Our Restoration & Hope are in Christ Jesus (5.31.15)

We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because GOD’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. - Romans 5:3-5

Faith Believers,

It is not in our human nature to want to suffer. 

In fact, our society encourages us to avoid hardship at all costs. 

But what if suffering was part of GOD's plan for our restoration?

Paul of all people knew what adversity was. From an illness that was always upon him, to beatings, stonings, prison, and even shipwrecks; Paul experienced it all. Yet he knew in his heart that his sufferings were to be rejoiced over.

All of us have experienced various forms of afflictions and sufferings - the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, income or home, divorce or sickness. I personally can attest to everything I just listed; however, I wouldn’t change anything about my life. Every form of affliction I have endured — and will endure — has brought me closer to GOD. These painful experiences have transformed me into who I am today.

We must never forget that our restoration and hope are in Christ Jesus.  Our suffering will restore our hearts and teach us endurance, which will develop our character to be a reflection of His. This is our restoration in Him - to be one with Christ, just as He was One with the Father.

    - Marilyn

________

Hear our cries today, Lord.
You know our struggles.
Help us to face our afflictions with a joyful heart,
knowing that in them we will only grow closer to You.
May we trust You with everything in our lives,
so that You may restore our hearts to be one with You.

Amen.

Give God Your Pain, Release Your Anger, Talk to Him & Be at Peace (5.30.15)

My Child,
When you are feeling down, it is then that you are more susceptible to the attacks of the enemy.  he will encourage you to feel sorry for yourself, so that you will never rise above your pain. In the midst of your pain is when you should seek My face and call out to Me.  When you call upon Me, I will come and minister to you, and take away the pain. I long to hold you close to Me. Cease all your striving and come talk with Me.

Please talk to Me and stop allowing your pain to cause you to lash out at others. Don’t be angry with them because your despair and pain has become too much for you to bear. My child, give Me your pain, for I Am the One who can handle all that you’re going through. Lashing out at others won’t ease your pain, nor will it bring deliverance from what you are going through.  That is why I am here.  Release your anger.  Give it all to Me, and talk to Me,  for it’s My desire to heal you.

Humble yourself, forgive and talk to Me. Pour all that concerns you unto Me.  I want to bear your burdens. Don't hold onto the pain and hurt, but call out to Me. I want to heal you.  I want to hold you close, and wipe away your tears. Have you forgotten where your strength and help comes from? Oh, My child, if only you would lift your head up from all that troubles you; then you would see that I am with you.

So, talk to Me often, and let a praise rise up from your lips.  You don’t have to go through this alone. Talk to Me, and then you will see that I am right there with you.

My child, you’ve tried everything else, why not try talking to Me and be at peace.
 

MEDITATE ON HIS WORD:

Psalms 40:1-2 - I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. 

Ephesians 4:26-27 - Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil. 
 
1 Peter 5:6-7 - Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of GOD, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 
 
1 Peter 5:10 - But the GOD of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you.

The Importance of Making God a Priority (5.29.15)

My Child,

I want you to spend more time with Me. 

You seem to have forgotten what it means
to wait upon your Lord.

You live in an age of instant gratification, where you want things to come to you quickly and easily. You seem to have forgotten what it is to wait, and now you think that waiting means the denial of a promised blessing. 

Because you don’t understand the importance of waiting, it has weakened your faith.

Have you forgotten how My presence used to saturate your senses, as you waited before Me? 

Have you forgotten how I used to show you things from My Word, as you prayerfully pondered it? 

Have you forgotten how My joy used to fill your heart, as you meditated on Me? 

I am still able to do all of those wonderful things for you. 

My child, do not think I am withholding any good thing from you.

The reason you lack these things, is because you are not willing to come before Me and wait upon Me like you used to. You are not willing to stop thinking about what you want, so that I can supply your needs. 

I want good and perfect things for you.

I want to saturate your senses with My nearness. 

I want to fill you with My anointing as you linger in My presence. 

I want to strengthen you and fully equip you for things to come. 

