Lisa-Teachings – With A Purpose Ministries

~ BE AN OVERCOMER ~

admin — Mon, 22 May 2023 16:54:28 +0000

To overcome means to conquer, prevail or get the victory. Do you have anything in your life right now that you need to conquer, prevail or get the victory over? We all do! There is hope because God says we are overcomers in this life because greater is He IN us, than he (the enemy) who is in the world!

What things in the world are we to overcome? Basically, anything that doesn’t align with the truth of God’s Word over any given situation. We are to overcome in everyday decisions and choices we make whether we go God’s ways or the ways of the world. We may have situations with other people that are yielded to evil against us, and we need to get the victory in that area. The thing is, we are either going to be overcomers or be overcome. The choice is ours, as always, in how we deal with things.

In the book of Revelation, it says many things about overcomers, such as how to overcome and what the overcomers will receive.

Revelation 12:10-11 – “Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony; and they did not love their lives to the death.”

What a blessing that we can overcome (the enemy/the world) by speaking our testimony with courage and boldness because of the blood of the Lamb. Praise God He has given us a way to gain the victory over whatever hinderances are in our way. I John 5:4 tells us this, “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith (and remember, faith works by love – Gal. 5:6).

Everything that the enemy wants to do in our lives (which is to steal, kill and destroy – John 10:10) can be overcome because Jesus has already overcome. That is great news!

It also tells us in Rev. 21:7 that he who overcomes shall inherit all things, and God will be our God and we shall be His son? There are other things in the book of Revelation that talk about the overcomers, which I’ll briefly list below. And it almost always begins by saying, “To those who have ears to hear, let them hear what the Spirit is saying.”

• He will grant us to eat the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God – Rev. 2:7 (that sounds heavenly!)

• We will not be hurt by the second death – Rev. 2:11

• He will give us to eat of the hidden manna, and a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no man knows but the one who receives it – Rev. 2:17

• He will give us authority over the nations – Rev. 2:26

• He will clothe us in white garments, and will not erase our name from the book of life, but will confess our name before the Father and His angels – Rev. 3:5

• He will make us a pillar in the temple of our God, and we will not go out from it anymore; and He will write on us the name of our God, and the name of the city of our God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from our God, and His new name – Rev. 3:12

• He will grant us to sit down with Him on His throne, just as He sat down with the Father on His throne – Rev. 3:21

• We shall inherit all things – Rev. 21:7

These are promises that God has for the ones who overcome while on this earth. Remember, if we aren’t overcoming, we are being overcome. And Romans 12:21 in the Amplified version tells us, “Do not be overcome and conquered by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

The only way to overcome evil with good is through the love of God and doing what the Word of God says in any given situation – being led by the Spirit of God.

A few examples might be – Instead of cursing those who persecute you, the Bible says to bless them and pray for those who despitefully use you. If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat, if he’s thirsty, give him water to drink. If you are in fear (which is evil, it’s not of God), God says perfect love will cast out fear. Ask God to give you a revelation of His love for you. And you can overcome that fear.

Whatever evil is present in your life or coming against you, you can overcome it by faith in the blood of Jesus and the Word of God. When Jesus was in the wilderness being tempted by the devil, He always came back to the devil saying, “IT IS WRITTEN…..”

So in closing, Romans 8:31 and 37 says if God is for us, who can be against us because we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

Let’s be overcomers so that we can inherit all things that God has for us!

Decreeing and Declaring

admin — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 20:03:49 +0000

Job 22:28 in the KJV says, “You will decree a thing and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.” The amplified translation says, “You shall also decide and decree a thing, and it shall be established for you; and the light (of God’s favor) shall shine upon your ways.

A decree is an official order issued by a legal authority. It is an authoritative command. The person issuing the decree must have the authority or the right to pronounce or announce the order for the decree to be official. Without that authority, a decree is worthless.

We know, as believers, that God has given us authority in the earth, and when we decree a thing, it must line up with the truth of God’s word for it to come to pass because God’s word is the final authority. Decrees are also the privileges of kings! When kings decree something, it is automatically settled and becomes law. Therefore, we, as kings and priests (Rev. 1:6 and 5:10) can rightly make decrees according to the Word of God by the authority He has given us.

To declare something is to speak or say it out loud, to proclaim, announce, state or communicate something. To make known, show forth, or report something, or to stand boldly out opposite something. I highlighted this because you will see below this is what happened. When we declare something according to the will of God, we can expect it to come to pass.

