Prisoner of Hope...

Are you a prisoner…to something?

“Return to the stronghold, You prisoners of hope. Even today I declare That I will restore double to you.”  Zechariah 9:12

Let’s make the prophet’s words personal. We can do this because Paul tells us in the New Testament that we who have surrendered our lives to King Jesus can declare God’s promises over our own lives.*

So now, back to the original question. Are you a prisoner to something?

I think I am a prisoner of hope. I mean that without pretension.

At one time in our lives, my husband and I lost almost everything through some foolish, self-willed decisions, but God in His boundless love brought us to repentance. We turned back to Him with our hearts in our hands and He turned our lives around completely. No, no overnight, but in such a way that only He could have done it. When a person goes through something like that and their faith is built for a lifetime. So yes, I am a prisoner of hope. Fear has little to no place in my life. He has restored double to us. No make that about ten-fold over, at the least.

So, I ask again what are you a prisoner of? Completely surrender your expectations for His. Like us, you may need to learn a few not-so-good-things about yourself, but it will be worth it. Then exchange that bondage for His hope.

Galatians 3:14-16

At the Start of This Week...

At the start of this week...

Should your house be under water, your checkbook is nearly overdrawn, your job situation is iffy, or if it seems like everything in your life is coming undone, it is time to look up. These are difficult days, but Jesus said it would be so. Remember, He is One Who is greater still. Run to the arms of His comfort and He holds you in His mighty hand and won’t let go of you. This isn’t time to doubt. He will walk your through this wilderness.

Should your soul be under water, your reserves of patience are nearly overdrawn, your relationships seem iffy, or if it seems like everything in your life is coming undone, it time to drop to your knees. Seek Jesus who has the power to work miracles in your midst, but may be waiting for you to take your hands off as you try to control your life. Because if you are in control, even just a little bit, that means He isn’t.

This is a week of new beginnings, hopes to be realized, and miracles to watch for. Keep your eyes open, your heart tender, and your mind from distraction. This week will be awesome in Jesus because He Who is in you is greater than anything!
1 John 4:4

His Light

Is anyone experiencing tough sledding in life? You know – feeling like life is an uphill battle?

"But watch out, you who live in your own light and warm yourselves by your own fires. This is the reward you will receive from me: You will soon fall down in great torment." Isaiah 50:11

Okay, I admit it. This might not sound like the most inspirational devotional, but it might just save your life. I saved mine.

The prophet Isaiah is warning us from the passage above that when we try to make our own way – try to live life apart from God’s beautiful plans and purposes, life will be a source of almost constant struggle. Take it from my hubby and me who considered ourselves devout Christians; who were pastoring significant churches, yet took a detour to do what made sense, what we thought best, and not what the Lord was speaking directly to us. Honestly? We had two years of torment – think finances, health, kids, relatives, and ministry – that were an absolute struggle.

God uses these things mercifully in our lives to get our attention. This is not punishment, this is a willful choice to walk out from under His protective covering from the enemy.

No, this clearly doesn’t mean that when we blow it, there will always be a price to pay, but if life is a constant struggle, it is wisdom to stop and ask yourself why and were you might have made a detour from Jesus’ abundance.

In other words, it is time to refrain from walking in your own light and beat it back asap to His.

Come Aside...

I am not sure there are any sweeter words...

"And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat."  Mark 6:31

Jesus and His crew were on a 24/7/365 schedule. Every minute was pursued on assignment from the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit. And Jesus. Well Jesus always knows what is best.

“Come aside, my beloved.”

He calls us to His side to find refreshment, rest, restoration, and redemption. And the call to His early disciples is extended to us today. There is nothing that can replace time with Him alone. Why waste time, worry, sleeplessness, ill-health when we have the opportunity to find all we need for spirit, soul, and body in the quiet of His presence?

Yes, I understand life can be hectic. I am only home two days this month and six days the next, and my calendar is filled. I understand quiet can be more of a pipe dream – I am currently helping our kids with their newborn twins and toddler. I realize there are so many other distractions: Netflix, sports, work, finances, stuff...

