Jesus Is My Co-Pilot Has Always Troubled Me.

Still at the wheel of your life? It's time to let Jesus drive. The bumper sticker " Jesus is my co-pilot" maybe a well-intentioned sentiment, but it has always troubled me. Whenever I'm in the driver's seat of my life, the destination is nowhere good. Jesus is not meant to be just a spiritual "co-pilot" giving directions every now and then, He is always meant to be in the driver's seat. Period! With Jesus in the driver's seat, the old destinations are off-limits. No more turning down the streets of self-centeredness, greed, or lust. No more off-road ventures into the swamp of pride or the ditch of bitterness. We were crucified with Him and He is at the wheel now! He died so that He alone can drive and define us. Your joy is to let Him drive and define your life. There may be a few bumps in the road, but you can count on it-He'll take you somewhere good.

Sometimes We Need To Get Out Of The Safe Zone!

Sometimes we need to get out of the safe zone and step in the faith zone with God.  Some of us simply need to make our mind up that we are going to follow God's will and not our own.  If you want to know God, you got to get involved with God. Having faith in God is the opposite of trusting in ourselves.  Do not think you can hear and comply with the Word of God on your own terms. You must humble yourself first!   When we start acting the way, God wants us to act, we get JOY in our life! It's the same as Prayer:

The power of prayer lies not in how much we pray, but in how much our prayers line up with the beliefs of prayer found in God's Word. There is no substitute - for reading God's Word and getting to know His voice. Get out of your safe zone. God has already given you the faith to take you through any trial. Use it!  When No One can Help or Assist you, don't let the Lord be your Last Option. Allow Him be your first Option. The Lord is not going to Change You, until you have a Willing Heart to be Changed. Otherwise, He will let you Keep Doing, What you are doing; but when you are willing, even when at times you are unstable, in Christ you can find yourself. He settles you with a peace no words can describe.

J.P. Olson

We Were Not Promised Comfort, but We Were Promised a Comforter in Our Discomfort

If God is with you, it doesn't matter if you're in the furnace or out of the furnace. Sometimes, God will deliver you from the fire. Sometimes, God will make you fireproof.  Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it. Whatever way is His will, TRUST HIM! Whatever God says we will have, we will have.  All we have to do is simply believe and receive it. Loving the thorn's builds our character. Thorns symbolizes hardships and struggles, accepting these would make us a better person.  Father today, if we have to go through the fire, if we have to go through the thorns, please help us to withstand it. Help us to understand that we were not promised comfort, but we were promised a comforter in our discomfort. Thank You for the Holy Spirit. We Trust You.

Never Lose Your Appetite for God. Continue to Hunger and Thirst After Him

Never Lose Your Appetite for God. Continue to Hunger and Thirst After Him.

You have to leave Circumstantial Faith, and Finally Attain Concrete Faith!  Satan’s attacks can actually develop you. Yes, it stresses you, but it also stretches you spiritually. In Hebrews Chapter 11 we see two things:

1.      The Deeds of Their Faith; and

2.      The Depth of Their Faith.

Which is why it always amazes me how God’s saints of old could worship Him in the midst of absolutely anything, yet we can’t seem to worship Him in the midst of anything. They pursued God on just promises, and even the ones that weren’t fulfilled in their lifetime, never caused them to lose their appetite for God. They continued to hunger and thirst after Him. Maybe that’s why they were so Full and we’re so Deflated. The depth of their faith propelled them to continue in their deeds for Him, despite what was being done to and against them. They maintained such a Faith Under Fire. They mastered how to Press In and Press On.  I know struggles and attacks can make it hard sometimes to press in, but you’ve got to press in anyhow! 

No matter how bad it may become, remember your God is always good and will always bring about good on your behalf:  

Remember This: Fiery Trials Work For You, Not Against You! Think about it: Where did God prove His faithfulness to Daniel? In the Lion’s Den. Likewise, think about this: Where did the Lord reveal Himself to the three Hebrew boys? In a fire that was heated seven times over! “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar, “Your threat means nothing to us. If you throw us in the fire, the God we serve can rescue us from your roaring furnace and anything else you might cook up, O king. Sometimes God will bring you through the fire and sometimes God will make you Fireproof.

John bowed, Jonah worshiped, Daniel trusted, the three Hebrew Boys maintained their resolve, But I Reiterate, HE IS STILL THE SAME GOD…YOUR GOD! So whether He takes you out, or leaves you in, you ought to serve Him with gladness anyhow, because He’s already promised to never leave you or forsake you,

In a Nutshell: You have to leave Circumstantial Faith, and Finally Attain Concrete Faith!

May God Deliver the Answer You've Been Waiting For.

This is a week of special prayers. Dear Lord please wrap your arms around those that are hurting today, and let them feel how much You love them. May God open the heavens, and break through the clouds, and deliver the answer you have been waiting for.  So many of us have made our request known to Christ, there are many looking for prayers to be answered. We bring You our burdens and You know our situation.  Many times in our life we have struggled and needed You to get us through. The devil does not know what to do with somebody who just WON'T GIVE UP!   Satan chances are hopeless as long as we stay in the Word & Will of God. Hard times will consistently be there, but so will CHRIST.  Like a slingshot, the farther we pull back into God, the farther He will launch us. 