I want to give a couple of testimonies about how when I decreed and declared something, it totally changed the outcome of some situations. And it wasn’t too long ago when I realized that is what I had done. I didn’t use the words ‘decree and declare’ but that is exactly what happened.

Prior to God moving us to Colorado in 2015, we were at point in our life where things were not really good. It was a very dry and isolated period of time. It had been that way for quite awhile and one day up out of my spirit I felt like I would burst if I didn’t speak what was on the inside of me. I remember JR was sitting at the computer and I looked at him and said, “I’m speaking this out loud to you, to God and to the devil — but I’m not going to live the rest of my life like we’re living (which was way under par); I KNOW God has more than what we’re experiencing, and I’m not sure exactly how it’s going to look when it’s over, but I don’t intend to live the rest of my life like we’re living right now.” And I walked out of the room. Notice the bold reference above – stand boldly out opposite. Really it was calling something that was not as though it was – which is FAITH. I wished I could remember the timeframe on this – it could have been a year or two or several years when things broke completely through. I am convinced now more than ever that those words I spoke out loud is what changed the trajectory of our life completely around, as I will share below.

So in January of 2015, I heard in my spirit the Lord say that we were going to be moving. I figured it was to another house in or around the same area we were living at the time. I started collecting moving boxes and never said a word to anyone but when the boxes started piling up to the top of the garage, JR asked what I was doing. I simply told him that the Lord had said we were going to be moving.

A few months later, at the end of April/first of May, JR got laid off from his job along with 400 other people. (It was an excellent job that had literally sent him all over the world traveling doing sales training with this company in other locations around the world). When this lay off came about, they did give him a nice severance pay and that was the end of that.

For the next month or so, as he was looking for another job, he only had one interview which he knew wasn’t the one God had for him. After a period of time and nothing opening up, we knew God had to be up to something.

So around the first of June is when God opened the door for us to come to Colorado for the Summer Family Bible Conference at Andrew Wommack Ministries for a week. I knew in my spirit when this trip was being planned that God was moving us to Colorado to go to Charis Bible College. Wow – nothing had ever been on our radar that we would ever move out of Texas. BUT GOD ~~ and this move proved to be exceeding, abundantly above all we could think or ask, and still is!

Most people plan for years saving money to retire in such a place as this, and here God moves us when JR has just been laid off from a good paying job with excellent benefits traveling around the world!

But that day I spoke out to JR, God and the devil that I knew God had more for us than what we were experiencing in life, I’m convinced the angels of God went to work preparing this move on our behalf to bring us into ‘the more that God had for us’.

Another example I want to share is how a situation changed completely around that involved our daughter, Amy.

Back in 2016 (a year after we had moved to Colorado), Amy called me one day asking for prayer. She said she was having issues in her body and would I pray with her. And of course I did and took authority over the enemy and commanded him to turn her loose and released the power of God into her body.

A few weeks later, she called again saying she wasn’t better and it was still there so I prayed again. This went on for weeks to the point she started having panic attacks. She would be in the grocery store and have to leave because these panic attacks would hit her. It had come to the point where she didn’t even want to leave the house – which is not like her at all.

By this time, I told her she had let fear in and the enemy was magnifying this. So I took authority over that spirit (2 Tim. 1:7) and once again released the power of God into her body and thanked Him she was healed. So after many more weeks/months into this attack, she called me one day and told me she had made an appointment to go to the doctor to have tests run because she knew something was totally not right in her body. There was no fear in me about all this, and I told her to do what she needed to do but when they run all the tests, THEY WILL FIND NOTHING THERE.

When she went in to have these tests done, they did numerous ones and when the reports came back, each test came back negative and nothing was found!!! Glory to God! She said she broke down crying she was so relieved. And after that ALL the symptoms left.

I am convinced that had I agreed with her that something was severely wrong, they would have found something. But that day when I declared and decreed out of my mouth THEY WOULD FIND NOTHING, that is exactly what happened because I was boldly standing out against a lie in her body! Why? Because Jesus already paid the price for all sickness and disease that we might be healed (Isa. 53:5 and I Peter 2:24).

Faith is always voice activated. You can see this beginning back in Genesis 1 when God said ‘let there be light’ and light was. Every time HE SAID – IT CAME FORTH. In Romans 10:17 it tells us faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. To hear something, it must be spoken out loud.

It also tells us in Prov. 18:21 that life and death are in the power of our tongue. Whatever we speak will produce what comes out of our mouth whether good or bad, blessings or cursing’s, life or death. That is why it is so important to sow the Word of God in your heart because out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. So speak life and see God work powerful things in your midst!

