You can’t catch new #blessings with hands full of old grudges-

..Seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him (Col 3:9-10)~ God’s mercies were new to you this morning. As you step into His new creation, This new day, do it with a new attitude and a new outlook. You can’t be carrying yesterday’s baggage if you’re looking for a brighter today and tomorrow! Let that mess go! Lay aside that weighty baggage you’re carrying. Why focus on what you have ZERO impact on? You can’t change what was, but you have so much potential for what can be. It all depends on how you handle what IS! Life is too short to carry all the ‘stuff’ from days gone by. For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day (2 Cor 4:16). You are renewed in God’s mercy every morning. Every day is a new chance, with new opportunities and new blessings. Carpe Diem! – But the only way you can do that is by putting aside all of the fears, angers, grudges and faults of yesterday and focusing on what God has for you NOW: Behold, I will do a new thing; now shall it spring forth; shall ye not know it? (Isa 43:19). You can’t catch the new blessings if your hands are full of old grudges

God Qualified & Justified You; Now You Glorify Him – #TGBTG –

Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy gentleness hath made me great. Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; so that my feet did not slip. I have pursued mine enemies, and destroyed them; and turned not again until I had consumed them. And I have consumed them, and wounded them, that they could not arise: yea, they are fallen under my feet. For thou hast girded me with strength to battle: them that rose up against me hast thou subdued under me (2 Sam 22:36-40)~ God does not call you to something with the intent to see you fail. His Word does not return to Him void but it accomplishes and prospers in that which He has determined. When God puts you in a place, you are part of His will and you will be able because He is able – doing all things through Him that strengthens you. Your adversaries will not prevail against you but will themselves find peace with the God you serve. When you are called by God to be a part of His will, you are not expected to come prepared.  God doesn’t have prequalifications for choosing you. You don’t have to be approved by man.. God will make sure you are qualified, justified and fortified for victory because in it all, His name will be glorified! And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose (Rom 8:28). If God called the qualified, He wouldn’t have anyone! God qualifies the called! You need only be to willing to answer! When He calls on you, don’t worry about how you will do it… Just say “Yes Lord” and He will do the rest!

REAL #Change Only Happens When You #Renew Your Mind-

Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity (Matt 23:28)~~ We all talk about changes we need to make but so often we do things…going through motions..keeping up appearances…even fooling ourselves…while in reality we are the same old us. What’s happening is that we are doing things that would be expected by others that would look like we’ve changed or grown or gotten better but in reality, we resist doing any different, being any different and we sure don’t think any different. We really haven’t changed and don’t desire to. We are stubborn, fearful, worried about our ego and self esteem and self reputation. Some of us are downright selfish and simply refuse to be different because we feel like it’s our right to carry a certain image, even if it is the source of negativity.  We are really, what we are inwardly. Outward motives may keep the outside clean, while the inside is filthy. Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind (Rom 12:2).  But if the mind, heart and spirit be made new, there will be newness of life; here we must begin with our own way of thinking. If you still think like you did with the junk and drama that you were in and kept up, it doesn’t matter what you do, you will continue to be in … junk and drama! You can’t expect things around you to change for the better while your mind is stubborn and stuck on old ways of thinking. How can a negative minded person ever live happily?? You have to start thinking differently. Seeing things differently. Having a new mindset! Changing what you do is only and action that LOOKS like change…but if you still look at life the way you did, your actions will become a burden to you because you really don’t want to do these things…they just look good on the outside.. all for show to others but so superficial and unreal for you. You will come to resent anyone that is paying attention to your activities of change because they are expecting you to maintain what you really don’t want to do… your mind is comfortable being the same old you. WOW!  By now your head is probably spinning because of all of the drama and craziness from even THINKING about the situation being like this. So again… change only begins for real when you renew your mind! Here is the important part: That you put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness (Eph 4:22-24). If you are real about wanting things to be different, better or new, your true mind and heart must think and drive you differently and you will have to fight that aura about you that resists it. Once again…Real change first happens in changing your mind! Your way of thinking will then change your heart…and the subsequent actions will be genuine. ..not just for show! And as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he! (Prov 23:7). 

Change Your Mind – Change Your Life!