That is why it is so important for you to make Me a priority and to spend time with Me.

Come into My presence. Spend more time with Me, and I will reveal more of myself to you. 

Come and allow Me to refresh you, and remind you of the power and the blessings of waiting in My presence. 

Come, spend more time with Me, and you will be in awe of the amazing things that are yet to come. 

My child, in My presence is where you need to be.

MEDITATE ON HIS WORD:

Psalm 130:5-6 - I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.  

Isaiah 30:18 - And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a GOD of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him. 
Micah 7:7 - Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the GOD of my salvation: my God will hear me
Hebrew 10:36 - For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of GOD, ye might receive the promise.

Putting on "a New Self," in God's Image (5.28.15)

Put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. - Colossians 3:10

Faith Believers,

I was going through a difficult stretch. 

Every day a new problem seemed to pile on top of an older one. 

I was increasingly asking, “GOD, why are You allowing all these things to happen?”

“Why?” Small word but a big question.
And at some point, it begins to seem like the biggest question of all.
You want to say to GOD, “Another problem? Really? Don’t I have enough already?”

I asked a friend why GOD was doing these things.
“We don’t always know the reasons,” he said,
“but we can always know the goal.”

I wasn’t sure I understood the difference. He explained further from Colossians 3:10. “GOD is always in the renewal business; His goal is to renew you in knowledge in His own image.”

That was a new thought to me, and it was a timely word. It encouraged me to think less about what GOD was doing to me and more about what He wanted to do within me. I may not have understood much of why the problems were piling up, but I could understand a lot about how I needed to respond.

I needed to “put on the new self,” to more fully embrace the new nature He had created within me, when I came to Christ. I could become more like Christ. If I couldn’t control the problems – and so often we cannot – I could respond by asking for GOD’s help to put on this new self, in His image. 

This would be a new self that trusted in His love, experienced His peace, 

asked for His wisdom and relied on His strength.

Did knowing this make things easier? Maybe a small bit, but difficulties are, well, difficult.  Sometimes even painful. But it did give me hope to get through the difficulties. 

I could be sure that GOD was at work in my life,
and that in the end He would do a good work within me.

    - Marilyn

________

Jesus, 

Thank You for coming into my life
and creating a new nature within me.

Please awaken me to living fully in that new nature
by the power of Your Spirit.

I give you my weaknesses and burdens today,
and I trust that you have already given me
everything I need for life and godliness
to become more like You.

Amen

Final Word:
If you are experiencing pain or hurt, bring it to GOD in prayer.
Ask Him to give you wisdom in how to pray for His intercession.
He is always at work to renew your life.
You can trust Him to carry you through until,
as the Apostle Paul tells us, Christ “is formed in you” (Galatians 4:19).

He is Jehovah Jireh, the God of More than Enough & He will Provide. (5.27.15)

My Child, 

In case you need a reminder, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life;
and I hold all the keys to every door, lock and obstacle imaginable.

I know it’s easy to get so caught up with the struggles of this life, and the events surrounding you, that you might sometimes forget that I have, and that I Am, the answer to every problem. There is not one issue that is too big or too small for Me to overcome. No, there is nothing too hard for the Lord your God, and I will provide.

I am the GOD who restores and refreshes you, when you get weary.  I am the GOD who will build up what the enemy has torn down. I am the GOD, who will encourage you, when despair is knocking at your door.  I am the GOD, who will strengthen the weak areas in your life. I am the GOD who will restore the years the enemy has taken away.  No one else can do what I can. So, rely on Me when you are down and out. 

Pray and turn to Me, before you have reached the point
of finding out that everything else has, or will, fail.

I am Jehovah Jireh; whatever you need, I will provide.

Now, stop worrying about what’s coming against you.  Stop worrying about what others are doing. Stop allowing your eyes to dictate the outcome of what you are going through. Take your hands off the situation; look to Me, and let Me do what you cannot do. 

Never forget that I am more than able to supply your EVERY need.  

I am Jehovah Jireh. 

I am the GOD of more than enough.  

I will provide.