HOW TO BE SET FREE !

admin — Mon, 27 Feb 2023 20:18:07 +0000

In John 8:31-32, it says in the KJV, “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

Jesus was speaking to believers. But as we may know, many believers aren’t free. They have received Jesus into their hearts and been born again, but it ended there for them. Their thinking may be that they have their ‘ticket’ (so to speak) to go to heaven, so everything is fine (or so they think). And they go on in life their own way or better put, the ways of the world, not the ways of the Lord. They haven’t been set free from things that have them bound and things that are hindering them from walking in victory the way GOD intended for them to walk.

So as we can see in these scriptures, just because someone has believed on the Lord and been born again, doesn’t mean they are automatically free. Their spirit man is made completely perfect just like Jesus’, but the soul has never been dealt with and freed from bondages and wrong thinking, etc.

None of us are totally free and we won’t be until we go to be with Jesus. But many of us can say God has started the process of setting us free to the degree He has because we are continuing, or abiding, in the Word of God.

The qualifications for getting set free are clarified in these two scriptures in John 8:31-32.

Many times you hear it quoted, ‘The truth shall make you free.’ But the previous verse (31) needs to be quoted along with verse 32, which says, “…..if you continue in my Word, then are ye my disciples indeed;” and then verse 32, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

The word continue means to abide and to abide in something is to dwell, endure, remain in it.

A disciple is a learner, a pupil, or one who follows one’s teachings. And according to this scripture, a disciple is one who continues or abides and dwells in the teachings of Jesus.

As stated above, verse 32 continues, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

To know the truth is to be aware , perceive, understand. Jesus said in John 17:17, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” John 1:17 tells us the law came by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Jesus and the Word are one – John 1:14.

So simply put, if we abide or remain in the Word of God, we are His disciples, His followers. And it is then we shall know the truth of His Word and it will set us free. The more you renew your mind in the Word of God, the more truth you will be aware of and understanding and revelation will come. And the truth of His Word will set you free.

It will set your thinking right, it will set your actions right, it will restore your soul, it will set your life on a path that is a righteous path pleasing to God. It will set you free from bondages, free from lies, free from addictions, free from every hindrance that keeps you from walking in victory.

Thank God for the truth of His Word that sets us free as we continue in it!!

WHERE IS YOUR FOCUS ?

admin — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 02:13:40 +0000

Did you know that we have a choice on what we focus on every day, whether good or bad? And whatever and wherever we put our focus, it will be magnified. Whatever we starve (don’t focus on), will die. This is such an important truth. And to have a successful and victorious walk with the Lord, your focus will have to be on Him and the truth of His Word in every situation you encounter.

You have probably heard the saying that the mind is a playground for the devil. But we have the Bible which is the blueprint for our life. And when we renew our mind in the Word of God, we will walk in peace and truth in the midst of any storm.

We can choose to believe God and put our trust and hope in Him or we can choose to put our hope and trust in the flesh. Whichever one you choose will be magnified and enlarged in your life.

This truth applies if your body needs healing, if your bank account needs money, if your heart needs healed (and not necessarily the one that pumps blood), if your mind needs renewed, if your children need deliverance, etc. The list could go on and on for whatever it is in your life that you are needing. If you look to the ways of the world and how the world operates to solve these things, your problems will only increase and enlarge. And likewise, if you look to the Word of God and put your focus on the truths of God’s Word about any given situation, that is what will be magnified in your life. And God’s ways will always produce victory and blessings from above!

So every day we have choices to make. We can choose life or death, blessing or cursing, good or evil. Which one are you choosing to focus on? The bad economy or God’s prosperity and His blessings for your life. Sickness in your body or believing that Jesus paid for your healing 2000 years ago on the cross when He took every sickness, every disease upon Himself and believing and focusing on ‘by His stripes you were and are healed’ – I Peter 2:24 and Isa. 53:5. Are you choosing to walk in forgiveness because Jesus forgave you or are you holding onto grudges and offences and choosing to let unforgiveness and bitterness rule your life? If the latter, it will only cause you to become more and more bitter. Jesus chose to forgive those that crucified Him and did all kinds of evil to Him, even though He had done no wrong and committed no sin. And because He forgave, we can and should walk in that forgiveness as well.