#Forgiveness Means No Fishing in the Sea of Forgetfulness! –

…forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before (Phil 3:13); He will turn again, He will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19)~~  Life is full of change – every fraction of every moment is a change from the last. Like the goals and hopes and dreams we all look forward to, everything about everything…has some form of change. Sometimes we embrace it, many times we fight it. All in all, we must look at change as moving forward. This change is not always a transformation, but it is a moving on from what has been to what is and what is to come. The greatest part of it all is that God also was, is and is to come…so we never have to go through “change” alone or in a hopeless state. There is something about change that we must learn to accept if we are to be better about the commandments of Christ to love God and love our neighbors (Matt 22:37,39). We must realize and accept the fact that people change – people move on. In fact, people change more than we think. Unfortunately most of the time we don’t see the change in people because we’re too busy looking at what they used to be and how they used to do. Here we are in a new day with new mercies but we continue to hold on to those things of yesterday! The light has changed, but we are sitting there looking in the rear view mirror. We can learn a good lesson from the Lord in that once we say we have forgiven and we say we have moved on that those things that offended us in the past should be left in the past and not allowed to be brought back up into our lives as an excuse for holding onto anger. Not that what was done is suddenly okay but that if we have truly forgiven a person it should mean that thing is thrown into the sea of forgetfulness and we should honor the no fishing sign posted at the shore. You can probably think of a place in your life where you’ve claimed and even truly intended to have moved on, but there is that someone that seems to always know and remember who and what you were and what you did back then! Oh how you would love to have them move on as you have rather than always remind you of the past! Just as you’d rather they move on, you must do the same! Put that grudge down! Indeed one of the biggest adversaries of our mind is our memory of the past. Forgiveness indeed places a responsibility on us. Just as we would expect a person who repents to honor their repentance, we are expected to honor our forgiveness of them. If we stop judging a person by looking at the past just long enough, we might just see the change that we so eagerly looked for in them. Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old…Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it (Isa 43:18-19). You will not see the new things God has for you if you keep focusing on the old things! Yesterday’s blessings and mercies were for yesterday – God’s mercies are NEW every morning (Lam 3:23). Yesterday’s angers, faults and troubles need to be left in yesterday – be ye angry and sin not; let the sun not set on your anger (Eph 4:26) – Forgive and move on – REALLY!!!

Harbored Hatred Hinders Healing! 

#Peace is With You – Take it In –

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (John 14:27) Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee (Isa 26:3)~ Our peace is often the focus of the enemy. Satan knows without peace, we are in a weakened condition, vulnerable to defeat. If he can get us to hand over our peace, he knows it won’t be long before we become putty in his hand. But, the devil is a lie! Friend, have you ever thought of the power that we have been given in Jesus’ name when we speak His word and claim it in our life? One of the great provisions of Christ to us as His family is peace in Him. He not only gives us peace, He keeps us in peace; in His perfect peace, inward peace, outward peace, peace with God, peace of conscience, peace at all times, in all events. Trust in the Lord for that peace, that portion, which will be for ever. Whatever we trust to the world for, it will last only for a moment; but those who trust in God shall not only find in Him, but shall receive from Him, strength that will carry them to that blessedness which is forever. God’s Word is true and it can be trusted! When we stand on God’s Word, we won’t fall for the tricks of the enemy! And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. (Col 3:15). As members of His family, peace is not just God’s gift but His WILL… His intention for us. He doesn’t intend that we live in stress and strain; He doesn’t intend that we have dysfunction in our families and relationships; He doesn’t intend that we struggle through life. It is His will that every need be supplied (Phil 4:19). Friend, I pray that God, the source of all hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. ~ (Rom 15:13).

 

PEACE!!!

God IS God – #Sovereign All By Himself…

“….I am God, and there is no other; I am God and there is no one like me” – (Isaiah 46:9)~~God is very clear and deliberate. HE is God, the one and only! There is no other god than Him; no one else can be Him, not even us. How often do we act as if our world revolves around only us? How often do we stick our heads in the sand and pretend that we are god, ruling over our own life? Remember the first commandment,  “I am the Lord your God….you shall have no other gods before me,” (Ex 20:2-3). When we set ourselves up , pretending we are god, ruling over our own life, we become our own idol – something God abhors and detests. You can’t trust God for your salvation and not trust him to control your life. How can you trust God to save you from eternal condemnation but refuse to let Him work in your earthly life?  If this is what you are doing, repent today and take the step to give the control to God.

 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths (Prov 3:5-6)

#Peace of Mind = Peace of Life #ThinkOnTheseThings –

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled (2 Cor 10:4-6). Your thought life can be brought into submission – You can win at warfare when you realize that it all starts in the mind and when you overcome that attack on your mind, when you stop worrying, and start praising – when you stop thinking about the troubles, the people, the lies, the stresses – those things that come against you trying to kill you in your mind, steal your joy and destroy your hope. You can literally change who you are by changing what you allow into your mind and what you allow to control the thoughts of your mind – whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, THINK on these things (Phil 4:8) and be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Rom 12:2). When your mind and focus are on the Lord and the victory He has already given you – when you subdue those battles of the mind with the already finished work of our Father – You will not sweat the small stuff! He keeps in perfect peace those whose minds are stayed on Him; because they trust in Him (Isa 26:3). May the peace of the Lord keep you and keep your mind at peace! 

Too #Blessed To Be Stressed Over That! –

And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? (Luke 12:25)~ What someone said;  what someone did. How they make us feel… how they upset,  disrespect or annoy us. What didn’t go our way…what was a challenge for us. We have so much more to worry about than these little distractions. What benefit is there to focus on all of that negativity?? If you expect to be happy and enjoy your life you must master not allowing small stuff to bother you when it occurs. So many of us get so bent out of shape over the small stupid things that when you think about it mean absolutely nothing. Stop allowing words, gossip and negativity to bring you down. Stop worrying about what other people say, think and do. People say and do mean things to you because they are subconsciously casting the feelings of themselves onto you. When things occur and you have no control over them, just keep it moving; rather than expend energy on those things you couldn’t even change if you wanted to. God has called you BLESSED. No weapon formed against you shall prosper!! That doesn’t mean there won’t be weapons; it means that things that come against you will fail because you are in Christ! But it’s all on you…the more you focus on negativity, the more it impacts you. The less mess you allow to trickle through your life, the more blessed your life will be! Resist the devil and he will flee! 

Go Forward #Fearless in #Faith & Make Mountains Move! –

…If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you (Matt 17:20)~~ It is good for us to distrust ourselves and our own strength. In our abilities and ways, we concern ourselves with those things that we see as limitations. So much so that many times we stress out over things we think about when we’re trying to succeed in life. We literally start doubting and losing the very foundations of our faith because of things we think about as challenges to us. Our obstacles in life are not physical artifacts (literal mountains) that tangibly impact us, but more about the thoughts and fears in our minds (that seem bigger than anything we could overcome)! This is the most prominent devilish attack…The extraordinary power of Satan must not discourage our faith, but quicken us to more earnestness in praying to God for the increase of it. By faith, we can overcome those fears…not in an embattled standoff, but bringing our very thoughts captive to the word of Christ; to means by which Satan’s strongholds in the soul are beaten down. When you walk in this faith in the Lord, He keeps in perfect peace the mind that is stayed on Him; because that mind trusts in Him (Isa 26:3). When you praise the Lord for His hand on your life, He clears that obstacle from your mind (moves the “mountain”) and rewards your faith…you are no longer held hostage by that obstacle…For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear (Rom 8:15); For God hath not given us the spirit of fear (2 Tim 1:7)…Friend, go forward FEARLESS in FAITH today, knowing that God has made the way for you and He has made your path clear…moving that mountain out of your way!!

#Spin it all you want – God STILL Is…

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron (1 Tim 4:1-2)~ Increasingly mankind is buying in to a ‘new’ mindset that interprets the truth of God in a very different (and misguided) way… politically correct and adjusted as seen fit to compensate for the “way things are” today; taking into considerations man’s feelings and desires; in step with trending popularity; re-defining the intent of God’s word! We have changed the truth of God into a lie; following and even worshipping the created (our own ideals) rather than the Creator (God)! This interpretation suggests that it’s okay to exist in a way other than God’s word; because what God expects from us is unrealistic and we can’t do it anyway! People now attach ‘language’ to sin to soften the blow of sin…to make it more acceptable and its consequence less punitive..like the lies the devil told in the Garden of Eden. Because society has propagated the belief that it’s unrealistic to live by the guidelines of God’s Word, today’s culture says that to follow the Word of God is out of step and out of date with ‘reality’. Now what used to be up is down, what used to be this way is now that way. God’s doctrines are now viewed as to be intended for those in ‘Biblical’ times. Here’s the reality check: As much as it may disturb some to take it in, the truth of the matter is this: God is God alone and He does not change (Mal 3:6); He is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34) – He didn’t ask for nor does He desire our opinion, feedback or interpretation. Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct Him? He that reproveth God, let him answer it (Job 40:2). He is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6) and His way IS the way…Acceptance by Him cannot be obtained on any other ground than that of the covenant of mercy, through the atonement of Christ. Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices (2 Cor 2:11)..we can’t shape things around political campaigns, public outcry and opinion or even organized rebellion. These are all areas that the enemy will use to get us to justify our rebellion. Satan has many plans to deceive, and knows how to make a bad use of our mistakes. We have the Word, that many of us have knowledge and understanding of. We must also stand under that Word! Wisdom is to be used, that we take great care in the decisions we make and the doctrines we follow. We scream that we have ‘free will’ to do as we choose..but that doesn’t mean that what we choose will be right. From the choices of Adam and Eve going aside of the Word of God in the Garden that set the course of a curse to all of mankind…to the choice of Abraham to trust God that brought the promise of abundant blessings to all that came behind him…and the choice of Jesus to do the Will of God that restored all of mankind… His Word is and must always be our foundation. No matter what is said, created as a new law or trending in popularity, God’s Word is still the ultimate truth and we must not depart from it!