But He extends the invitation to come aside and His call is irresistible.

At the Start of This Week...

At the start of this week...

Should it seem that the world is collapsing, flood waters are rising, and there is no hope for tomorrow, think again. God promises that He will see us through every storm and this little lifetime of our is just a millisecond in the grand scheme of eternity. This is the time for His church to shine, rise up, love like never before, walk in Book of Acts Holy Spirit Power, and proclaim the praises of Him who has brought us out darkness into His marvelous light.
Joel 2:28

Should it seem that YOUR world is collapsing, the flood waters of finances or relationships are rising, and your hope is growing dim for your life, think again. Are you trying to live your life in your own strength? Wait on the One who always has a better plan, infinite healing for body, soul, and spirit, and Who loves you so much He gave His life to redeem your brokenness. 
Isaiah 40:31

This is a week of new beginnings, hopes to be realized, and miracles to watch for. Keep your eyes open, your heart tender, and your mind from distraction. This week will be awesome in Jesus because He Who is in you is greater than anything! 
1 John 4:4

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Through the Flood

This verse seems particularly appropriate as flood waters rise in the southern portion of the United States.

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you."
Isaiah 43:2

However, these words, directly from God’s heart speak to any situation in our lives where circumstances threaten to drown us, the adversary seems to be gaining the upper hand, or human failure is causing us great pain

Life was never meant to be this hard. In the Garden, it was never God’s plan for tragedy and tears, calamity and collapse, but mankind chose evil over God’s infinite goodness. We handed over our God given dominion to the enemy of our souls who is only after our destruction. Flood and famine are not from the Lord of Hosts, but the consequences of man’s sin, brokenness, and rebellion. Yes. We live on a completely messed up planet and we are pretty darn messed up ourselves.

Yet He is with us. Those who call on His name and have received Him are carried in His mighty hands. This is not the time to doubt the reality of the Scripture above, rather it is time to believe Him, experience His presence, and trust. Because He will never fail to walk us through and out of every storm we face.

________

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Bread in the Wilderness...

It doesn’t matter where we are in life or what is taking place. Jesus is always enough.

"Then His disciples answered Him, "How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?"
Mark 8:4

Jesus was ministering to the multitudes. The huddled masses, yearning to be free, healed, and saved where growing in numbers as the Spirit led Jesus to be about His Father’s business. Now, they were all in the wilderness without a McDonald’s in sight, if you get my drift.

Yet, where Jesus is, there is always enough. He met them there in their hunger, blood, sweat, tears, darkness, longings, and failings. He met their need and then there were leftovers, a surplus, so much plenty. Yes, abundance.

This is what He longs to do in each of our lives, but like the multitudes, we need to stop and sit awhile in His presence, just as Jesus told them to do, listen closely for His instruction, and then give thanks, just as He did.

He will always lavishly give us bread in our every wilderness season when all our options seem distant and it will always be more than we could ever expect. More than enough to satisfy our every longing and every need.

Marvel...

I just don’t want this to be said of me...

“Now He could do no mighty work there, 
except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 
And He marveled because of their unbelief. 
Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.”
Mark 6:6

I truly don’t want to live a life of unbelief. Do you?

Honestly, I must ask myself the question. After all the Lord has done for me, is He now finding me at place where I still don’t fully trust Him? A place where I am lying awake at night trying to figure out the solutions to my...stuff?

Nope, I’m not really going through anything like that now. Well, except for a HUGE life transition and relocation that my husband and are I being led by the Holy Spirit to do. But I never ever, again, want Jesus to marvel at my unbelief. I am believing Him for big things, giant dreams, and exciting adventures ahead. Now is not the time for unbelief. Now is not the time to fret, worry, be anxious or take matters into my own hands. Now is the time to believe that what He has birthed in our souls He will complete.

What are you facing?