Every answer we need in this life and for our life to walk victoriously is in the Word of God. It is a blueprint for our lives. Likewise any answer you need and are looking for according to the ways of the world and ways of the flesh will come through the news, the doctors, the stock market, the government, etc. You have a choice this day to find results either according to God’s ways and His Word or the world’s ways. Which way will you choose to focus and follow? Each one will bring results. One good – one not so good. And the not so good will ultimately be not good at all.

Every day your thoughts are on something, whether true or false, good or evil, positive or negative. But if you choose to think God’s way as it states in Philippians 4:8, it tells us what we’re to think on, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” And He didn’t say to think on these things as long as everything in life is going good. No, we are to think on these things no matter what is going on in our life and in the world around us.

I would encourage you this day to step back and consider your ways; consider where your focus is in your every day life. It could be the difference between life and death, blessing and cursing, good and evil. God has a good plan for your life to do you good and not evil, to give you a future and a hope (Jer. 29:11). But it is your choice whether you will enter into His plan and His destiny for your life.

PROSPERITY – ACCORDING TO SCRIPTURE

admin — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 20:24:52 +0000

Religion will teach you that prosperity is not of God. But that does not line up with the truth of God’s word. It tells us in 2 Cor. 8:9, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich.”

The word rich in this verse means abundantly supplied; to be increased with goods, abounding in material resources. The word poor here means destitute as a beggar. Poverty means destitute of riches and abundance. When Jesus became poor for our sakes, it was while He was on the cross. This is where the exchange was made – He took our poverty/our lack for HIS riches.

Jesus had a lack of nothing while He walked on the earth and that’s what He desires for us and has made available to us if we will believe and receive what He did for us on the cross.

God desires for us to be abundantly provided for in every area of our life where there is nothing missing, nothing lacking, nothing wanting.

So prosperity is not just financially, but it definitely includes that. He wants us to be prosperous in our spirit, body and soul as well.

When we take ALL limits off of God, this is when He can do exceedingly, abundantly above all we can ask or thing according to the power that is working in us (Eph. 3:20). And it will be in every area of our lives – spiritually, mentally, physically, financially, relationally.

Here are some scriptures on God’s ways on how to be prosperous:

Joshua 1:8 tells us that if the words of God won’t depart out of our mouth, and if we will meditate on them day and night, then our way will be made prosperous and we will have good success.
Delight in the law of the Lord and meditate on it day and night, then we will be like a tree planted by the rivers of waters, that brings forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he does shall prosper – Ps. 1:2-3.
Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in ALL things and be in health, just as your soul prospers – 3 John 2 NKJV. To have a prosperous soul, it must be renewed in the Word of God (Rom. 12:2).
Honor the LORD with your possessions, and with the first fruits of all your increase; So your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine – Prov. 3:9-10 KJV.
Walk uprightly and no good thing will He withhold from you – Ps. 84:11.
Choose to serve God and not money – Matt. 6:24-33.
If you choose to hearken diligently to the voice of the Lord and obey Him, ALL these blessings listed in Deut. 28:1-14 will be yours. I would encourage you to read these verses.
Trust, fear and seek the Lord – you will have a lack of nothing – Ps. 34:8-10.
Purpose in your heart what to give and do it cheerfully, and God will make all grace abound toward you; that you will ALWAYS have ALL sufficiency in ALL things, so that you can abound to EVERY good work – 2 Cor. 9:7-8.
Fear (reverence, be in awe of) the Lord and you will be blessed – Ps. 128:1, Prov. 28:25 (be made fat – prosperous).
Give to the poor and you will have a lack of nothing – Prov. 28:27.
Give and will be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom – Luke 6:38.
Seek first the Kingdom of God (His dominion, His rule and reign) and His righteousness (His faithfulness, truthfulness and nature) and ALL these things shall be added unto you (Matt. 6:33-34).
Fear (reverence) the Lord and delight greatly in His commandments (His precepts) and your seed shall be mighty upon the earth and wealth and riches shall be in your house – Ps. 112:1-3. (This whole chapter is so good).
By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, honor, and life – Prov. 22:4.

So as we can see in these verses, God wants us to prosper in every area of our life. And when we do things God’s way, prosperity and success will follow us every time. And remember what it says in Luke 12:15, “And Jesus said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things which he possesses.” Being prosperous is not dependent on how much a person has, but really it is a condition of the heart that believes what God says about prosperity and receiving it HIS way!

