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So let us seize and hold fast and retain without wavering the HOPE we cherish and confess and our acknowledgement of it, for He Who promised is reliable (sure) and faithful to His Word! Hebrews 10:23 AMP
Remember, life is kind of like a party.
You invite a lot of people, some leave early, some stay all night, some laugh with you, some laugh at you, and some show up really late.
But in the end, after the fun, there are a few who stay to help you clean up the mess. And most of the time, they aren’t even the ones who made the mess.
These people are your real friends in life. They are the ones who matter most. (copied)
Bird Life is Worry Free….there is HOPE!
Matthew 6:25 – Don’t worry about your life. Look at the birds and study them.
What did Jesus mean by this statement?
Jesus never endorsed a passive, “what will be, will be” attitude.
There are legitimate concerns: unemployment, health concerns, death, loss, doctor’s reports, family problems, etc.
Three times in Matthew six Jesus says…DO NOT WORRY!
Look at the origin of the word “worry”. Very interesting…..
Origin of WORRY
Middle English worien, from Old English wyrgan; akin to Old High German wurgen to strangle, Lithuanian veržti to constrict. Hmmmmm….to strangle or to constrict.
Stress is harmful to our bodies and shortens our lives. DO NOT WORRY is a command!!! Birds don’t take nerve pills.
Some things can help our situation like….work, planning, evaluating, etc….BUT WORRY NEVER MAKES OUR SITUATIONS BETTER!!!
WORRY IS DOWN PAYMENT ON A PROBLEM YOU MAY NEVER EVEN HAVE. Joyce Meyer
Don’t lose sleep over things that never will happen!!!
WORRY DOESN’T TREAT YOUR SITUATION LIKE A CAMERA, BUT LIKE A DARKROOM, BECAUSE IT DEVELOPS OFF THE NEGATIVE. Unknown
Worry feeds off the negative thoughts racing through our minds.
WORRY DOES NOT EMPTY TOMORROW OF ITS SORROW, IT EMPTIES TOMORROW OF ITS STRENGTH. Corrie Ten Boom
We have medical proof that worry can not only add a single day to your life, but it can take time off our lives!!!!
God’s greatness up in heaven has to be translated to our lives here on earth!
If you have trusted God with your salvation, He can be trusted with all the other issues.
In Gen 12, God calls Abraham to go to a land that He showed Him and then God stopped talking. God didn’t give Abraham advance details.
God knew Abraham would trust in the plan, rather than in the PERSON that was giving the plan!
When God told Moses to stand before Pharoah….He simply told Moses, …”Tell him I AM has sent me.” No small details…just I AM!
Peter was in a boat and the storm arose. Jesus came walking on the water. (Matthew 14) Peter began to question Jesus. Jesus said, “Come”. No details. Just one word.
Learn to worship and trust a God who doesn’t always tell you the details.
He had the plans for Abraham, Moses, Peter and others before any of them faced the first dilemma.
He has all the plans worked out! He has all the details worked out beforehand!!! Just because God doesn’t show you the details, doesn’t mean He doesn’t have them.
He cares enough about the bird, to make sure the bird gets the worm. No bird has the intellectual capacity than you!!! No bird is as smart as you!!! If God cares for the flowers, how much more does He love you?
If there’s something you can do about your burden, do it. If there’ s nothing you can do about it, worship through it. But whatever I do, I don’t have to carry it, because Jesus died to remove my burdens.
When worship goes up (God’s value) worry goes down. Our daily relationship with our Heavenly Father is our strength through challenging times.
Set your minds on what it means to belong to Jesus Christ and to face life’s adversities with the Greater One!
Sometimes, it’s about PERSPECTIVE!!! From where God sits, the manuscript is already finished!!! Just because you don’t see it, doesn’t mean that it’s not done! Break the spirit of anxiety and worry!
Our Father knows, and our Fathers hears, and our Father cares!
Jesus has already died…He has already risen!!! Walk in the Confidence of Jesus Christ today! Everything that concerns you is already completed!!!
Who Jesus Is!
