Monday, April 23, 2012

There is Something Special About You..!!

My encouragement to you this week is to remember you are no ordinary person. You have been chosen by God to be special! God has plans for you. Trials will come. You will endure then flourish! God will complete the work He began in you. He will never fail a special person like you!

What does it mean to be ordinary? Ordinary means: plain or undistinguished; of no special quality or interest; commonplace; unexceptional. Is that what we are to think when we see you? Plain? Unexceptional? Is that how you think of yourself? Do you feel that there is nothing that makes you special? I pray that this isn't the case. But if you do feel this way, cease and desist. Stop that way of thinking immediately. You are very special. No matter what, you are special. You always will be special. 


Some people may think" yeah, yeah God loves me, but he loves everyone. To him I’m just one of millions of Christians. God has his favorites and I’m not one of them." We may think we are being humble thinking this way. But what we're really doing was accusing God of imperfect love. That isn't of God. God's love is perfect in every way possible. You have been chosen by God and God has very special plans for you. He wants to see you thrive into a special person. He wants the glory out of your life so God won't fail you. 

We have to hang on to God. Trust God has a very special plan for you. Some of us are enduring the worst times of our lives right now. There are days, more recently even with God blessing me, I want to quit. I get very frustrated with my life. I look up to Heaven and ask God "Can I come home?" I know I'm being very candid with you now but I want you to know that we are all facing trials, even the author of the encouragement lol. But I know God will never leave me! He noticed me even when I felt invisible. When unspeakable pain gripped me, God gripped harder. When I had no fight left, He fought for me.  When I felt un-lovable, He showered His love upon me. This is the God that I serve! Trials will come. Endure with God and know that you are made of something special! You have been through trial before! God pulled you through then and He will now! Because you are made of something greater than what is causing you pain! 

God will complete what He began in you. He says it in Philippians 1:6, For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."  Paul writes this. I love how He starts, I AM CONFIDENT. How confident are you in God? Do you trust with your head or heart? Use your heart. Think about what God has done before and trust God to keep you ALL the days of your life. God will never fail a special person like you! There is something special about you and God wants to grow it and use it for His glory! God wants all of you to show that those who trust in Him, He will keep them! My encouragement to you, remember you are special! So special!..Be Blessed...

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Take God at His Word! God Keeps a Promise!

My encouragement to you this week is to take God at His word. If He said He will be whatever you need Him to be, trust God to do that. You are NOT exempt from His blessings. God needs a heart that is ready to believe God is able to do what He said He will do at all times!

"God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?" (Numbers 29:13) Read that. Marinate on that. Wrap your mind around this verse. God won't lie to us! God will not let us down in any sense. If you truly believe in the words of this verse, then my plea to you is to take God at His word. Believe that every word spoken out of the mouth of God is a fact! That is exactly what every word spoken by word is: Fact! Or even better TRUTH! God tells us that He will fulfill a promise to us and that He will do!
What are some of the promises of God? Let me run through a few for you. In Jeremiah 29:11, He promises us to give us a future and hope. In Matthew 11:28-29, He promises to give us rest when we are weary and burdened. In Philippians 4:19, He promises to supply ALL of our needs. In Romans, 10:9, He promises to forgive us for all our sins if we confess. Lastly, in Romans 8:37-39, He promises to give us victory through Christ! The question I have for you, are you brave and trusting enough to take God at His word? Can you trust God to provide everything that we need in this life? Can you trust God at His word? God said He will be whatever we need Him to be for us and that was not a lie. The verses I illustrated are words from God. Trust God to come through on His promises to you. God will not let you down!
I know some of us are reading this and we are saying to ourselves, "I want to believe but it's so hard. My life has been so bad. Things are not working out the way that I thought they would." You are not exempt from His blessing. God is going to bring you out. God's amazing will bring you out. Listen to me, take God at His word. God will come through. I am sure that it has been hard but no matter what, take God at His word. Live like you are. Don't hedge your bet. Be all in! If you say, "I trust God", you have a RESPONSIBILITY to live in such a manner. I'm not saying you won't be hurt, disappointed, or get angry but you do have to keep your faith at all times. Exemplify your faith. Not just when you get a moment of relief, or a little good news in your situation. Don't wait for a breakthrough to say "I know God is with me." God is always with you. And if you know that, don't start doubting that your life will change. Look at those verses. Believe in what God said!
Saints, another thing we have to do is go after what we want. We can't keep talking about the aspirations for our life and how we want God to change things without working for it. James 2:14-18 says, "14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”   Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. If we have faith, go chase what you are after. If you want God to establish the work of your hands, give God something to establish. Get to work on what means the world to you. "May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us--yes, establish the work of our hands." (Psalm 90:17) God will grant us favor. turn to Him. Seek Him and believe in Him. Work for your desires and watch God establish all that He PROMISED He said He would! Ready your heart. Ready your intentions. Ready yourself for God to blow your mind. Your responsibility now is to line up our faith and actions. Keep praying. Keep pressing. Keep moving. Keep trusting. God will keep a Promise!

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Get Your Peace!

My encouragement to you this week is to seek peace for your life. You may have to forgive another who has wronged you. Or forgive yourself for your mistakes. You may have to let something or someone go. But seek peace no matter what it costs you! You need it!

"Dedicate yourself to the good you deserve and desire for yourself. Give yourself peace of mind. You deserve to be happy. You deserve delight. Hannah Arendt "

These words ring very true. I love this quote. The last two lines especially. " You deserve to be happy. You deserve delight." That is the truth you deserve peace for yourself in all areas of your life. You have to dedicate yourself to that though. You have to work through all of your troubles. I guarantee you that you will see some.trouble on your way to peace. You can't understand and appreciate peace until you have been through some turmoil so expect it! Some battles last longer than what you want BUT you dedicate yourself to the peace you deserve.

You can't expect peace to find it if you are not even seeking it. You have to seek peace in your life understanding the power it has. It's freedom. Freedom of some pain, disappointments, and hangups. That is very important. It may come from.forgiveness of self for some of the things you have done which have caused you pain or still are. You can't bombard yourself with criticisms and bad remarks. We are human. Things will happen. Ask yourself, " Do I really want to move on?" Think how important it is to make sure you move forward for your peace of mind. I'll answer that for you: IT IS IMPORTANT! It is crucial. How can you get the most out of life with no peace? You can't. But you must dedicate yourself to the good of this purpose. So it may mean forgiving another person who has hurt you. Do it. Don't walk around angry or hurt. Do it immediately. It's important for your mind, day, and interactions with others.

Peace may costs you a lot as well but you would be wise to do what you have to do. It may take some hard decision making. But do it. We all get scared to do that at times but I'm telling you to do it. From letting anger or people go. Just being brave enough to realize that something will take you out so you have to make a hard decision soon. I pray you are willing to sacrifice for your peace. Seek peace at all times for yourself. Pray on it. PRAY on it! You'll get the right answer. I promise you...Be Blessed...