I will close with 2 Peter 1:2-4:

“Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, according as His divine power hath given unto us ALL things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

DRAW NEAR TO GOD

admin — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 19:11:48 +0000

In James 4, James is rebuking those who have wrong passions and desires and wanting to be friends with the world, whom he clearly defines as adulterers and adulteresses. It continues in verse 4 saying whosoever wants to be a friend of the world (or makes himself a friend of the world) is the enemy of God. That is a strong statement, and there is no gray matter in that statement, is there?

He continues on in verse 6 and 7 saying that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble and to submit ourselves to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. That is humility. In Micah 6:8 it states, “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” Humility, I believe simply put, is submitting to the will of God. It is doing His will from the heart – Eph. 6:6. It is submitting to truth – the truth of God’s Word over the lies of the enemy.

James 4:8 continues saying, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double minded.”

We know in James 1:7-8 that it says that a double minded (wavering, uncertain) man will receive nothing of the Lord because he is unstable (restless, unsettled) in all his ways. When you are rooted and grounded in the Word of God, you are fixed and settled. Why? Because you are trusting in what God Word says over what the world says. It’s a sure foundation for your life with a sure and certain outcome — which is Victory! Micah 2:7 tells us that God’s Words do good to him that walks uprightly.

When we are caught up in the world and the ways of the world, we really are walking in pride. But if we will come close to God and humble ourselves in His sight, He will lift us up (exalt us).

Everything in this life is a choice. We can decide the course of our life by the decisions we make. And know for sure that any wrong decisions we’ve made, any wrong paths we’ve taken, we serve a God who is merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth. All we need to do is repent and turn from those paths and decisions we’ve made and receive God’s forgiveness and mercy and move forward in truth.

The question we need to ask ourselves is, “Are the decisions we are making according to the world’s ways (which is law, deception and bondage) or are they according to God’s ways (which is grace, truth and freedom)?” We can’t have it both ways. God says in Revelation He would that we were hot or cold, but because we are lukewarm (straddling both sides of the fence), He will spew us out (Rev. 3:16).

It is the mercy of God to give us warning about things in our lives and the choices we make because as Paul says to Timothy in I Tim. 2:4 and Peter states in 2 Peter 3:9 that it isn’t His will that any perish but that all come to a knowledge of the truth. In 2 Tim. 3, Paul goes on talking about perilous times coming in the last days (of which we are in). He tells how men (and women) will behave and one of those is lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. It continues in verse 5 stating they have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof and from such turn away. They are ever learning, but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

God is telling us to turn from the ways of the world. Yes, we are in the world, but we are not of the world. Big difference! The world’s ways will lead to destruction, but God’s ways will bring us closer and closer to Him and will always bring forth victory and peace and joy! So today, draw near to God, and the promise is – He will draw near to you!!

Are You Committed to Following God?

admin — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 16:18:36 +0000

To follow God is the greatest and most fulfilling thing a person will do with their life. And one reason is because God will always give you the victory in every situation! God knows the end from the beginning, and when you follow Him He will always cause you to triumph and overcome every obstacle and hindrance that is in front of you.

Jesus overcame the world when He said it is finished and died, was buried and rose again the third day. In I John 5:4 it says that the victory that overcomes the world is our faith. Every born again believer has been given the measure of faith to overcome – Romans 12:3. So we are without excuse!

Everything you do in your life will be through making decisions/choices, whether good or bad. This also includes everything spiritual – from receiving Jesus as your Lord and Savior, which is the very first step you will take in this Christian walk, to deciding to follow Him daily. Simply put, it means deciding to follow His ways which will come through His Word. It will also mean letting Him lead you by His Spirit, which produces life and peace. Or if you decide to do things your own way, which is living in the flesh, it will produce nothing – John 6:63. In Deuteronomy 30:14-20 it tells us to choose life so that we may live and have a blessed life. I would encourage you to read all these verses.

Jeremiah 29:11 tell us that God has a plan for us to do us good and not evil and to give us an expected end, or a future and a hope. Who doesn’t want that? Verse 12-14 continues on to say that we can call upon Him and pray unto Him, and He WILL hearken unto us. We shall seek Him and find Him when we search for Him with all our heart. The only way to come into the plan and destiny that God has for you is to make a decision to go God’s way and not your own. You must also renew your mind in the Word of God to know the will of God for your life.

It takes a commitment to follow the Lord and let Him lead and guide you each and every day. There is no greater fulfillment than in doing so. The world has nothing to offer that even comes close to comparing what the Lord has for your life if you will be led by His Spirit and follow Him daily. It says in Isaiah 55 that His ways and His thoughts are higher than our ways and thoughts. (Read this whole chapter!). But the enemy has a plan for your life as well. In John 10:10 it tells us that the thief (the enemy) comes to steal, kill and destroy, but Jesus came that we might have life and life more abundantly. The choice we make should be obvious, shouldn’t it?