“To the artist, He is the One Altogether Lovely–Song of Solomon 5:15
To the architect, He is the Chief Cornerstone–I Peter 2:6
To the astronomer, He is The Sun of Righteousness–Malachi 4:2
To the baker, He is the Bread of Life–John 6:35
To the banker, He is the Hidden Treasure–Matthew 13:44
To the builder, He is the Sure Foundation–Isaiah 28:16
To the carpenter, He is The Door–John 10:7
To the doctor, He is the Great Physician–Jeremiah 8:22
To the educator, He is the Great Teacher–John 3:2
To the engineer, He is the New and Living Way–Hebrews 10:20
To the farmer, He is the Sower and Lord of Harvest–Luke 10:2
To the florist, He is the Rose of Sharon–Song of Solomon 2:1
To the geologist, He is the Rock of Ages–I Corinthians 10:4
To the horticulturist, He is the True Vine–John 15:1
To the judge, He is the Only Righteous Judge of Man–II Timothy 4:8
To the juror, He is the Faithful and True Witness–Revelation 3:14
To the jeweler, He is the Pearl of Great Price–Matthew 13:46
To the lawyer, He is Counselor, Lawgiver, and True Advocate–Isaiah 9:6
To the newspaper man, He is Tidings of Great Joy–Luke 2:10
To the oculist, He is the Light of the Eyes–Proverbs 29:13
To the philanthropist, He is The Unspeakable Gift–II Corinthians 9:15
To the philosopher, He is The Wisdom of God–I Corinthians 1:24
To the preacher, He is The Word of God–Revelation 19:13
To the sculptor, He is The Living Stone–1 Peter 2:4
To the servant, He is The Good Master–Matthew 23:8-10
To the statesman, He is The Desire of All Nations–Haggard 2:7
To the student, He is The Incarnate Truth–1 John 5:6
To the theologian, He is The Author and Finisher of Our Faith–Hebrews 12:2
To the toiler, He is The Giver of Rest–Matthew 11:28
To the sinner, He is the Lamb of God who takes the sin away–John 1:29
To the Christian, He is the Son of the Living God,
the Saviour, the Redeemer, and the Loving Lord.”
- Unknown Poet
The missionary introduced himself and said, “I was a medical missionary for many years in India. And I served in a region where there was progressive blindness. People were born with healthy vision, but there was something in that area that caused people to lose their sight as they matured.”
But this missionary had developed a process which would arrest progressive blindness. So people came to him and he performed his operation, and they would leave realizing that they would have become blind, but now they were going to be able to see for the rest of their lives…..All because of a simple medical procedure done by the missionary.
He wondered why they never said, “Thank you.” Later he learned that they never said, “Thank you,” because that phrase was not in their dialect. Instead, they spoke a word that meant, “I will tell your name.” Wherever they went, they would tell the name of the missionary who had cured their blindness.
Join me in telling of the fame of the ONE who has opened our blinded eyes, causing us to see HIS HOPES for our lives and to see the beauty of the ONE that makes all things beautiful in His time! JESUS is the ONE!
Custom-Design Your Destiny!
Don’t leave your life to chance! Take a stand.
It’s time to pray Destiny-Altering Prayers that will Custom-Design our destinies! When your heart becomes full of the Word of God and prayer is in agreement with Biblical principles, effectual prayer begins to be offered. The more you get in His Presence, the more you want to be in His Presence! Prayer is simply talking to God. However, there are examples in the Old and New Testament that reveal how others related to God and how answers came into their lives. In the Old Testament, the brief prayer of a man named Jabez is such an example of a man on the brink of a breakthrough and even all the way into his breakthrough.
Through the years certain “Buzz-Words” have hit Christianity. Well, come to think of it, the term “Christianity” itself, could be a Buzz-Word. I’m not into “buzz-words”…however, some of us need points of relativity in our limited frames of reference.
One of these buzz-words that just keeps coming up is the word Destiny. What is Destiny? Ultimately, we know that our Destiny is to be with the Lord throughout eternity, to behold Him in His glory, and to exalt His Name throughout eternal ages.
But what about now? What relevance does the term “Destiny” have to us now?
Answer this question: Where Am I Going? Answer this and you have discovered your destiny. Destiny is where we are going….our destination. What goals, objectives, quests, and dreams are hidden in your heart?
Do you like where you are going? Are you happy with it? Would you like for your answer to be different? Then custom-design your destiny!!!! But how do you form your destiny? The price of change is obedience to the revealed will of God. This may cost something in terms of accessing knowledge, geographical shifts, receiving instructions, overcoming challenges, and rearranging priorities. Relationships have to be re-evaluated. You must learn a new level of flexibility! Faith-based decisions and executing a plan of action will require courage and spiritual strength!
Destiny is charted when we pray “Destiny-Altering” Prayers! Destiny-Altering prayers provoke Destiny-Altering decisions!
If you don’t like your Destiny, you can become the Architect under the apprentice of the Master-Architect, our Lord Himself!
Jabez prayed a Destiny-Altering prayer!
Let’s look at it.
I Chronicles 4: 9, 10 – Jabez was more honorable than his brothers; and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bore him in pain. Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain! And God granted what he asked. (English Standard Version)
From his limited bio, it seems that Jabez didn’t like the way things were presently and he was just seeking change. His name means born to be a pain. The Amplified Bible simply says…”and his mother named him Sorrow-Maker.”
That should be incredible motivation for change! Perhaps Jabez’ pain became a rallying point for change! God wants to produce a spiritual awakening in you that will be nothing short of a revolutionary Destiny Design!!!
And so he began to pray. Not only pray, but agonize and ask boldly!
Let’s look at key Destiny-Altering Prayer Points from the prayer of Jabez. It’s time to Custom-Design Your Destiny!
1. Be Changeable!
Don’t just say it, but REFLECT change in prayer and in life!
The Bible says he was more honorable…literally it reads….”He BECAME more honorable….”
Someone once said….”Those who refuse to change become the architects of decay.” Change is here to stay and growth means change after change after change! Pray “CHANGE PRAYERS”! Become “CHANGE AGENTS”! Gandhi once said “Become the change you want to see in the world!” If you don’t create change, change will create you! Pray Change.
2. PAIN can provoke you to PURPOSE!
The name of Jabez means “Sorrow-Maker”! As a Mom, I can’t get a grip on this! Why would a Mother name her own innocent child “Sorrow-Maker”? We are not told the particular set of challenges that were in the life of this family, but from his name, Jabez, we can only know that they was some major dysfunction!!! Or perhaps it was the trials of life that surrounded him…. Maybe you have been melted down, beaten, reshaped and tempered at the furnace of affliction…..how you respond at this point,will make all the difference!
Irregardless of what you may be facing, your circumstance is not your Destiny, but your opportunity!!! We can’t put words to our agony so many times, but we trust Him to turn our pain into purpose! Strong lives are fueled by purpose!
Pray the purpose of God through your pain! Life is a challenge! Personally, I know what it is to be done for the count and never coming back!!! BUT GOD! He turned my pain into purpose and He wants to do the same for you! Everyone has a purpose! Pray Purpose.
3. Call on God.
Jabez called on the God of Israel. There is only one way through…Call on God. God, alone, has the power to shift lives, arrange circumstances, move hearts, and change circumstances. Prayer is God’s method of access. Everything that Jesus could do for us in redemption has already been done. He paid it all. Prayer gives access into every promise. Through prayer, faith is released to obtain every promise that has been freely given to us by our Lord.
Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance, but laying hold of His willingness!!!!!! Pray His Willingness!
4. Express your agony to God.
And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying…”Oh…..”
He started his prayer with a word of agony! The human spirit is created to connect with God, Who is a Spirit! The longing, the aching of our heart for Him to move is sometimes referred to as a “burden”. Frequently, this is not just “our burden”, but the “burden of the Lord”. Many times the burden and the groan of the Spirit is expressed through our own words of agony in prayer. OH!!!
Get alone with God and express your inner man to Him in prayer! Even Paul agonized in the New Testament. (Galatians 4:19) And Jesus offered strong crying and tears in the Garden. (Hebrews 3:7) Pray your heart.
5. Boldy ASK for God’s blessings!
Jabez prayed, “Oh, that Thou wouldest BLESS ME…”
What a great prayer……We need God’s blessings in our lives, not somebody else’s but God’s! There is only so much limited man can do! We need God’s blessings!
Luke 11:9, “And I tell you, Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” Ask! God’s blessings produce real effects in our lives! God gave Jabez what he asked for….. Are you asking for blessings? God-size blessings???? Pray for His blessings.
6. Extension of Influence.
Jabez prayed for his territory to be enlarged…enlarge his coasts, his borders.
Have you prayed for God to arrange you geographically? Are you seeking to be more effective for Him? You must be prepared for a different exposure. He not only prays for the manifestation of the spiritual, but also that his geographicial boundaries would broaden! In other words…..WHATEVER IT TAKES AND WHEREVER IT TAKES ME!~ ENLARGEMENT! Pray for expansion.
7. The Enablement of the Spirit
Jabez prayed that the “hand of the Lord” might be with him. God’s hand represents the enablement, the ability, the support of the Spirit of God!
Psalms 98:1 – His right hand gives us the Victory! The hand of God is the INVASION OF THE SPIRIT into our lives!
Unless we have the continual support of the Spirit, we will fail. But with His hand, His provision, His covering, His power, and His strength…success is guaranteed! The Spirit of God can plow through anything. Pray the Spirit’s anointing.
8. Protection as you transcend the ordinary.
Jabez asked to be kept from evil. Why? There is always resistance when we begin to claim new territory. In Matthew 6:13, Jesus, Himself, prayed, “…deliver us from evil.” If you dare to move out of the ordinary, out of the predictable, there will be unchartered waters with potential risks! There’s a wide expanse worth probing! He has promised both His Presence and His Protection! Think of the many new ways that God is going to work! Move forward in confidence of God’s overshadowing protection and His guidance through the unknown!
As we move further into Destiny, we need God’s supernatural protection. Pray the Breaker-Anointing as you travel beyond the ordinary into adventure with God!
9. Your past does not dictate your future.
Finally, Jabez prays….”that is might not hurt me.” Or in other words, I don’t want a future of pain! Two things were against Jabez….His environment and His heritage! In others words, where he came from and what he was in! God knows where you are now!!! You are NOT a victim to the circumstances! Don’t be held to the limitations of yesterday. You can’t change five minutes ago! Look forward! Look ahead! Go beyond! There are some things in your life that you are not required to bring into your Destiny! Leave them behind! Jabez did not have to bring the pain of his past into his future! There is NOTHING that has ever happened in your life that can stop your Destiny!!! With God’s lead, you will enter into everything He has planned!
When your reality is too much for you, He will cause you to understand that HE is greater! The Bible is full of people who overcame a bad past and difficult environments. You can’t change the past, but you can change the future. Pray beyond your own limitations!
10. Praise is the language of faith.
Finally, we read…….”And God granted what he asked…….” There is nothing like the miracle of answered prayer!
“Desire realized is sweet to the soul” (Prov. 13:19) How sweet it is, when God comes through!
Start now, thanking God for outcomes that alter Destiny and chart your course to bring Him the most glory! Pray with expectant gratitude!
It’s time NOW to Custom-Design Destiny!
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SIX SIMPLE WAYS TO RESPECT HOPE
DO YOU RESPECT HOPE?
RESPECT – an act of giving particular attention : consideration
3 a : high or special regard : esteem b : the quality or state of being esteemed c plural : expressions of respect or deference <paid our respects>
Usually, whatever you respect, you attract. And whatever you disrespect, begins to leave your life.
Do you respect hope? Do you have a high regard for hope? Do you give particular attention to hope?
Hope is an expectancy, an anticipation, based on God’s character and nature. If you respect hope, you can grow hope. If you disrespect hope, it will grow dim.
Here are six simple ways to respect hope.
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1. Write down the hope words, revelations, and inspirations that come to your mind and heart.
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2. Pray and Meditate on the thoughts, words, direction that HOPE is bringing to your life.
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3. Initiate instant action steps. (What can you do today, right now, that will make a difference in hope?)
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4. Make it all practical. (Must be workable, able to orient into daily life.)
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5. Praise & Worship God for a greater revelation of hope and what it means to your life and others.
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6. Share in a way that honors the Lord. (Give hope to others and honor HIM in doing so!)
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LET HOPE WORDS REIGN!
Learn to think in terms of HOPE. Learn to give in Hope so that HOPE becomes the background of your life. Your actions spring from Hope, this Jesus-kind of HOPE. Get a HOPE LANGUAGE. Learn it; practise it; speak it continuously. Let is replace and displace any other words that you have spoken. The Hope Language is POWERFUL!
Other languages have ruled us. Now, the HOPE LANGUAGE is going to reign! We are going to learn the HOPE WALK, the way Jesus lived and taught us to live. No more hate acts, selfish acts, bitter acts or words. All will be hopeful.
We are going to soak our minds in the Word of Hope, the God of HOPE until His Word and Spirit transforms and controls our language. The beauty of HOPE is about to roll from our lips like sweet honey to a world that is hurting! What would it be if our day was totally filled with HOPE WORDS? We are going to invade our atmosphere with Words of HOPE so that all will know that our God is the God of all HOPE!
Get into the HOPE HABIT! Hope in action. Let HOPE reign. Just as if a King or Queen were ruling in our homes, let HOPE REIGN! How beautiful life is when HOPE REIGNS! Hope is going to reign over reason! Things that have been so self-assertive and hard to yeild, must yeild to HOPE.
We have received the nature of God into our lives, the nature of Hope. Jesus is the HEAD of the Church and He has promised that His DNA would be more powerful than any downward pull. Hope Lifts! This is not just a dogma or creed — it is the Jesus-Life manifested through our lives to a world that needs Jesus with skin on! Not a theory, not a creed, not a religion–but the real Jesus on the inside giving HOPE to all on the outside!!!
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