faith

Nothing Is Too Hard For God

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Job 5:9 says, “Who does great things, and unsearchable, marvelous things without number.” Psalm 145:3 says, “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable.”

I love Romans 11:33. It says, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out.”

He knows our thoughts before we think them. He knows our words before we speak them. Nothing is hidden from Him. We can trust Him with the unknowns in our life. Psalm 85:13 says, “Righteousness will go before Him, and shall make His footsteps our pathway.

We will never go through anything but that the Lord went before us to prepare the way. David understood this. In Psalm 18:30 he wrote, “As for God His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.”

Overwhelmed? Cry Out!

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I love the story in 2 Chronicles 14. King Asa had an army of 580,000. The enemy had an army of one million plus 300 chariots.  Verse 11 says, “And Asa cried out to the Lord his God, and said, Lord, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude…”

In verse 12 the Lord struck the enemy. Verse 13 says, “…So the Ethiopians were overthrown, and they could not recover, for they were broken before the Lord and His army…”

A great multitude had come against God’s people. He instructed them to praise. 2 Chronicles 20:22 says, “Now as they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people…and they were defeated.”

What is overwhelming you? Cry out to the Lord! Let Him hear the voice of your heart.

Distractions: Frustration

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Years ago the Holy Spirit gave me a definition for frustration. I still use it today as my compass. God intercepting my way in order to redirect me into His way. 

We often get frustrated when our goal is blocked. Anything that we do in our own strength will be opposed by the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:17 says, “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.”

I often think of Acts 16:6-10. Paul and his team wanted to go preach in Asia, but the Holy Spirit forbid them. When they tried to go to Bithynia, the Spirit did not permit them. 

What was wrong with preaching? The Holy Spirit blocked them in order to redirect them into God’s way. Be alert the next time you are blocked.

Trials Purify Our Faith~Part Two

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Let’s look at Peter’s purifying trial. In Luke 22:31, Jesus told Peter that satan desired to sift him as wheat. Chilling words. Then Jesus assured him in verse 32. Jesus said, “But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”

Jesus’ words indicated to Peter that he would leave Jesus. Yet in verse 33 Peter boldly proclaimed, “…Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.”

Three times in the following verses Peter denied that he knew Jesus. How does our faith deny the Lord? One way is when we turn to our flesh. Galatians 5:16 is a command. “…Walk in the Spirit…”

Crucible. Refiner’s fire. Trial. Test. The words are synonymous with loss. 1 Corinthians 3:13 says, “…the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.” Trials often expose and reveal what was formerly hidden from our conscious mind.

Sing A New Song! Part Two

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For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the Lord made the heavens. Honor and majesty are before Him; Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.

Give to the Lord, O families of the peoples, Give to the Lord glory and strength. Give to the Lord the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come into His courts. Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth.

Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns; The world also is firmly established, It shall not be moved; He shall judge the peoples righteously.”

Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; Let the sea roar, and all its fullness; Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the Lord. For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, And the peoples with His truth.”

The Path Of Humility Is Strewn With Grace

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How is the path you are walking on? Proverbs 13:15 Amplified says, “Good understanding wins favor, but the way of the transgressor is hard (like the barren, dry soil or the impassable swamp).”

Here is the result of humility or pride. Proverbs 10:17 Amplified says, “He who heeds instruction and correction is (not only himself) in the way of life (but also) is a way of life for others. And he who neglects or refuses reproof (not only himself) goes astray (but also) causes to error and is a path toward ruin for others.”

What derails us? Our pride! I love James 3:13 in the Amplified. It says, “Who is there among you who is wise and intelligent? Then let him by his noble living show forth his (good) works with the (unobtrusive) humility (which is the proper attribute) of true wisdom.” The moment we fall into pride, we walk away from grace-provision.

The Power Of Crying Out~Part One

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There is only One who is always attentive. Not one iota of our lives is outside of the Lord’s attention. I wrote this to a mentee: Here is a good definition for a mental rut ~ falling into the same negative thought patterns that keep us stuck. 

Case in point. You wrote, “But the fear part of me is still around…” That is rut thinking. We fall into that pattern of spiraling down the moment we are triggered.

Psalm 66:18 says, “If I regard  iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” Proverbs 4:23 is great admonishment. We need to diligently guard our hearts from falling into the ruts of self-reliance, self-effort, or doing things in our own strength. It is sin.

Psalm 119:147 says, “I rise before the dawning of the morning, and cry for help; I hope in Your word.” Read this cry. Daniel 9:19 says, “O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act!…”

Removing Weed Seeds

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I had a back field behind my house. It was full of thistles, and weeds of every sort. The weed seeds would blow into my vegetable and flower beds. They were a constant nuisance.

Nuisance definition: something that invades or interferes with another’s rights or interests (as the use or enjoyment of property) by being offensive, annoying, dangerous, obstructive, or unhealthful. Great definition for weed seed thoughts.

Internal strongholds that oppose God’s will and ways continually propagate weed seeds. These are rogue thoughts that invade and obstruct our view of ourselves through God’s truth. Scripture is our strategic weapon. 2 Corinthians 10:4 says, “For the weapons of our warfare are…mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.”

Verse 5 says, “Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” Weed-seed-lies are ‘high things’ planted to distract us from our faith in God alone.

Faith: Key To Endurance

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The Greek word for endurance is hupomone. Strong’s definition: constancy, perseverance, continuance, bearing up, steadfastness, holding out. Note in my Bible. It describes the capacity to continue to bear up under difficult circumstances, not with a passive complacency, but with a hopeful fortitude that actively resists weariness and defeat.

Faith in God is the key to endurance. Endurance clings to the Lord in barnacle faith ~ allowing nothing to shake or uproot it. I love Psalm 63:8 in the Amplified. It says, “My whole being follows hard after You and clings closely to You; Your right hand upholds me.”

Thanksgiving is the fertilizer to our faith rooted in love. Ephesians 3:17 says, “That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love.” 

Meditating in God’s word sends our roots deep into the river of God. Psalm 1:3 says it, “…brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.”

Faith: Rooted In The Soil Of Truth

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Faith is aligning our heart’s belief with God’s will and ways. That is the work of righteousness. Isaiah 32:17 says, “The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.”

The work of righteousness in our trials looks like Romans 5:3 Amplified. It says, “Moreover (let us also be full of joy now!) let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance.” Experiential knowledge comes from tried faith ~ purified in previous fiery trials.

Every trial is strategically designed for our faith’s purification. The intensity of the heat drives the hidden dross to the surface. Dross: hidden fiery dart lies, unforgiveness, resentments, offenses, negative ruts that our mind gets trapped in, etc. Dross is fallow ground in the soil of our lives. It cannot bear fruit for His glory.