The benefits of serving and following God far outweigh any benefits this world has to offer. In Psalm 103 it lists all His benefits. It says He forgives all our iniquities, He heals all our diseases, He redeems our life from destruction, He crowns us the lovingkindness and tender mercies, He satisfies out mouth with good so that our youth is renewed like the eagles, He executes righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed, He is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy, and the list goes on. I would encourage you to read through this whole chapter in Psalm 103. The world can’t give you any of that!

. So let’s look at a few things about following Him:

1. To follow God is a decision you make – Eph. 5:1, I Peter 2:21, Joshua 24:14-15, III John 11

2, To follow God you will have to lay down your life daily – Matt. 16:24-25, Matt. 10:38-39, Mark 8:34-38

3, To follow God you will have to be led by His Spirit – Romans 8 (read whole chapter!), Galatians 5:16-26, Psalm 128

4. To follow God is life and peace – Romans 8:6 and 13-14, Psalm 119:165, Isaiah 26:3-4, John 14:27

When you follow the Lord, you will not walk in darkness but you will have the light of life dwelling in you because Jesus is the light of the world – John 8:12. So choose this day to follow Him and walk in His light!! The days are getting darker and darker in the world, but this is when the light of Jesus in us will shine brighter and brighter (Isaiah 60:1-3).

Don’t Give Up

admin — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 17:16:14 +0000

When I was asking the Lord what word He had for me to share, this is what came up – Don’t Quit, Don’t Give Up!

So many times, when we almost have the victory, we quit and throw in the towel, so to speak! We become weary in our souls (mind, will, emotions). And the enemy, I believe, knows this and tries to put more pressure on us to bring us to that point of giving up and giving in to what he wants instead of what God has for us – which is victory!

Jesus told us not to be weary (to be utterly spiritless, to be exhausted, faint in your heart, lose or lack courage, be weak) in well doing for He said we would reap in due season (right or opportune time) if we don’t faint – Galatians 6:9.

If you are needing breakthrough, don’t quit now. Usually right before the breakthrough is when it seems the darkest. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. God is faithful to get you to the other side in victory. He has already paid the price for whatever it is you are needing to see come forth. Set your heart and mind on Him and give Him thanks for what you are believing for. Whether it is a situation in your job, finances, a new opportunity, your next step, healing or whatever else it might be, set your heart on the things above and not on your circumstances.

An encouraging scripture is in Isaiah 41:10 where it tells us, “Fear not for I am with thee; be not dismayed; for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea I will help thee, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness.”

When you have God on your side working on your behalf, there is nothing that you can come up against that can defeat you – except your own soul that stops believing Him. Unbelief is evil and it will harden your heart faster than anything. But praise God, we can repent (make a complete turnaround) and start believing again and see the salvation of God come forth.

So stay the course and know that God wants to bring you to the other side of whatever it is you are needing or desiring in your life and He is faithful to get you there. Start worshipping and praising Him for His mercy and grace and goodness. And know this — whatever He has started in your life, He will finish it if you will stay the course.

How beautiful are the feet of them……….

admin — Sat, 21 May 2022 20:55:59 +0000

In Romans 10:14-15 it says, “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”

When God sends you to preach the gospel to someone who has not heard, therefore they have not believed and called on Him, it is a powerful thing to be a part of that salvation process. We carry the Kingdom of God inside of us and the hope of Christ in us to bring to those who are without hope the good news of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is why it is so important to always be ready to preach the Word in season and out of season. When we are trusting and believing God, He will open up doors of opportunity to do just that!

Back in February (2022), God opened up a door to send me and a friend to visit a mutual friend of ours who lives in Hawaii. We all met back in 2016 in our 2nd year at Charis Bible College. When my friend and I knew in our spirits that this was God ordained, I knew that there would be ministry opportunities and we started believing for that. In fact, I believed that this was what this trip was mainly about, and I kept thanking the Lord for preparing this to take place!!!

In Hawaii, we were able to pray with people and see a leg grow out, a wrist be healed that had been broken, prayed for a person with dementia to be healed, I prayed for my friend who had not slept at all one night because of pain in her hip and spasms going on and she could barely walk that next morning. When I prayed and commanded the devil to turn her body loose, she was instantly healed by the power of God. We also spent over 2 hours with a group of mighty women and prayed for this nation, among other things. We had some really good fellowship with many people we met through our friend that lives there.

