive a new song in your life! Oh YES!! It is never too late to have a “new song” in your life. You can stop at this very second and ask God to lift you up and create in you a clean heart and to renew a right spirit within you! You can begin to release everything that you are holding on to and allow God to renew and restore you. When you have been restored, you can begin to sing a new song, a new verse to come from your life and your life can be very different from where it was going a second ago. I think of a recent prayer session with a lady that had believed so many lies about herself and in an instant, she saw Jesus in her life and how He erased all those lies and showed her that she was a precious diamond to God. She was transformed in a second and she had a new song. We had her take a prophetic step forward, leaving everything behind and to start anew, afresh with a new song in her life. You too can have a new song in your life, anytime you decide to go to God in prayer. Take off the old clothes and to put on the new clothes of righteousness and walk in God’s anointing and blessings that are awaiting us all...this second...in prayer!
Question: Would you like to be restored, renewed and to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that your life will have a new song?

Make Life Count

Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (NIV) Psalm 90:12

"Number our days"? What is that all about?! I searched the web and found out from different translations, that to number our days means to make the most out of what time God has given us!! It is about us using our time wisely, through the wisdom that only God can give us through His Word. Really, life is short and there will be a day when it comes to an end. We all have a a time/date when our lives will be over. It may come sooner than we expect. I remember when I was teaching, our pre school teacher had found a little bird on the ground, a small gray sparrow. It had not developed his feathers yet and it must have fallen from his nest. I named him “Charlie”. I took him home and hand fed him for days. I would put him to bed in a sweatshirt and he grew and thrived. He started getting his feathers and he started flapping his wings to gain strength, but he still was not able to fly. I remember so clearly one night, I put Charlie to bed after I fed him. I turned off the light and then had gone into the livingroom. Charlie was chirping and I would respond by talking to him from the other room. Then I heard a noise, like a “thud” coming from the bedroom where Charlie was. When I went in to look for him, his bed was empty. I called all around the house and went from room to room. “Where are you Charlie?”. Then I went to the bathroom where the light was on, and I gazed in horror, there was Charlie lying on the floor. I picked him up and his neck was broken and his body was lifeless. I realized that he had flown from his bed to find me and got confused and crashed into the mirror door of the bathroom!! I sat on the floor crying, and asking God, why? He was so young and he was just starting to fly. This was when the Lord told me that life is short. We never know when it is our time or the time of our friends or family, when it will end. The scripture I read today, reminded me of Charlie and how life is short. We never know when it may end, so we make the most of what we have. Charlie was loved and he had a good life, even though it was very short. We too can make the most out of our lives and do what we can to tell others about Christ. We don’t know how long people have on this life, but we need to see how many people that we can share the Gospel of Jesus Christ so that they too, can have eternal life. Life is precious and  I never want to take life for granted. I want to "number my days", make every day I have important for Jesus. I want to have meaning and that when my time comes, I will know that I did my best to share Jesus with others.

We Are His Sheep

3 Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, 

   will praise you forever; 

from generation to generation 

   we will proclaim your praise. Psalm 79:13

 I have done studies and read books about sheep and it never ceases to amaze me when I get to scripture and God’s people are considered, “sheep”. I went to visit a friend’s farm where she had sheep. She wanted me to experience them and to be around them. It was amazing, and what happened was that she stood in the center of the field and called out, “come, come, come”. We waited and then all of a sudden, we saw these little heads peek out from the bushes and hidden areas and they all came running. It was so adorable! This, I remembered, was like scripture, when we hear the Shepherd’s voice and we come running. How they love to come when called. After the sheep came, they just hung out with us and they didn’t want to leave us. They were there with us and didn’t leave the spot. When we find Jesus, we too don’t want to leave His presence and we want to hang out and be around Him at all times. We can wander away, just as the sheep. My friend would notice one that had wandered too far away and she would call the sheep by name. Oh yes, she had given each one a name and they knew their names. When called, that one that wandered away, could come back. We, yes indeed, are God’s sheep. As I recall all that happened that day at the sheep farm, may I remember that I too am a sheep in the pasture. I am part of God’s flock and He knows me by name!