Whatever it is, let it be said of us all, “Oh! How I marvel at their faith in Him!”

He is Worthy...

Do you desire to live in more of His presence?

“Serve the LORD with gladness; 
Come before His presence with singing.
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, 
And into His courts with praise. 
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.”
Psalm 100:2,4

These words reveal the gateway to experiencing the continual presence of God in our lives. No, not just in theory, but the actual, felt, presence of the Creator Who loves us and gave His life for us.

“The avenue of sustained inflow of divine power to man was to be kept open by the sustained outflow of joyous and humble praise to his Maker,” Pastor Jack Hayford writes. The simple act of continual gratefulness positions our hearts to receive from Jesus and serves to annihilate the workings of our adversary, the devil.

Thankfulness binds self-pity and self-absorption that would cause us to keep our eyes and hearts fixed on our circumstances instead of the Almighty who can alter the dilemmas in which we find ourselves. Genuine, authentic praise from our lips opens heavens realms to pour down the reign of the Holy Spirit. Truly, God inhabits the praises of His people.

Yet, we don’t praise to get. We worship because He is worthy. He alone must be the focus of all our adoration. Let’s begin His acclaim right now and come into His courts with joyful hearts.

At the Start of This Week...

At the start of this week...

If your roses won’t bloom, the bananas have turned to mush, and you are not sure how in the world you are gonna pay all your bills, this is the time to get real with Jesus. One caveat. He may want to get real with you, too. Spend some time alone in His presence with His Word open before you. Let Him whisper words of encouragement and if needed, words of correction to your soul. He will meet you where you are; simply come.

Should a relationship go south, your circumstances seem impossible, or you are just plain irritated with your life, it is time to drop everything and be refreshed in the power of the Holy Spirit. Surrender, surrender, surrender yourself to the One Who loves you beyond reason. He has a plan, a way, and a purpose for you, but you will need to still your heart and mind in His presence to hear Him clearly. It is time to stop doing life in your own strength.

This is a week of new beginnings, hopes to be realized, and miracles to watch for. Keep your eyes open, your heart tender, and your mind from distraction. This week will be awesome in Jesus, no matter what you face, because He Who is in you is greater than anything! 
1 John 4:4

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Broadway...

Sometimes we need to learn to live in the small, confined place before the Lord can release us into His broad place...

“I called on the LORD in distress; 
The LORD answered me and set me in a broad place.”
Psalm 118:5

Have you ever been in a situation that felt confining, hard, and difficult? Have you – like me – complained to the Lord about it, yet your prayers seem to go unanswered? This could be a relationship, a marriage, a workplace, home, school -- you name it situation.

If you are in currently in one of these ‘small’ places, can I encourage you to quit your complaining, griping, and placing blame elsewhere and instead ask the Lord what it is He is trying to work out of your character so that you may take on more of His? Escaping, quitting, and running away only delays the inevitable go-round of the same issue again, somewhere and sometime in your life.

Take it from me who had to learn this lesson in the small place.

When I began to believe and live what comes later in this same Psalm, “This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it,” no matter what my circumstances were, I found abundance in the small place – because I found HIM in the small place. And it usually wasn’t long after that my circumstances would change completely.

Yes, I can tell you story after story. Find joy in the narrow road and shortly you will be walking on the street named: His Broadway.

To the Coming Generations...

I am loving what I am reading...

“Your faithfulness endures to all generations...”  Psalm 119:90

In a few weeks, I will be preaching in the Sunday services in my home church. As I prepare, faith is rising in my heart for my children, grandchildren and all the generations of my family to come.

You see, I feel led by the Lord to lead our congregation in breaking generational curses, strongholds, and just plain ole sin – I know, we don’t like to use that word – that have been passed down through our family lines. For it IS possible to stop the carnage of so many things: addictions, poverty, anger, adultery, divorce, and innumerable other issues that we can inherit. These things can end altogether on our watch.