But the one thing I want to share in this post is what I believe was a crucial and divine appointment right at the onset of our trip on the plane when we first left Denver Airport to San Francisco (for an hour layover).

Towards the end of this flight, about an hour before landing in San Francisco, something incredible happened. There was a young guy from India, named Jimmy, sitting next to me. Both my friend and I were on aisle seats across from one another and Jimmy was next to me in the middle seat. He slept most of the time on the plane but had woken up and shortly after that asked me where I was going and I told him that my friend and I were going to Hawaii.

Not long after that, the man next to him on the window seat needed to get up and go to the restroom. So Jimmy and I got out of our seats and let him out. While we were standing in the aisle, Jimmy asked me what we did. I immediately said, “We are ministers of the gospel.” Well, that opened the floodgates and he started spilling out his heart saying he had a drinking addiction and wanted to know how to fix it. The honesty of his heart was incredible. I told him Jesus was the answer. He told us someone at the gym had just recently told him he needed Jesus as well.

So we were in the aisle talking until the man came back from the restroom. People were starting to turn their heads and listen, although we weren’t talking loud but they could hear, I’m sure, what we were saying. Jimmy ended up asking my friend some things about what we were sharing with him, and as we got back in our seats, she started writing some things out like the pen of a ready writer. It was just pouring out of her as she was writing things down about salvation, baptism in the Holy Spirit, etc. Then as Jimmy and I were back in our seats, I started telling Jimmy how much God loved him and He was the One who could deliver him from his drinking addiction. He told me at this point he had many addictions!! I told him Jesus was the answer for all of them. I shared Romans 10:8-10 with him and about being born again – receiving Jesus into his life. After sharing some other things, I asked him if he would like to pray and receive the Lord. He said yes, so I prayed and had him repeat it. It was like the scripture in Romans 10:14-15 that was taking place right before my eyes!!

I then broke the power of those addictions over his life and commanded the devil to turn him loose in the name of Jesus. I shared several more things with him. I prayed for God to immediately start bringing Godly people into his life that could disciple him and fellowship with him, as well as for God to send someone who could tell him of a bible believing church that demonstrates the power of God. I knew without a doubt that God would do this. I knew that God had not set this divine appointment up to leave Jimmy without someone to come alongside him to mentor and disciple him.

I also had mentioned to him about John 10:10 how the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy but Jesus came that we might have life and life more abundantly. He seemed to understand this because I was sharing how he needed to get new friends and not hang out with his old friends who were doing the same thing because the enemy would use them to bring him down. He shook his head in agreement.

We had brought several brochures with us about Salvation, Baptism in the Holy Spirit, Water Baptism and Healing so we gave those to him and told him to read them carefully because they would explain even more.

About that time, the flight had landed and I knew that we had to entrust Jimmy to the Lord, knowing He would provide all Jimmy would need in the hours and days ahead. God had set this flight up and had me sit right next to him because He had a plan for Jimmy that day!!

Just being willing and ready to share the power of God in any given situation at any time is what we need to be expecting every day. God will have people there, and we just need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and watch God go to work.

This is an adventurous life walking in the Spirit and nothing compares to it and nothing is too hard for Him! Praise the Lord!

Stir Up the Gift of God in You

admin — Mon, 04 Apr 2022 03:05:18 +0000

There may be times in our walk with the Lord where we have let things get in the way of the calling of God for our lives. These are called distractions that come to choke the word of God. They may be the cares of the world, deceitfulness of riches or the lust of other things. And the purpose is to get us off track and off what God has for us. Without doubt, it’s a plot of the enemy that we have allowed to come in and deceive our hearts to be led astray from the plan and purpose of God.

So God tells us in II Timothy to stir up the gift that is in us. He doesn’t say He is going to stir it up for us, but we have to stir it up. We always have a part to play in the things of God. It is putting our faith to work because even though Jesus accomplished everything for our life, we have to receive everything He did by faith.

In II Timothy 1:6, Paul is admonishing and putting Timothy in remembrance to stir up the gift of God that is in him. He goes on to tell Timothy that God has not given him the spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind. So Timothy could have possibly had fear and fear will paralyze faith quicker than anything.