Question: Have you wandered away from His pasture and He is calling your name?

God's Love

For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens.

      Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

 Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens.

      May your glory shine over all the earth. Psalm 57: 10-11

This morning’s topic is on God’s love.  God's love is limitless, cannot be measured and never ends, for God IS love. In scripture, God's love is defined: 

 “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” 1 John 4:8

Now, let us begin to digest in our minds what that truly means. We read in scripture the Greek words for the various forms of love as "eros", "phileo" and "agape" love. When we think about these types of love, we realize that God is all of them and more. God IS love. We need to begin to realize that God IS love and that we cannot begin to put a limit on His love and when we do this, we will start to know how blessed and loved we really are. I thought of the highest mountain on the planet Earth and my thoughts went to that of Mount Everest in Nepal.  Here is some information that may amaze you:

Facts About Mt. Everest:

Tallest mountain in the world.
Number of people to attempt to climb Mt. Everest: approximately 4,000.
Number of people to successfully climb Mt. Everest: 660.
Number of people who have died trying to climb Mt. Everest: 142.
Height: 29,028 feet, or 5 and a half miles above sea level. This is equivalent to the size of almost 20 Empire State Buildings.
Location: part of the Himalaya mountain range; straddles border of Nepal and Tibet.
Named for: Sir George Everest, a British surveyor-general of India.
Age: approximately 60 million years old.
Other names: called "Chomolungma" by Tibetans and Sherpas, which means "Mother Goddess of the Earth."
Countries visible from the summit: Tibet, India, and Nepal.
First to climb to summit: Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay on May 29, 1953.

Now that you have wrapped your brain around this information, I want you to realize that in only our human measurements and that God’s love is “as high as the Heavens”. How high are the Heavens? It is not measurable, for the universe goes on and on and on! Now, when we think of the Heavenly universe as having no end, it is limitless - then we can just begin to understand the love that God has for us. Are you with me? Can you truly understand how treasured we are? We are so beautiful in His sight and we are those treasures that He delights in. Think of a time when you went to the beach and began looking in the sand, and as you sifted all the sand between your fingers, you find those hidden treasures of small shells, bits of  polished glass pieces and how you delighted on finding those amist the sand. I think that is how God looks at us, with such pleasure and He cherishes us so! It humbles me this morning to know that He looks down and smiles, sings and delights over us. We are ALL his treasures! He calls us His sons and daughters, but more than than, He sees us as the Princes and Princesses in His Kingdom. What a honor, what a blessing, what love  that God has for us. After all, He IS love and His love not only cannot be measured but it is “unfailing”. It never stops!! Although we stumble, fall or just do something stupid, His love never stops. He loves us so!! May I always remember that God’s love is limitless and it is unfailing. God’s IS love and no matter where I go, whatever I do, He is with me, loving and delighting in me. He is doing the same for you – today and everyday of your life!
Question: Are you sensing God's love today?

Clean Laundry

"Soak me in your laundry and I'll come out clean, scrub me and I'll have a snow-white life." (Psalm 51:7) The MSG

(Written by Jade Akita - Visiting Blogger)
When I was a child, my grandma showed me how to wash out those tough stains from our clothes.  She had a wooden board that had ridges on them.  When you had to wash the laundry, you would scrub the article of clothing on the ridges with soap.  When the stains were "stubborn", you had to work that piece of clothing on those ridges and really scrub at it.  Nowadays we have the good old washing machine.  In the washing machine there is an agitator which pulses the clothes in order to clean it.  However if you have a stain on your clothes, more than likely the stain will still be there when it comes out of the wash, but the article of clothing will be clean and it will smell fresh.  You see, in this Psalm, we are to soak in the laundry of God.  We are to soak in God's Word.  Although we may pray and ask God to make us clean, to make us pure and holy to do His work, all we are really doing is agitating the "dirty laundry", but the stains are still there.  We must really have at the stains...allowing God to take control and to get to the root of our stains, working those stains out so that our hearts may be truly cleansed by the blood of Jesus. We all can learn that, God is the only one who can wash us clean and make us pure.  We must cleanse ourselves daily!
Question: What do you need to wash out of your life?

Creation

Apapane - Native Hawaiian Bird

for every animal of the forest is mine,
   and the cattle on a thousand hills. 

I know every bird in the mountains,
   and the insects in the fields are mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you,
   for the world is mine, and all that is in it. Psalm 50:10-12 

There is a bird here in Hawaii called the Apapane. These birds live in the high mountainous regions and they are not yet on the endangered list but, they are few in numbers. They are known for their magnificent red feathers and the males are known for having a variety of songs. These birds were used to make feather cloaks, leis and other adornments in the ancient days of Hawaii. The birds dwell in the canopy of the forest and never dwell at the forest floor. They are only one the many species of birds that God created. Can you even begin to wrap your mind around the variety of birds in existence? There are about 9,703 species of birds divided up into 23 orders, 142 families and 2.057 in general. Birds can be found on all major land masses from the poles to the tropics as well as in or over all our seas and oceans and their accompanying islands. The total number of birds on the planet is very difficult to estimate because their populations fluctuate seasonally, but scientists have suggested that there may be between 100,000 and 200,000 million adult or near adult birds on the planet at any one time.  Now, does that now give you just one small glimpse of what God can do when it comes to creation? Now this is only birds! We are one of those creations and we are his masterpiece! He created everything else for us to be in charge of, to manage and I believe to enjoy. We are to have a spirit of awe in His creations. We also need to see that He is the creator and everything in this world, He made! It brings me to my knees this morning, as to the splendor that He has created and how much I appreciate what He has done! He is amazing! I fall on my knees in joy, love and appreciation of God, the Creator. He owns everything and everything is His! I want to sit in this spirit of appreciation and just thank Him – not for what He does...but who He is!

Question: Can you get into the spirit of appreciation for creation, right now?

Going Down

 "I waited patiently for the Lord,

he turned to me and heard my cry,

He lifted me out of the slimy pit,

out of the mud and mire;

he set my feet on a rock

and gave me a firm place to stand. " 

Psalm 40:1-2

 This Psalm begins with the scene of a person in a “pit”. It is like those old movies where we saw people being pulled down by quicksand. I remember seeing movies about quicksand and how people could easily be sucked into the muck and mire. All they need to do is to walk into the mud and there it is, they get caught and then they begin to sink. They are trapped. We too can venture into that muddy place in life. We can begin to entertain those thoughts of despair, discouragement and depression. I just prayed for a lady yesterday and this is where the lady was, she was stuck in the quick sand and in a pit. We needed to deliver her from those demonic spirits that had pulled her into that sinking sand. She felt so much better after the deliverance prayer, but she had to renounce those lies, lies that she was not worthy, that she will never get out and that there was no hope for her. Those are lies from the pit of hell. What does God’s Word say? There is hope, there is always light and love. We don't need to sink into that quicksand and believe the lies of the enemy. We need to keep our feet on the solid ground and know that the promises in God’s Word, is the foundation for which we stand. When we begin to doubt, then we sink into the quicksand of despair.  We need to watch for those signs...”beware of quicksand” and avoid those areas. We do this by acknowledging when we begin to entertin those thoughts and as soon as we begin to have the emotions of despair, discouragement, depression, fear....we renounce it and begin to praise God and speak His scripures (power verses) out loud. That is the weapon that will come against the enemy...the sword of truth! May we fight the spiritual battle with the promises from God’s Word. No pit dwelling for me!! I will be on guard for those “signs” and to not go there in my mind so that I will not begin to sink. I also will tell others about the trap of the enemy, that wants us to agree with him and begin to sink into that pit of despair.

Question: Are you in a pit and need to get out? Have you believed lies from the enemy and need truth?

Pray for Our Nation

“Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him;
   I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. 

He will call on me, and I will answer him;
   I will be with him in trouble,
   I will deliver him and honor him." Psalm 91:14-15

I was watching the news a few nights ago and I gasped when I heard about the disaster in Joplin Missouri. I saw the pictures of the homes that were destroyed and not only was everything destroyed but there was a great loss of life! There are deadly tornados that are currently sweeping across our land. As I google this morning, I see there are tornado alerts that have been posted for northern Vermont, Northern California and more in Missouri! Now is the time for all of us to get down on our knees in prayer and ask our Lord for the protection of our nation. May the Lord protect our land and our people! May the Lord also bring comfort, support and provide for everyone that has lost their homes, belongings and loved ones. We can only ask the Lord to bring His light into the darkness and to bring hope and love to those that have suffered these great losses in their lives. There is light and there is hope that Jesus can bring to all situations. Just as in Jeremiah 29:11 states. We may not understand the "why" but we do know in God's Word that He promises, "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 a hope and a future." God is our rock and our foundation in those times of need. Grab ahold of Him and His promises, like a life preserver in the rough seas of life. God will bring the peace that only He can give. Will you all join me right now, to pray a prayer of protection for our nation from any future natural disasters and to bring comfort and provision to those that have been affected by these disasters.

Question: Can you give a few minutes out of your day to join me in praying for our nation?

Storms

"God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.  So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea.  Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge." Psalm 46:1-3

When I saw this image, I had to gasp! Look at the man that is standing at the door and the waves are crashing around him. I wanted to know more about this one picture so I had to google the topic. What I came up with was a series of pictures of this situation. What really happened? This man was waiting to be rescued and a helicopter was hovering above. The man had come out to check on the helicopter and a huge monster wave began to engulf him. What happened? Did he live or die? The series of photos from U-Tube showed that the wave closed in on him but on the very last frame, he closed the door and retreated to the safety inside the lighthuse. He was saved. I think about the storms in life that may come against us and it may seem impossible to ever survive. We have a God that says that all we have to do is knock on the door and the door will be opened. That is exactly what we need to do, and that is to run to the safety of the Lord and shut the door. May you find comfort in the Lord today, amidst the storms of life.

Question: Have you ever felt like this man on the lighthouse and the seas are closing in on you? If you are in this spot today, seek the Lord with all you heart and you will find the one that is our refuge and strength in times of need.

Reference:  "Oceans Fury Unleashed"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fapXUqagiFQ

Heavenly Perspective

  "LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup; 

   you make my lot secure. " Psalm 16:5

 In this chapter of Psalm, we get to the first verses and it is the prayer that highlights the basis of our faith.

" I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; 

   apart from you I have no good thing.” Psalm 16:2 

Foundational to our faith is trusting in God for everything. I often pray with people in the Prayer & Healing Ministry because they have lost their focus. They seem to “drift” away from the one focus that is the most important in their life, their priority, the numero uno...that is God. If we don’t have God in our lives, what do we have? We really don’t have anything. Once we get back to that thinking, that He alone is enough, that He is all we need, then our Heavenly perspective begins to return. Then there is a mindset shift that happens and the "focus" returns. God then, becomes our “portion and cup”. That analogy is really good, for when you think of a cup, it can only be filled with a certain amount of fluid. He IS our cup, He is the one that fills us up with just the right amount of liquid (portion). That is so amazing, to think that God gives each and every one of us a cup and the exact amount to be filled. Should we compare cups? Should be be looking at how much others have? No, we are to focus on our own cups, the blessing of being filled with just what He wants us filled with and enjoy that blessing.His Word today was so inspirational to me. It helps me to reflect that the Lord is all I need and that He gives me exactly what I need – nothing more, nothing less. He is the one that gives my portion and for that, I celebrate.
Question: Are you in need of a shift in your focus today?

Refiner's Fire

And the words of the LORD are flawless, 

like silver purified in a crucible, 

like gold refined seven times. Psalm 12:6

As I read Psalm 12 this morning, I had time to reflect upon verse 6 and the “refining fire”. There are many scriptures that refer to this refining process in God’s Word. It is always about the hot fire that burns away impurities in our lives that seems to develop our character. It takes heat to burn away the impurities in our lives, which means that there will be pain, suffering and discomfort. In other words, there is a price to pay and we should expect the uncomfortable in this process. If we want to be more like Christ in our life journey, then we need to be willing to pay the price that is required.  When we want to be refined, we need to know that there will be fire and when we are going through that process, we must learn to endure. There are so many scriptures that support us enduring these times and one is to consider it "pure joy when we are going through the suffering". Do we enjoy the suffering, no way! But to get to the end result, to the pure silver that comes from the refining process, it is worth it in the end. The hardest part is to see that when we are suffering, we are in the refining process and when it is done, we have been perfected by the Father’s fire.  Some may endure the suffering better than others and others may get discouraged, feel defeated or want to give up. It is my opinion, that when we are in the period of refinement, we need to always keep our eyes on the final result of this process. What may help us get through these times is to know that God will NEVER give us anything that is too hard for us to bear. He will allow just enough fire, just enough pressure, just enough pain for us to go through in order to skim off the impurities. What is important, is to go through the examine process when the silver has cooled. When the refining process is over, we are to look back and see, “how did I endure?” or “how can I do it better when I am being refined”. This is a process that will help us analyze how we reacted to this process so that the little trips that the enemy tried to throw in there, can be avoided next time. I think about a situation that I just went through and I felt discouraged and I needed to cry it out. I cried, felt badly and began to feel the sadness creeping up on me. I realized that I needed to let it go, not dwell on it and begin to take my thoughts captive. I could not change the situation but I could control my reactions. So I choose to not sit in my pity party and get up and go out and get a bite to eat. I choose not to allow the enemy to steal my peace. For that, I learned a great lesson, when I am in the refining process and learning how to deal with disappointment in my life, I can choose how I respond and then the Lord is purging out all the impurities. These impurities were the emotions of discouragement that was invading my thoughts. I had to get out of it and distract my mind. Now, a day later, I look back and ask, “how could I have done that better?”. God had me go through this for a purpose and I needed to review how I did and know how I can do it better next time, when I am under the refining fire of God. I need to stand in truth through God’s Word as the water that quenches the fire! I am grateful for the analogy today of the refiner’s fire in Psalm 12 and how the Lord will use situations in my life to build my character and to get me to respond to life’s challenges better. I need to pick myself up and see how God has used the disappointments in life to build my character.

Question: Have you been under the refiner's fire lately? How did you do?

The Empty Tomb

"Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdaline came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance."  John 20:1

Last night, I went to a play called "The Witness", which was a musical production of the life and death of  Jesus. How powerful to see actors recreate the story of  Jesus. At the end of the production, there was the empty tomb and then there was a light that came from the tomb and Jesus walked out. Everyone in the audience shouted with joy and clapped their hands. What excitement we all shared, and that was the end of the play. But then the actor that played Simon Peter exclaimed, "This is not the end, but just the beginning".  Oh yes, the empty tomb was the beginning and not the end, for now the door is open and it starts the beginning of a new journey for many. The empty tomb not only signifies victory over death, but it signifies  new beginnings. Just as Mary Magdalene had a new beginning in her own life, we too have the promise of the "Empty Tomb". The Empty Tomb is the open door for many of us to leave the place of death and walk into life. Look carefully at the perspective of the picture above. We usually think of an empty tomb from the perspective of standing on the outside looking in. If we were doing that, we would be standing in our current life and we could only see a dark and empty place of death. But stand where Jesus stood from INSIDE the tomb. Here we are, living in this world, in the place of death. But we do have hope and since the stone was rolled away and now we can look outside to the place of life and there is hope. If we die to ourselves and accept the free gift of eternal life that only Jesus can give us, then we will be able to see the magnificence and the promise of eternal life. What a difference it makes as to where to stand in life. Are you standing outside the tomb and looking in? Or are you inside the tomb and looking out? Let us tell as many people as we can today, that Easter is all about the promise that the empty tomb brings. The tomb is empty because there is life through Jesus! 

God's Promise:" For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent His son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him."(John 3:16-17)