Not Just Hanging In There !

 Probably, many a time that you have asked someone,  "How are you doing?" and they responded back by  saying,   "Oh, I'm hanging in there."  There's a friend of mine that when I ask him, "How are you doing?" his answer is always the same.  He says,  "I'm doing great, but I'm getting better."  Isn't that a terrific attitude?  What a positive thing to say!  But, does a positive response really matter?  When you ask someone: "How are you doing?"  You get any number of different responses like, "Oh,  alright I guess," or, "I'm so, so."  But a very popular response is, "I'm hanging in there."  Hanging in there?!  You're just hanging in there?!  Is that your assessment of how your life is going right now, just hanging in  there?  Now to me, that sounds like one step away from hanging on for dear life, or, maybe at the end of  your rope!  Hanging in there, like that cute little kitten, on the poster, barely hanging onto a tree branch with the slogan "Hang in There Baby."  Do you really want to spend the rest of your life just hanging in there?  So your mind set is that each day is really tough, but I think I  can make it.  I think I just might pull through another day. I'm hanging in there!  Is that what God has in mind  for mankind?  To struggle through each day and just hang in there?

 What about living life to the fullest?  That truly is God's desire for your life!  It's written all over the pages of  scripture.  But, somewhere along the way somebody came along and said that Christians aren't supposed  to be happy; they are suppose to suffer through their whole lives.  Somebody came along and said that Christians weren't supposed to have prosperity, but instead, be poor,  or just get by.  They came along and said that Christians shouldn't live victorious lives, but instead they  should be a doormat for Jesus and have everyone walk all over them.

 People have said a lot of those things, but are those things true?  No. Those things are not true and those  things are very illogical as well.  These people have not read the Word of God.  God is not illogical.

 Think about this for a moment.  If Christians are children of God, with the Creator of the heavens and earth  as their Father, then why should they be the saddest, poorest, and most defeated people on earth?  Wouldn't it make more sense that Christians should be the happiest and most victorious people on the      planet?

 The question is this: Is it God's will for you just to hang in there?  No, it is not, but remember, you have free  will to choose the course for your life.  You can choose "just to hang in there," or, you can choose to believe  what the Bible really teaches.

 That doesn't mean that you ignore the fact that things are not going well, and simply say, "Oh everything is  just great."  I'm not talking about living in a make believe world.  When things happen, it is not make believe,  it is very real.  But, what is your choice of thinking in those situations?  How do you react?  It is not what you go through, but how you go through it that counts.

 The next time things are not going well and someone asks you, "How are you doing?" why not reply, "A little  intense right now, but I am praying, expecting and anticipating a solution.  I am expecting for things to  change dynamically!"  There is a big difference in saying that as opposed to saying, "I'm hanging in there."  You may be facing trials and tribulations, but you can always say: "It is well with my soul."

 A huge key in life is that what comes out of your mouth came from you.  It came from your mind.  It is an  outward expression of what's going on inside your head and your heart.  The Bible says that as you think in your heart, that  is who you will be.  The Scriptures also say that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks!  Not only that, but once you say it, you hear it, and that also reinforces it into your mind and heart.  What  you choose to continually reinforce is what you will manifest into your life.

 So, if you really feel each day that you are just hanging in there, and that is how your life is going to proceed,  you will just keep hanging in there. But, if you want to change and live dynamically and successfully, start by  addressing your own thoughts.  Along with that, start adjusting what comes out of your mouth.   Refuse to  admit negatives and defeat, and instead speak positives and victory.  There are times when we are dealing with challenges. But why would we want to admit that the best that we can do now is just to “hang in there?”  God promised a lot more!  And, if we trust and have faith in God we know that we already have the victory on this side and the other side of Heaven.

Psalm 43:5 Amplified: "Why are you cast down, O my inner self? And why should you moan over me and be disquieted within me?  Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him, Who is the help of my [sad] countenance, and my God.

" It Is No Secret What God Can Do" by Stuart Hamblen

God awoke me this morning and this song was on my mind... Thank you Jesus!