Back in I Timothy 4, Paul was saying how in the latter times, some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils and then he goes on telling how this will happen (which is a teaching for another time). But this shows us you can start out in faith, but end up departing from it. This is why Paul is warning Timothy to stir up what’s on the inside of him. Paul continues on to tell Timothy that if he puts the brethren in remembrance of these things, he shall be a good minister of Jesus Christ. Paul gives more instructions and then in verse 11 he tells Timothy to command and teach these things and give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. In verse 14, he tells Timothy not to neglect (not make light of, not disregard, not to be careless of) the gift that is in him, but to meditate upon these things and give himself wholly (entirely) to them, that his profiting (progress) may appear (be evident) to all.

The other day when I was praying and asking the Lord what to share, I heard Him say ‘stir up the gift’ that is within you. So as I looked this word up, it means to rekindle, to kindle afresh, keep ablaze, keep in full flame, fan into flames.

An easy way of thinking of what this might look like is with a campfire or even a wood burning fireplace you may have in your home. After you build that fire, if it is neglected for long, those embers will start to die down and eventually completely die out if they aren’t stirred up. They have to be rekindled or fanned or blown on to get the embers ignited again. And once that happens, those flames will suddenly become brighter and brighter.

Likewise, if we let the flame or fire of God inside of us be neglected, the gift inside of us will be just like that fire – not good for anything because it was neglected and died down to where it’s not doing what it’s purpose was originally for.

I’ll list a few things of what might be causing the flame within you to die down (and there may be other things that God shows you, so be sensitive to the Spirit of God and what He says):

Being focused on self and not on God (focused on your problems instead of on God)

Unanswered prayers – unmet expectations

Discouragement and disappointments

Not knowing your God given purpose

Fear – Like Paul mentioned to Timothy

And then some things you can do to stir up (rekindle) the gift within you:

Cooperate with what the Holy Spirit wants you to do with your life

Be a doer of the Word and not just a hearer, deceiving yourself (James 1:22)

Giving God thanks for all He’s done for you and where He’s brought you from (in other words, thank Him for previous victories)

Thanking Him for His goodness, His faithfulness, His unconditional love, the truth of His Word, etc

Worship and praise Him – He inhabits our praise

Pray in the Spirit (Jude 20) – Build yourself up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit

These things will get your focus back on God, back on His purpose and plan for your life.

I Corinthians 15:34 tells us to awake (arouse oneself out of a stupor) to righteousness and sin not. The righteousness we are to awake to is the righteousness of God which is by faith in His blood. It is not our own righteousness, which is of the law, which is self righteousness, which is as filthy rags.

When we walk by faith in the righteousness of God, that gift that is on the inside of us will be alive and burning within us and people will see it. It will be a light that shines brighter and brighter unto the coming of the Lord. It will be a flame on the inside of us that that won’t go out.

We have been given everything we need in this life as a born again believer. But we must stir up what’s on the inside of us and not neglect it. Hebrews 2:1 says, “Therefore we ought to give more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip (or drift away).”

There are probably numerous people who are born again – have asked Jesus to come live inside of them, but they never go any further with God. They know they are going to heaven now, and they either have no clue (are ignorant) thinking that this is all God has for them and then go on doing their own thing in life. Or they see that there is more, but neglect what God has for them because of cares and distractions and never get discipled in the things of God. Being being born again (accepting Jesus into your life) is just the very beginning step of this walk of salvation. It is not a one time thing. God has so much for us as believers, but we must not neglect it or let it slip away. We must keep that flame of fire burning on the inside of us so that we can be bold and courageous people of God doing His will from the heart.

Another example I’ll give that may help about stirring up what’s on the inside of you is when you bake a cake, you put everything you need to bake this cake inside of a bowl – all the ingredients. But if you just leave those ingredients in the bowl and neglect to stir them up and put it in the oven, you are not going to have a cake – you’re going to have a mess! Those ingredients have to be stirred up to get the results of what you’re wanting it to be – which is a cake. Likewise, we must stir up the gifts inside of us. We must stir up everything God has placed in us and not neglect it. Otherwise, we will not experience all that God has for us to see our God given purpose and destiny come forth to it’s fullest.

So I would encourage you to not neglect what all God has placed on the inside of you – but stir it up and let it become a flame of fire that will shine brighter and brighter until the coming of the Lord. And it will benefit the lives of others that God wants you to impact for the Kingdom of God. When He becomes alive on the inside of you through the gifts He has placed in you, there will be such a satisfaction and fulfillment of His will being performed in your life.

In closing, James 4:8 says to draw near to God and He will draw near to you. In doing this, you will be kindling the flame inside of you for His glory!