Victorious Life!
Below is a short devotional on seeking God first and relying on Him daily and the victories we can have in our lives, just from doing so. I hope you can take the time to quickly read through this and allow God to speak to your heart. Please also feel free to share your thoughts...you never know who might be encouraging with your words/testimony!
2 Chronicles 16:7-13
There was an old testament king by the name of Asa, king of Judah. Asa started out his reign trusting God and devoted to God. He relied on God, and was always seeking Him. Because of this, God showed himself strong and delivered a "huge army with many chariots and horsemen into his hand." Also, God gave king Asa and the people of Judah favor by giving them rest and peace with no wars; he also made them very prosperous.
But at some point king Asa stopped trusting God and relying on Him and instead started relying on man. Instead of seeking God for help and deliverance as he once did in the past, he sought man's help and deliverance. The verses state that he relied on the king of Syria to deliver them from another army instead of seeking God and relying on Him.
A messenger then came and told him that he had done foolishly by not relying on God and that the consequence would be that he would now have wars. Yet, instead of repenting, and turning to rely on God, he got angry and took out his anger on others. When he became deathly ill with disease, he still chose not seek the Lord but the physicians (who were likely sorcerers and those who used magic and curses), who were never able to help him. Then he died.
Have you stopped trusting and relying on God? Who/what do you tend to seek out first in times of difficulty and even in good things? Who do you call first?
Ladies, the point I want to make with this story is that, God wants us to seek Him with all our heart and soul and to rely on Him whole-heartedly. Victories are won in our lives ALWAYS, if we just choose to rely on Him solely! He always has an answer and solution! Too often times, we think we need people to make things happen, and then we start relying on them. However, people can't do what God can do...God does BIG things and makes things happen, and He doesn't disappoint! I'm not saying we can't rely on others for anything, of course God places people in our lives that we can rely on and that can help us. However, we always, in everything, must first seek God. Our first trust and reliance must be in Him and not others.
"Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6:33.
When we seek God first, He will ALWAYS add to our lives. He will add the right people to your life that you can trust and that will love you and pray for you and that you can call friends. He will add new desires and fulfilled desires into your life. He will add new dreams and fulfilled dreams. Instead of setbacks, He will add comebacks at an even higher level. He will add huge victories into your life. He will add new vision for your life and fulfilled visions. He will add love and goodness into your life.......If you just put Him first and seek Him daily.
Like King Asa, God will deliver "huge armies into your hand"...get that- 'HUGE armies", that wage war in your life; huge armies are those huge circumstances that are so difficult and you don't know how you will ever overcome it; and you can't seem to find the light of day. BUT when you trust and rely on God - not some man, woman, friend, counselor, teacher, lawyer, doctor, etc...and totally commit your heart to trusting God and relying on Him in all your circumstance - you WILL have victory, and "huge armies with many chariots and horsemen" will be "delivered into YOUR hands."
Who knows what could've become of King Asa, king of Judah, if he would had continued to rely on God and sought Him throughout his life. How many more battles could he have won and land conquered? Maybe he wouldn't have even gotten deathly sick. Or maybe in the end if he hadn't been so stubborn and rebellious and had instead chosen to seek God first and trust in Him...maybe God would've healed him...?
As for us, let us not live a life of maybes or could haves. Make the commitment in your heart, mind and soul right now, to daily seek God and to trust Him first. In Christ, there is truth, restoration, healing, recompense, much favor and VICTORY!
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." Deuteronomy 6:5
Praying for you & much love to you!
Vision For Your Life
I know that it is highly cliche to talk about setting goals in the beginning of a new year; and most of the time, by the time February comes along, we've already forgotten about all our New Year's goals and ambitions that we swore we would keep this time around. The reality is that if we do not have a vision for ourselves, our children, our lives and where we want to be...we will surely fail in all the goals we have decided to set. It is a good thing to "set goals" and to be ambitious towards change and progress, however, we first need to get the vision of what it looks like to achieve these goals or changes. There should be a thought process and a set time of intentional reflection to think, visualize and even dream about what these changes look like and what sacrifices will need to be made.Pray and ask God to give you a vision for your life. "Where there is no vision, the people perish" Proverbs 29:18 NKJ
If we don't have a clear vision for our lives, how would we know what goals we should be setting? Ask God for direction and purpose...for what you should be doing at this time in your life. We all have a unique calling and purpose for our lives and God wants to give you revelation of His purposes for your life. When we don't have a vision, we will wander through life aimlessly, without purpose and motivation. We should always be moving towards progress and change in our lives.
If you already have a vision for your life, and know what your specific purpose is at this time in your life, then ask God to give you deeper revelation and wisdom as to how to carry out your purpose even further and to take it to another level.
Get a vision for your children.
Getting a vision for each of your children will help you parent, encourage and guide them individually towards their purpose. We have to be intentional in the parenting of our children, so its important to also get a vision of the type of parent we need to be to our children.
Write down the vision. "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay." Habakkuk 2:2-3 NIV
When you get revelation, write it down in your journal right away. It will be your testimony in the coming days, months and years to be, as you begin to see things take place and come to fruition in your life. You do not want to lose sight of this vision...It is your motivating force!
A fun project idea is to do a 'vision board':
Using a poster board, you can write your vision(s) and those things you aspire for, in pretty handwriting; then decorate the board with fun stickers and word letters that relate to the things you have written. You can also cut out pictures from magazines that represents those things you are praying for.
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| Vision board with inspiring words & verses |
The purpose of this board is so that you can place it somewhere where you will see it everyday (mine is in my closet at eye level, so I see it everyday) and remind yourself of God's promises and to keep praying and having faith.
