I'm pretty sure I've said all of what I am going to write today at least once before, but I feel as though it needs to be said again. And again and again and again and again until my friends and family and strangers truly start BELIEVING and ACTING on what I am saying. Or really, what GOD is teaching me, and I am SHARING with you...
My goal, today, is to not use any words of my own, but to simply repeat what Jesus Himself said or what one of His disciples wrote as a result of spending time with Jesus or what the apostle Paul wrote after his life was transformed when he accepted Jesus as his Savior and Lord.
Let's start with Jesus (always a good person to start with)
Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through Me will be saved.
They will come and go freely and will find good pastures.
The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy.
My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.
That establishes His character pretty well, letting us know what kind of God we serve. To make sure we get it though, and better understand His goodness and desire to bless us, Jesus goes on to say:
“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for.
Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives.
Everyone who seeks, finds.
And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
“You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead?
Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not!
So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.
Perhaps, you are like me. Maybe you still doubt or think you're being greedy and asking for too much. You don't want to get carried away and pray for something that's too difficult for God to handle (or more accurately, too much for YOU to handle or too big for you to accomplish on your own)...
When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,
the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.
I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you
with inner strength through his Spirit.
Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him.
Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.
And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should,
how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.
May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.
Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us,
to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.
Maybe you face a different battle - one against FEAR. You're scared of the unknown. You worry about what might happen. You dread the possibility of failure. You turn from the smallest sign of uncertainty. And so you stay where it's "safe." You're not alone. Unfortunately. And even worse, you are missing out. BIG TIME!!!
And it is impossible to please God without faith.
Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists
and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
From the Old Testament too...
Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple.
If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you.
I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in!
Try it! Put me to the test!
Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insects and disease.
Your grapes will not fall from the vine before they are ripe,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
“Then all nations will call you blessed, for your land will be such a delight,”
says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
God DOES want the BEST for us. We are His children. He loves us. DEARLY. He gave His own Son to die on the cross in our place. He was bruised and beaten and crucified ON OUR BEHALF. His sacrificial death paid for our ETERNAL LIFE.
If God will express His love so deeply and passionately for us on the cross, why then do we doubt His desire to bless us once we have accepted His free gift of salvation?
I am NOT saying your number one goal in life should be to accumulate wealth, to have the biggest house or the newest car or the latest fashion trends or whatever else.
I am NOT saying you should desire fame and fortune.
I AM saying that it's okay, and even GOOD, to rest in God, to sit in His lap, to enjoy His presence, and to experience His abundant grace and mercy.
I AM saying that it's pretty awesome when you take God at His Word, when you BELIEVE what He has said, and step out in FAITH to live the life He has called you to live.
Be still in the presence of the Lord,
and wait patiently for him to act.
Trust in the Lord and do good.
Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.
Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you your heart’s desires.
Commit everything you do to the Lord.
Trust him, and he will help you.
He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn,
and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.
And my new prayer for myself and for YOU:
So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call.
May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do.
Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live,
and you will be honored along with him.
This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ.
I invite you to sit down and have a open, honest conversation with God. You may not hear Him audibly, but I guarantee you He is listening to you and will answer you as you pour your heart out to Him.
I want you to list out the dreams He has placed on your heart. Nothing is too small. Nothing is too big. Don't think about what you are writing. JUST WRITE! Use 10 pages of paper if you need to do so!
Once you have jotted down every single thing that came to mind, that you felt in your heart, I want you to go back over that list and pick out the top 5. I want you to get out a new piece of paper and write down those 5 dreams and post them where you will see them every.single.day. Not "just" see them, but PRAY over them. EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.
Now, one last thing, I want you to go to your bathroom mirror and take a dry erase marker and write out:
God is at work in me.
He can do INFINITELY MORE
than I can ask, dream, or dare to imagine.
Okay, now we are a mission together. A mission to dream big, and PRAY BIGGER!!! I can hardly wait to see what God is going to do in and through us as we step out in faith to serve Him and live for Him with passion and purpose!!!
If you took my challenge, I would LOVE to know so I can be praying for you and with you!!!
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