MEDITATE ON HIS WORD: 

Genesis 22:8 - And Abraham said, My son, GOD will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. 
Genesis 22:14 - And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. 
Jeremiah 32:27 - Behold, I am the LORD, the GOD of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?
Joel 2:25 - And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and thecaterpiller, and the palmerworm,
Philippians 4:19 - But my GOD shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 

Stand, Get through this Obstacle & Obtain the Victory (5.26.15)

My Child,
Pray with confidence in My ability to answer your prayers.

Put away all the whining, all the complaining prayers and pray with expectancy for your promises to be fulfilled. I am not a man that I should lie, nor the son of a man, that I should change My Mind. Do not cast away your confidence in what I have promised you.

Just because you have to endure this situation, do not give up, do not lose hope - for I will answer.

Changes are happening, and I want you to be able to hear the sound of My still, small voice to know what direction to go. The enemy still seeks to distract you, and to throw confusion in the mix. No matter what he tries to do, do not change your Confession of Faith. Beloved, lift your head up and look beyond what you are facing at this moment, and don’t waver in faith. Changing your mind back and forth leaves you in the sea of indecision; and double mindedness produces no decision at all.

If you can see beyond what you are going through, you will know that it is only temporary, and then you can move past it to obtain the Victory. The enemy will do all he can to put just one more thing in your way, so that you will give up hope. Nevertheless, stand and refuse to allow him to get in your way of Victory.  he knows that if you get through this obstacle, it will give you the courage and strength for your breakthrough. 

So hold fast My Child. 
Do not stop praying.
Do not give up hope. 

I am the Lord, Your God.
I am faithful.
And I will answer.
 

MEDITATE ON HIS WORD: 

Numbers 23:19 - GOD is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? 

1 Corinthians 1:9 - GOD is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
 
Hebrews 10:23 - Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
 
Hebrews 10:35-36 - Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of GOD, ye might receive the promise. 
 
James 1:6-8 - But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

Obedience is Fundamental to Effective Prayer (5.25.15)

We have confidence before GOD and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him - 1 John 3:21-22

Faith Believers,
Obedience is fundamental to effective prayer.  Only people who obey GOD, have the right to go into His presence with requests.

GOD delights in the prayers of his obedient children. When we want what GOD wants, and live the way He likes, then we will pray prayers that GOD will answer, in the way we expect; and GOD, in answering our prayers, will support what He approves. Were GOD to answer the prayers of the disobedient, the Father would be aiding and abetting what He does not approve. That would be out of character for GOD.

To put it in other words, if we expect GOD to do for us what we ask, we should be prepared to do for GOD what He asks. If we listen to His words of command, GOD will listen to our words of request.

This principle also explains much of the weakness of prayer. Lack of power, lack of perseverance and lack of confidence in prayer all stem from some lack in the Christian life. Often when prayer fails, and we receive no answers, we assume the problem is in GOD - while in reality, the problem really is in us.

Gracious GOD,
I give You praise for Your generous, giving nature. 

Forgive me of my failure to keep
Your commands and to do what pleases You.

Help my desires in prayer to be in perfect alignment
with Your Will for the glory of Your Kingdom.

Amen

Prayer Points

• Praise GOD as your Rock, your stronghold and fortress (Psalm 144:1-2).
  
• Thank Him for being a solid foundation on which to stand spiritually, so that nothing can shake you (Matthew 7:24-25).
  
• Confess those times in your life when you have stepped off the rock solid foundation of GOD’s Word and relied on your own understanding.
  
• Commit yourself to building your life on Christ’s teachings.
  
• Ask GOD to help you plant your feet firmly in His Word each day.
  
• Pray for the devotional times of the families that you know, that regular times of prayer and Bible reading will help bond family members to each other and to GOD.
  
• Pray that your single friends may find a group of spiritual brothers and sisters to do this with as well.

Rest Now. Whatever You are Believing God for - it is Already Done (5.24.15)

My Child,
Your cries and prayers have not fallen on deaf ears.
Not one tear you shed has fallen to the ground.