Yes, yes, yes. What I am discovering in God’s Word is that there WAY more verses concerning His blessing over our progeny, than the power that sin has over the generations. Way more. Yet, WE must take the steps to avail ourselves of these blessings, by confessing our own partnership with them, taking steps to turn from these issues, breaking agreements with the enemy about them, and surrendering fully to the power of Jesus’ Name.

I don’t think we have a minute to lose regarding this. Let’s receive His full blessing for all our families and our families to come.

Secret Place...

You know, it’s a rough world out there...

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High ,  Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” Psalm 91:1

From all appearances, and according to the truth of the Scriptures, the world and its brokenness is only going to get more wild and wooly. And yet, there is always a safe haven...

The secret place of the Most High.

I get a LOT of messages from those who suffer from the torment of anxiety and worry. Honestly, in my mind there is only one cure: develop and cultivate time alone with Jesus; getting acquainted with His Word and the power of the Holy Spirit, up close and personal.

No one can do it for you and church on Sunday will never be enough. Follow Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:6 to revel in this place that only you and He can enter and find transformation – genuine and real freedom -- from anxiety and worry. I did. And you can, too. He is waiting, even now, for you to come.

Hidden...

Have you ever acted like a chicken with its head, you know, messed up?

“Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! 
For my soul trusts in You; 
And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, 
Until these calamities have passed by.”
Psalm 57:1

Why is it we tend to run around like crazy people trying to figure out our situations when money gets tight, relationships are strained, our health is failing, or the walls of life are collapsing in on us. Seems like we either try to grasp at any strand of a solution, or possibly, some of us simply bow out and duck into a ditch of depression. Which of these futile scenarios do you tend to choose?

In this Psalm King David tells us to hide ourselves in Christ. Think Colossians 3:3. This is the only way to get through a storm. Really.

How do you hide in Christ? You get alone with Him. Surrender afresh every ounce of your being to Him. Ask the Holy Spirit to calm your heart and mind. Open His Word and obey it (yep, really, you gotta do this!). And, wait for His plan, His voice, and His comfort to overwhelm you. Be open, He may be after something in your life that needs fixing and healing.

Your calamities will pass when you are hidden Him. Anything less will only prolong the situation. So, run and hide in the shelter of the One who can cover you like no one else can.

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Your Prayer is Heard...

Your Heavenly Father has not forgotten you...

"...for your prayer is heard... which will be fulfilled in their own time."
Luke 1:13, 20

Zechariah and his wife had prayed their whole married lives to have a child. Now old and well beyond child bearing years, the angel declares their miracle would take place. The Lord has heard your prayer too. 

And yet, notice the second phrase. The Lord has His timing. He is never early; He is never late. He works outside of time, He understands time, He created time, and He holds time in His hands. Often, His timing is not our timing. Still, His timing is always perfect.

Also, there are other aspects of your prayer He is working on; other pieces of the puzzle you can’t see. Other people are involved who need His touch before they can be moved into place to be a part of your answered prayer. Many times, Jesus is waiting for us to take our stance against the enemy in His name – as He told us in Luke 10:17-20. Often, we are not ready to have these prayers answered. He still has much to do to rid us of ourselves and heal our brokenness. 

Regardless, your prayer has been heard. Believe this. Your miracle is in the works and God has not stopped working on your behalf.

Our Great Healer of Hearts...

I just heard about someone’s great loss.

"The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.Psalm 34:18

In this life, on this broken planet, we will all suffer some type of loss: a miscarriage, a child, a dear sister or brother, parents, maybe a most beloved spouse, or a dear friend. As you read this, I am sure a name has entered your mind.

In these times we have to cling to the One and Only. We have to bury our snotty nose in His robes and not let go. He doesn’t mind. His arms are open and they close around us. Nevertheless, we have to come to Him and not run away.

The Hebrew word used for contrite in the verse above literally means someone crushed to dust. Some of us stay in that crushed place, but we don’t have to. We need to take all the dust and ashes of loss and let Him sort it out. It will take time, but time is in His hands. He will walk you out of the valley of the shadow of death and sadness.

Let the great Healer of Hearts begin to heal your broken heart – today.

What Level of Crazy?

“I just want to know, what level of crazy are we talking about here?”

"And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen."
Mark 16:20

My daughter in the faith, Jaime, and I had a good laugh today as she related a close friend’s somewhat skeptical reaction to the miraculous works of Jesus that Jaime was sharing with her.

The not-quite-yet-believer queried her, Do you believe this? Yes, Jaime does. And yes, we laughed. Because we ARE just a little crazy. A little crazy about seeing the Lord transform lives, heal marriages, mend broken bodies, and set emotional captives free, just to name a few of His specialties.

So, call me crazy. But after having Stage 4 incurable cancer return for the third time three years ago, I was told I was at the end of my life. I then underwent major surgery and the cancer that had been on the PET and CScans was nowhere to be found – all because of Jesus. Well, I call that crazy-wonderful and I want to be used by Him to see more.

I love being a little bit crazy about King Jesus.

Saturate...

I want to live life in full color...

"...He who is coming after me is mightier than I...He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."   Matthew 3:11

Photography is a new hobby of mine. I use it to create Christian memes with inspirational quotes and Bible verses. I love for the photo’s colors to be saturated. In other words, to be deep, rich, and full colored. I want to live a saturated life – walking in the miraculous and glorifying Jesus. Only the Holy Spirit can cause a meat-and-potatoes, made-of-dust life to live this way.

The original Greek New Testament word for baptize in the verse above is Baptizo: meaning to baptize, to dip, dye, immerse, plunge, submerge, inundate, flood, swamp, soak, douse, drench, and saturate.

Ponder each one of these words in the definition. Which one pings your heartstrings? For me now, it is saturate. To be so full of His Spirit I can’t absorb any more of Him until He is poured through my life to others.

Yeah. I want to live in the continual baptism of the Spirit – Book of Acts style – in full color for Jesus.

Finish What He Started...

My oldest daughter, well, she gave her dad and I some anxious days and some sleepless nights during a few of her teenaged years...

"...being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ."  Philippians 1:6

The drama of youthful angst, messy bedrooms, goofy girlfriends, some not so desirable boyfriends, and a dash of attitude kept us on our knees in prayer for her. Yet, did we ever give up on Dayspring Melissa? No, never. Did we want to throw in the towel, move away, and not leave a forwarding address for her? Jesus never gives up on us, either.

This confidence is based upon Jesus Himself. Jesus, who began this excellent work in us is the basis of this overwhelming hope. His plans do not rely upon our frailty and failings, but upon the His Holy Spirit working in and through us. We only need to have open and ready hearts to receive His touch to complete what He has started.

You know, my daughter’s name is written in my Bible at this verse –  written during one of those sleepless nights. And, as I witness the amazing, beautiful Jesus-follower she is today, God isn’t failing us or her. The same will be true for you and me as well.

At the Start of This Week...

At the start of this week...

Should your alarm clock fail to awaken you, your clothes refuse to fit, or a catastrophic event takes place in your life, remember, the God of Angel Armies is on Your side. One caveat. You will need to stop trying to control the issue or try to force your will and your way into the situation. He IS GOD. Jesus is the Great I AM and He knows what is best to do, and how and when to do it. Trust Him immediately!

Should you get your feelings hurt, you feel looked over, or you are just plain ole feeling blue, get on your knees quick! Don’t let the enemy of your soul try to drain your joy in the Lord and zap you of His strength. The Lord Jesus will cover and heal your heart, but you must make the choice to let Him do this for you. Don’t let your flesh or the devil waste another minute of your oh so precious life.

This is a week of new beginnings, hopes to be realized, and miracles to watch for. Keep your eyes open, your heart tender, and your mind from distraction. This week will be awesome in Jesus because He Who is in you is greater than anything! 
1 John 4:4