This is something that you can have your children do as well! Ask them to pray first and then write and draw those things they aspire to do (like being nicer to a sibling) or be one day...maybe it's to one day be a traveling Dr. that travels around the world to help those who are sick in impoverished nations??? Whatever it might be, it gives them a path to look forward to and brings brings motivation!
*I testify that most of the things I have on my board have come to pass; although I am still waiting patiently and in faith for the other things listed on there to also come to pass.
It's so important that we remain focused and diligent. There will be many things that will try to discourage you and rob you of your vision and your time. Be discerning about who you share your vision with because there are many nay sayers in the world and even within our own families. When God gives you a vision it will require faith. If your vision is something you can attain within your own abilities, then you need to go back and ask God what His vision is for you. God's visions always requires a level faith, dedication, hard work and diligence. In order to not lose sight of the vision for your life, you must remain focused on the calling. You must fall in love with Jesus so that He can direct your every path and bring divine appointments and connections that will lead to the goal.
So whether your vision is to live and maintain a healthier lifestyle, to begin a ministry, to own your own business, or to be the best parent on the planet....seek God for the strength and wisdom that you will need in order to reach your goals.
Also, renew your mind each day so that you remain focused on the prize and so as not to allow anyone or thing rob your vision or discourage you. Read my previous blog on Renewing Your Mind
Lastly, I leave you with words, "begin with the end in mind" from the book, 'The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People', written by Stephen Covey. This is one of the 7 habits he speaks about that one should have in order to achieve the vision for their life.
"By keeping that end clearly in mind, you can make certain that whatever you do on any particular day does not violate the criteria you have defined as supremely important, and that each day of your life contributes in a meaningful way to the vision you have of your life as a whole. To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. It means to know where you're going so that you better understand where you are now and so that the steps you take are always in the right direction."
Wishing you all a very blessed and vision-filled year in 2013!
Happy New Year!!
Who You Are
Do you know who you are? That you are the daughter of a King...the most high King? Really take a moment to think about what that really means! Your value is higher than any precious and very expensive jewel or gem in the world. Jesus specifically thought of YOU and wanted YOU. He loved YOU SO much and thought the world of YOU...So much so that He paid the highest price that could ever be paid just for YOU.
To give a little more perspective, it's like this: The major league sports teams pay millions and millions of dollars to have the best players on their teams. They specially recruit and select the best athletes and then pay the price to get these very talented individuals.
Well Jesus specially selected YOU and hand picked YOU and paid the price to have YOU on His team!
So as with most athletes that were obtained at a high price, they know their title, their worth, and their value. You too need to know who YOU are...YOU are of high value and worth more than any diamonds or rubies on this earth. YOU are the apple of His eye; YOU are His beloved; YOU are a Queen; YOU are highly favored and ridiculously LOVED!
Knowing who you are, you can hold your head up high as any Queen does (because she knows who she is) and act accordingly; which is then choosing and desiring to please the King by honoring Him with your life and living for Him to do as He wills in your life. Knowing that He will never leave you or forsake you despite life's difficulties or circumstances and that He is always loving, compassionate, merciful, and full of many gifts and blessings just for YOU.
5 Steps To Renewing Your Mind
1. The Word of God/Spending time with Jesus (2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”)
- The Word of God has the ultimate power to renew our minds and to transform our lives. As you spend time daily with Jesus, you WILL be transformed.
2. Confessing your sins to God and to accountability partners in you life, so that you can bring it to light and be set free.
3. Commit your day and your ways (include your thoughts & your direction) to the Lord each morning (Prov. 3:5-6 “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").
Offer your body as a living sacrifice each day to God; you can say something like, “I belong to you God, I surrender my will for yours; use me for your gain and your purposes…” This IS an act of worship! (Romans 12:1 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God; this is your reasonable act of worship.”)
4. Obey God quickly! As you lay down your will and seek God’s direction; There are things He will ask you to change or remove (including people) from your life and there will be things He’ll ask you to do. As you hear those things, obey Him right away. Don’t act like you didn’t hear it, or argue with Him, or challenge it…just do it, because there are amazing blessings behind your faithfulness and obedience to Him.
5. Memorize Scripture. Write it on note cards or sticky notes and stick them by the shift gear in your car, or on your bathroom mirror where you can see it everyday to help you memorize the scripture. Hiding the Word of God in your heart is a powerful weapon to tearing down strongholds and to bringing our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:4-5)
The Strong One
'El' is one of the Hebrew names of God, meaning 'The Strong One'.
Prayer:
"Thank you Lord that I can depend totally on you and lean on you, my Strong One and that You will overcome all obstacles in my way. I don't have to worry about anything because You are in complete control. You are 'Adoni', The Lord my Great Lord. You are in total authority and are master over all things. Amen"
Cling To God
"...that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and length of your days..." Deut. 30:20
Friends, cling to God for dear life, for it is a matter of life and death...Choose life today!
Choose To Be Joyful
Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in my Savior. Hab. 3:17-18
Do you feel stuck, like you’re not moving forward in life; everything
seems dry, and nothing is budding…you’re not seeing the fruit of your labor or
faithfulness? “…Though the fig tree does
not bud and there are no grapes on the vine…”
Or do you feel like a failure because certain things seem to
never work out for you? “Though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no
food…”
Does it feel like you’re alone and no one loves you?
“…Though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls.”
In all these things we have to learn to praise God and
rejoice during these times. It’s so
important that we remain joyful in Christ our Savior despite our feelings and
circumstances. It’s not about how we’re
feeling or how things look around us…we have to be focused on Christ and choose
to walk by faith and absolutely not by sight.
Everything you may be hoping for and that has been promised to you may
appear hopeless and unpromising; but as you walk by faith and intentionally choose
to remain joyful in the Lord, He will show Himself faithful; for His words
never return back void without accomplishing what He has said He will do. Trust
in the Lord with all your heart!