It is no secret what God can do.
What He’s done for others, He’ll do for you.
With arms wide open, He’ll pardon you.
It is no secret what God can do.
The chimes of time ring out the news,
Another day is through.
Someone slipped and fell
Was that someone you?
You may have longed for added strength,
Your courage to renew.
Do not be disheartened,
For I have news for you.
It is no secret what God can do.
What He’s done for others, He’ll do for you.
With arms wide open, He’ll pardon you.
It is no secret what God can do.
There is no night for in His light
You never walk alone.
Always feel at home,
Wherever you may go.
There is no power can conquer you
While God is on your side.
Take Him at His promise,
Don’t run away and hide.
It is no secret what God can do.
What He’s done for others, He’ll do for you.
With arms wide open, He’ll pardon you.
It is no secret what God can do.

God Will Provide Your Financial Blessing!

We don't know where it's coming from, but we do know that God will provide for our needs.  If we stay prayed up; if we stay faithful to His Word, God will provide for all our needs.  God is true to His Word and cannot lie.  He loves His children and has proven this time and time again.  His track record is perfect! 

We, the children of the King, would never experience financial struggles if we listen to our heavenly Father.  We must learn to listen to God when He tells us when to go, where to go, and what to do when we get there.  We must realize when God is speaking to us Himself or through other people via television, radio, computer, telephone, in the church and those we live with no matter the age, gender, creed or color.  We must identify when God is giving a revelation for an invention.  When God says now is the time, we must step out on faith (Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen).  How do we think what God has promised us is going to come to pass if we don't do our part!  God is true to His Word, but like a good parent He won't do for us what we can do for ourselves.  Why would God make us financially stable if we are spending what monies we have the wrong way and/or on the wrong things?  We have to be good stewards over what we already have in order for God to bless us with more.  We have to give God His, take care of others, and manage our homes correctly.  This is good stewardship.

God has a plan and a purpose for us all.  When we learn to be obedient to the Lord and His Word the plan and purpose for our lives will begin to fall into place. We will not only be financially prosperous, but we will be prosperous in every area of our lives.  God wants the best for us, so we have to want the best for ourselves, and start doing what is best for others and ourselves. 

 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.  You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.  2 Corinthians 9:10-11 (NIV)

Letting Lack Linger in Our Lives

Lack lingers in our lives because of so many reasons (hesitation, procrastination, fear, doubt, etc.) but the one common thread is that we are the major cause of lack lingering in our lives.  We make bad choices, plans, and decisions because we don't consult God.  We delay progress because we don't want to do it just now.  We keep thinking we can put things off until tomorrow, but sometimes tomorrow never comes.  Sometimes tomorrow never comes because we keep making excuses not to deal with what we know is right to do.  Sometimes tomorrow never comes because we died before it came.  It is bad, and, yes, sad when anyone chooses to let lack linger in their life, but it is extra bad and sad when Christians allow lack to linger in their lives when we know that God does not want us lacking anything.  We need to use the gifts we have.  We need to exercise the power we've been given.  We need to rebuke the bad habit of letting lack linger in our lives, and we need to replace it with a good habit (i.e. prioritize and organize).  We must do what we can do right away, and make a list of future projects to be finished in a timely fashion.  We let people, unimportant issues, and useless habits stop our forward progress.  Lack is not an external issue, it is internal.  We can beat this lackadaisical, lackluster mind set if we would just do what God tells us!  Is this easier said than done, sure it is, but anything worth having is worth working for.  Besides, we know that any assignment that God gives us we can trust Him to see us through to the end.  Heck, we can trust and have faith in God to see us through to the very end!  Come on Saints, let's get lack off our backs and out of our lives.  Let's move to a higher level in life, in God.  Selah (pause, and calmly think of that).  Amen (so be it).

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience, but let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.  James 1:1-4 (KJV)

God's Love!

In the seventies Dionne Warwick sang: "What the World Needs Now, is Love, Sweet Love," music by Burt Bacharach.  Dionne thought it should be our national anthem.  We all need love, but we sometimes look for it in the wrong places.  We end up feeling more lonely than before the relationship began.  Maybe it is because we thought we were in love when we were actually in lust.  Maybe it is because we had no commitment.  I have been there.

I know that what the world needs now is God's love.  Since the first time I experienced God's incredible presence for myself, I never wanted to be without it.  I feel God's love when I read the Bible and spend time in prayer because God is love.  God's love is unconditional and forever (agape`).  It gives me security and purpose.  I have hope for the future and peace in this uncertain world. My hope is built on the promise Jesus made when He rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven.  He said He would come again in the same way He left, so all could see.  He said He was going to prepare a place for us and if He went to prepare a place for us, He will certainly come back to take us to be home with Him (John 14:1-4).  Don't think because it has been two thousand years since He said this that it won't happen.  God is taking His time because He desires for everyone to be saved.  The people during Noah's time never thought water would cover the earth, but it did.  In those days it had never rained before the flood.  Water only came up through the ground.  Rain was one of the results of man sinning.  Everybody lives in a time period when something doesn't exist, at first, and then it does (phones [land-lines, cell], microwaves, computers, etc.).  Once we experience God's love, it is actually too much for us to hold on to selfishly.  We have to find ways to share it.  That is what Jesus did.  God wants us to love Him and love each other, and, yes, that even includes our enemies.  In fact, in His Word (the Bible) God commands us to love.  That is what the world needs now. We need to experience God's love every day.  It's the only way out of hopelessness, despair and depression.

If you are reading this truth for the first time, I am praying for you.  You can experience God's love by surrendering your heart to Him.  I waited way too many years before I prayed a simple prayer to invite Jesus into my heart, to live with me and help me live for Him.  But when I did, I felt loved like never before.  I want you to experience that love too.  If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)  Just pray the following:  "Dear Jesus, I invite to come into my life and be my Lord and Savior.  I believe that You died and rose again so that I would be saved from sin.  Thank you for my salvation in Jesus' name, amen."  If you prayed this prayer for the first time, would you let me know by commenting on this blog.  If you do not have a Bible I want to make sure you get one.   God be with you.

God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16 NIV)

Prayer: Heavenly Father, open the eyes and hearts of people today so they can find truth and meaning to life in Your love in Jesus' name.  Amen.

I'm Not God, Nor Am I A Punching Bag

I am a spiritual being, housed in a body with a soul.  I am a Christian.  Therefore, I strive to be a Christian by practicing Christianity each and every day, second after second; minute after minute; hour after hour; week after week; month after month; year after year; 365 days, 24/7.  And yet, I'm still not perfect, because (guess what) I'm not God.  Somewhere, in the recessess of this fleshy body lurks the old man of yesterday, and if you keep stepping to me in a negative way he just might show himself, unfortunately.  I hate when this happens, because as a representative of Jesus Christ I am to represent Him in a positive light.  I can't let your action predict my reaction, but sometimes I do because I've taken one hundred hits, and when number 101 came I decided to hit back.  Hopefully, I hit you with the truth in love.  Even a punching bag over the years of usage starts to show its wear and tear.  Yes, I'm a Christian, but if you cut me do I not bleed?  Words cut deeper and cause greater damage than any knife on Earth.  When a knife cuts you you can see the cut and doctors can repair the damaged area, but when words cut you they destroy what you can't see,and the process of healing is necessary and long in order to restore a real and healthy relationship with each other.

Do you not see my struggle, do you not feel my pain?!  You're not in front of a mirror so stop looking at self.  Why are you looking at me like I'm crazy for being angry?  God never said we couldn't get angry.  He said, and I paraphrase, do not anger to sin.

Stop expecting me to do the impossible and be nice all the time. Stop thinking you can do anything to me and I'm going to keep turning the other cheek!  I can be nice 9 times out of 10, but not ten times out of ten because I'm not God.  Okay, its been a hard day, your frustrated, and you need to vent and I just happen to be available.  I can relate to that, but, just maybe I had a hard day too.  I'm a Christian not a punching bag.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

Proverbs 10:12 Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.

"Let us not love in word and talk, but in truth and deed."

God's Got Your Back!

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7