Don’t you know I saw this day before you were born? I know your needs and desires. I knew about them before you took your first breath. All you have been through, brought you to this point. You are where you are right now because your trials have brought you closer to Me.

I want you to let go of that fear that’s in your heart.
Let go of doubting, because I will come through for you.
I have kept you, and I have brought you this far,
am I not capable of delivering you?

Fear not. I am the same GOD which opens your eyes each day. Have faith in Me, Beloved, because I hold each and every situation you may ever face, in the palm of My Hand.  I am more than capable of doing all things, for nothing is impossible for Me. Is it not written that you are more precious than the birds in the air and the lilies of the field? Then, please don’t worry about your situation. Worrying will never change anything.

So, please let it go. When worry attempts to invade your thoughts, stop and say, “JESUS.ʺ

Worry can’t linger when My Son is present. Just say, “JESUS.” That’s all you have to say. We will never leave you nor forsake you. Give Me full control of what is wrong in your life. Rest now, knowing that all you need, and all that concerns you, is in My Hands; and that whatever you are believing Me for, is already done!!!

  

MEDITATE ON HIS WORD:

Luke 12:22-31  And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and GOD feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?

And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

If then GOD so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of GOD; and all these things shall be added unto you. 

A Time for Rest & Solitude in God's Love (5.22.15)

My Child, 

Let go of the cares and burdens of the world;
and spend some time with Me. 

Come into My embrace
and rest your head on My shoulder. 

There are too many things running through your mind, so it’s time to rest your mind today. Go to a secluded place and just rest. Stop feeling that you have to be busy all the time.  How can you fulfill others, if you are empty?  Come and allow Me to refresh you and pour fresh oil into you and on you.

There is a time to be a warrior and to fight the battles of the world; however, there is also a time to rest, and to let Me comfort and encourage you.  There is much to be learned from a little solitude, and if you spend some time with Me today, I will teach you. Oh, just come into My presence for a while, feel My strong arms enveloping you and keeping you safe.

As you rest today, take time to remember and rejoice in the many blessings that I have showered upon you; and appreciate the life that you have.  I know things may not be the way you want them to be right now; however, there are blessings in your life in which you should be giving thanks for.  If you spend time today reflecting, it will ignite your faith and cause you to believe that the best is yet to come.

Rest with Me today and allow My love to flow into every part of your life. If you rest in My love, it will reassure you that I have all of your plans, and your situation, in the palm of my hand. 

Now, rest your mind and abide in the presence of the Most High GOD.

MEDITATE ON HIS WORD: 

Psalms 23:1-3 - The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Psalm 91:1 - He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 
 
Mark 6:31-32 - And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. And they departed into a desert place by ship privately. 

Things are Changing, Stand Strong (5.21.15)

Beloved,

Stay close to Me, allow My presence to overshadow you and saturate your life.

Just because things are turning around, don’t be tempted to walk away from Me. Strengthen yourself in Me, and stay before Me; so that discouragement will not be able to undermine the blessed assurance that is now upon your life.  You are My Work in progress, and I am working on you, pouring much into you because there is much to be done.

I am renewing your spirit,
so that you will be able to stand strong against the spirit of fear,
and do mighty things in My Name.

Stand My Child and be renewed in the faith and confidence that I’m pouring into your life.  Continue to feed upon My Word daily.  Hunger and thirst for it more than you do for natural food.  Change is happening and I want you to enjoy what is happening in your life.  But never forget where your help and strength come from. Remember, apart from Me you can do nothing.

Things are happening,
and the things you’ve been seeking will happen suddenly.

You’ve been prepared.
 Now it is time for you to go forth and conquer the land.

MEDITATE ON HIS WORD:

Deuteronomy 8:10-14 - When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy GOD for the good land which he hath given thee. Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy GOD, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day:  Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy GOD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; 

Lamentations 2:17 - The LORD hath done that which he had devised; he hath fulfilled his word that he had commanded in the days of old:
 
Psalm 121:2 - My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.


Philippians 1:6 - Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: