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)

A Father's Love

“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”Luke 15:31-32

This parable of the lost son, is such a touching story. It is about a son that has taken the wrong path in life and then when he hit rock bottom, he realized what he had done. He realized that it was not about the riches of this world but it was about finding out what was really important in life. He was lost in the world of pleasure and excitement – and at the end of the parable, he returned to the loving safety of His Father’s House and received the father's unconditional love. Isn’t that also the other story behind this, is that we may have once been lost children, living away from the Father and sometimes we had to hit rock bottom before we see the truth and return to the Father. Once we may have been dead in the Spirit and then we are born again and are alive in the Spirit. We were lost and now we are found. At first, the story began to speak to me about a wayward child that returned back to his home and was reunited with his father. Then I began to realize there was a bigger story that Jesus was trying to tell us. That was about the lost children, those that are not saved and that these "lost" can also return to the Father’s love and to a promise of the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. We may not have to hit rock bottom, but we may be living in the world and seeking the pleasures that the world gives us. This is so far away from the Father! I was once on that same path and when my eyes were opened as I returned to church and there I found the Father that I had wandered away from and I knew I needed to come home. I found the Father’s love, the love that did not condemn but that accepted me just the way I was and I was cleaned up like the Prodigal Son and was accepted back as His Child. I was lost and then was found...I was dead and now alive in Christ. Let us celebrate this Easter season for many of the lost children to be returned to the Father’s home. May those that were lost, be found...those that are in the world, they turn and run back to the Father’s loving arms!! No matter if you are saved or unsaved, we can all learn something from this parable, we can turn from our own ways and return to the Father. Make that course correction today! He is waiting for you with open arms.
Question: Have you wandered away from the Father's love and need to return?

Solitude

Before they call I will answer; 

   while they are still speaking I will hear." Isaiah 64:25

Have you ever been thinking of something and someone you are near to, says the exact same thing you were just thinking? It is like they are reading your mind. Well, the same goes for Isaiah 65:24 when the verse says that the Lord will answer before we call and when we are speaking God will hear. How does this happen? It is about knowing God intimately and Him knowing our hearts and what are our needs, even before we speak. Scripture says that God knows us intimately, even as to how many hairs are on our head! God knew us when He created us in our mother’s womb. He knows every tear, every dream, every hurt, every single part of us. What God desires from us is intimacy. From the creation of man, God walked and talked with his Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. God still wants to have that relationship with Him today. We can draw near to Him and He will draw near to us. We can expect Him to already know our prayers even before we speak, if we are in an intimate relationship with Him. Our communication is so intimate that we can call him, Abba (Daddy) Father. He is Dad. Sometimes we can just sit in silence and be with Him in solitude prayer. It is about being in His presence, and we can just enjoy that time with Him. The more we spend with him, the more we want to be with Him. Seeking God daily is an encounter. Everyone can experience God if we choose to find a place where we can be quiet and get away from the busyness of life. Jesus would often get away to pray after ministering to others and he modeled this for us for prayer in solitude.

Question: Can you find 10 minutes a day to find some solitude to encounter God?

Pray for Japan

 "When they call on me, I will answer, I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them" Psalm 91:15

Oh, how my heart aches for the nation of Japan. We saw the photos and videos of the tsunami and how it destroyed property and lives! Now, in the news we are hearing that radiation may be leaking into the atmosphere from the damaged nuclear power plants. It is a time for us to be on our knees, praying for Japan and the people of Japan. We need to stand in the gap by interceding in prayer. This situation makes me think about how precious is the gift of life.  We could be going along in life, enjoying all the idle activities (facebook, shopping, movies etc) and there can come a disaster with little or no warning. Look at what is happening today around the nation! We cannot take life for granted! There is NO guarantee of a tomorrow and we need to live life today, for there may not be a tomorrow. The people in Japan, that lived in the scenic fishing village, Minamisanriku, never knew that on March 10th, the town would be wiped off the map by a powerful tsunami, generated by a 9.0 earthquake. From this earthquake disaster, more than 10,000 were either killed or missing, and this all happened within a day. We need to be on alert spiritually, and not be wishy-washy in our faith. We need to be even more vigilant and in prayer for all that is happening around us. Bottom line, are we in relationship with the Lord and living everyday a Spirit-Filled life? What if there is no tomorrow for us? Are we spiritually prepared? Take an assessment of your life today. Most of all, I ask that we join, united in prayer, for the people and nation of Japan. Let us not limit our prayers only to Japan, but to all nations! Pray in earnest for comfort, safety, healing and the love of Christ to surround each and every nation. May we be united in prayer! May God’s mighty hand be upon us all!

Question: How is your spiritual walk today? Will you join us in praying for the nations?

Toxic Living

" Tremble, you women of ease;

      throw off your complacency.

  Strip off your pretty clothes,

      and put on burlap to show your grief.

   Beat your breasts in sorrow for your bountiful farms

      and your fruitful grapevines.

  For your land will be overgrown with thorns and briers.

      Your joyful homes and happy towns will be gone.

  The palace and the city will be deserted,

      and busy towns will be empty.

   Wild donkeys will frolic and flocks will graze

      in the empty forts and watchtowers

 until at last the Spirit is poured out

      on us from heaven." Isaiah 31:11-15

Watch out for complacency for it is like mold growing in your home and it becomes toxic living.I want to comment on this particular word, and that word is “complacency”.  I think of how mold grows in homes. It starts out with a small spot and if the area is not  treated, it spreads and become larger. Just as in the photo, look at what happened to the mold growth in this home!! Our spiritual lives can be the same way, we can be complacent and take life for granted. We may attend church on weekends, attend mini church and even do our daily devotions. But is that enough to keep the mold away from our homes? No, I believe that it comes down to the heart and how the heart can become hardened (like mold) if we do not spend time in prayer and confessing our sins to the Father and asking forgiveness. Our hearts can become like that moldy home and when we get to the point of having the mold take over, it almost seems like it is too late. What we need is daily cleansing of our homes through prayer. We need to rest in the arms of the Father or we may begin to get offended by others or have our thought life start to have mold grow. Unless we can go to the Father daily, staying in His Word, we cannot prevent the mold growth. Watch out, for without you even knowing, you too can have a home that is contaminated with toxic growth. Just as these verses say, we can get so far away from the Father that the only way to be restored is a good dose of the Holy Spirit. Going to the Father daily is a way of cleansing and restoring the house. It is not an option, but part of maintaining the home through a good power wash from the Holy Spirit and through a heart wash of forgiveness.
Question: Are you living a life of complacency? Do you need some mold removal?