God is the only one who can make the valley of trouble a door of hope. You always brought comfort to our hearts and gave us the strength and the will to carry on. May You shore our faith and strengthen our heart, and overwhelm us with Your grace.  May you know deep within that God is with you, for you and will never let you go.  He is mighty to save.  Rest well tonight knowing that God has heard your prayer.  Father today we declare that we trust you. We trust Your faithfulness and Your goodness.  

We know that You are working things out in our favor and Your timing. We declare that through faith and patience, we will inherit every promise You have for us in Jesus name.  The Day We Stop Asking God For Help is the Day We Start Asking For Trouble. 1Thessalonians 5:17.

Blessings

God Created Lucifer, Now Known as Satan. God Assigned him the Voice of Worship. Today, People Cannot Discern Between God and Satan's Voice.

One of the biggest keys to living the abundant life is to know the voice of your Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.  Praying for discerning of spirits and the gift of wisdom is first and foremost a good first step. The gift of discernment (1 Cor. 12:10) is a supernatural ability to distinguish between the spirit of truth and the spirit of error, between holiness and evil.

God created Lucifer, now known as Satan, as one of the three top angels in Heaven. Lucifer had responsibility for the angels assigned to worship, while Michael leads the warrior angels who oppose evil and unrighteousness, and Gabriel guides the angels assigned to bring God’s messages to people. As part of his creation, God gave angels a certain amount of free will. They didn’t get as much freedom as the humans God created, but they got some. It’s not news that letting people–and angels–make their own decisions means some dreadful decisions get made. And so it was with Lucifer. His position went to his head. As he led his angels in worshiping God, Lucifer decided some of that worship should be coming his way. As he saw it, he was as good as God and deserved equal honor. In fact, he decided, he should be God. That decision cost Lucifer everything. You have people today who cannot discern God's voice from Satan's voice. They are listening to the wrong voice in their ear and in their head. Satan brought his assignment to earth and today he will whisper in people's ear and get in their head and they end up worshiping Satan. He was assigned the voice of worship, sound. He's making the wrong sound on earth and people are listening.

The most difficult part of hearing God is the fact that it takes time to learn to discern God's voice -- and it takes a humble heart. Jeremiah 29:12-13 says, "Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."

We can't make demands on Almighty God. We can't shake our fist at the sky and say, 'all right God, let me hear you.' But we can ask, seek, and knock, and the Bible promises that God will open the door. God will reveal Himself to those who humbly seek Him.

A person living in the world of sin is not the devils target, active Christians are. Think about it; why would Satan go after people in the world? He already has them just where he wants them. Today he isn’t fighting the church, he’s joining it.  One of his main targets now is destroying the family units, causing marital strife but he is also causing strife in many other areas of life for humans whether they are in or out of the church. Today he is wrecking havoc any and everywhere. Beware and on guard. He does more harm by sowing tares than by pulling up wheat. We must remember that Satan is also a fisher of men and not only does he cast his net in the world but he is casting it in the church as well. Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. His servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. 2 Corinthians 11:14-15. "Satan's greatest weapon is man's ignorance of God's Word." Satan knows the difference between a professing Christian and a True Believer.

The devil will always point out your faults, your flesh will dwell on it but your soul can overcome it with prayer and positive thoughts!  I’d rather spend a lifetime on my knees in prayer than another moment in darkness without God!  When my day starts with prayer and ends with prayer, everything in between seems to always work out!  Fight all of your battles on your knees, you can’t lose.
The Bible does tell us that for the believer nothing happens outside God's control—and yes, if we know Christ, His angels continually watch over us. The Bible says that God "will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways" (Psalm 91:11). It also teaches that the angels—although they are largely unseen—watch over us and work for our good. The Bible says, "Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?" (Hebrews 1:14).

Rather than only one angel, therefore, God surrounds us with a host of angels to protect us and go before us. Even when hard times come, Satan can never snatch us away from their protection—and some day they will escort us safely to heaven. The reality of God's angels should give us great confidence in the Bible's promises.  Whenever you deal with temptation, you realize Satan is smooth and shrewd. He makes disobeying God and doing the wrong thing seem logical, even attractive–not to mention wise, clever and sophisticated. That last one gets to a lot of people. You have people today who cannot discern God's voice from Satan's voice. 2nd Corinthians 11: 13-15. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.

Confused? Have you ever been in a situation where Satan is all in the midst of it? look like your prayers aren't working.  It appears that nothing is working, problems with spouse, family members, children, friends, co-workers or church members. Satan is the source of gossip and confusion. Do not allow Satan to whisper in your ear. Watch your thoughts, Satan sneaks into them.  If Satan is whispering to you. Tell him to run back to his address! He has to obey you! Yes, that's right; he has to obey you.  Remember that when you speak the name of Jesus, Satan and all of his demons tremble, now that should tell you something, that our Father's name is powerful in all of heaven and earth. The devil can lead you to sin but he cannot make you sin, you can choose to take action or walk away.  God does not make you remember your sin, the devil does. Satan wants to see you fail, matter of fact, the devil will set up your failure for you.  Don't entertain Satan's tactics.

God can send storms our way just to tune up our faith!.  Something you need to remember and never forget; the Lord is with you, over you, in you, you are never alone!  Make no space in your life for the devil to move around!  Sometimes the world calls our flesh, let your mind stay focused on God and He will hush the sounds.  We just have to step back from our life and let God be the director, only God can calm the storm.

For many Christians, prayer is a thing we "ought" to do.  There was a time, however, prayer was a thing that we "had" to do.  When you have to do a thing, there are no options.  We got to get back to the way we use to be with God. Sometimes God turn things upside down, so that we may cling to Him.  Those who bless God in their trials will be blessed by God through their trials.  Don't allow Satan to have the final say in your life or situation.  You have the right and authority to do that, you can easily reverse that and you can make sure that you have the final say in Satan's life when it comes to you.  Send the devil running back to his address. Let him know that any relationship with him is toxic and lethal, there is nothing good that comes from Satan.

Great is the power of Satan, and strong is the hold he has upon us by reason of the evil that is in us. We cannot escape his cruel and dangerous assaults. But we have a precious ally and intercessor in Jesus Christ. His heart and tender sympathy go with us in our trials. God will never leave us wanting, He will fulfill every need. There is NOTHING Satan can do for us.

Don't Judge My Story, Just Help Me Write A New Chapter

…What’s the story behind these ruins?” (1 Kings 9:6-9 MSG)

“I’m on the edge of losing it – the pain in my gut keeps burning. I’m ready to tell my story of failure…” (Psalm 38:17-20 MSG)

I’ve discovered that the "make a difference" people in this world, the healers, are the ones who never forget this critical issue in dealing with people: YOU CAN’T UNDERSTAND THE WAY THEY ACT, UNTIL YOU KNOW THEIR STORY! AND EVERYBODY’S GOT A STORY!  You watch how they act, how they treat people, you see the bad attitude they have, and you say, "I don’t know what her problem is, but I don’t have to deal with her foolishness! I don't know why he woke up on the wrong side of the bed, but I will not be treated like I was his aggravating alarm clock that disturbed his beauty sleep!” Or, you respond with the same garbage they just dished out to you. So often we judge people with little, distorted or no information at all! We see what they do, and assume that’s who they are. But rarely is that ever the case.

I remember discovering how wrong I had been about some of the women in a leadership group, AFTER many of them poured out their hearts at our women’s retreat. Late into the night, people you thought you knew, revealed the pain in their background. Some of the women who were “distant” were physically, mentally, verbally, and sexually abused. Some of the women who had "bad attitudes" actually suffered from varying mental illnesses (such as depression). Some of the women who "dogged men out", were in relationships that treated them like property instead of like a person. Some of the women who didn’t like to be a "part of our social gatherings", were actually ex-alcoholics, and although our events had no alcohol at them, for them, just being in a place with a lot of people, laughing, joking, having fun, listening to music, all gave them urges to need a drink (since that was mostly the settings when they did drink).

In other words, suddenly the lights went on and I said, "So that's what I've been seeing all these years! It had nothing to do with their personality, just their personal, private, painful past." I felt bad that I had been responding to them based on their deeds, and never considered the needs behind those deeds. And the truth is, there are some people that we come into contact with on a daily basis (in our homes, churches, work, school, supermarket, laundromat, hair salon etc…) that are "crying". But unfortunately, we get so frustrated because we don’t know why they’re crying that we simply ignore the cry, or wait for someone else to come and pick them up and figure it out. I can’t even imagine the amount of people who have left our churches because they were “crying” and no one took the time and patience to figure out why. We were so busy being frustrated by the “noise” of their behavior, attitude, ways, and words, that we didn’t listen for the story behind the cry.

We’re so busy reacting, instead of listening. Which brings to mind Ephesians 4, beginning with verse 29. He says, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up, according to their NEEDS, that it may benefit those who listen" (NIV).

Let’s, as my custom, view this verse in a few translations, shall we?:

“Do not let unwholesome [foul, profane, worthless, vulgar] words ever come out of your mouth, but only such speech as is good for building up others, according to the NEED and the occasion, so that it will be a blessing to those who hear [you speak].” (AMP);

In other words, don't say things that will tear a person down, only things that will build that person up! Why? Because you're focusing on their NEEDS, not their DEEDS! The word “need” is defined as “something required because it is essential or very important; expressing necessity or obligation; circumstances in which a thing or course of action is required.” And despite what their deeds may have been, there were needs that they stemmed from (if only we would take the patience and time to figure them out).

Listen: Whether that person is your child, your spouse, your parent, your friend, your coworker, or someone at church, they’re response is more about their need than their deed. And no matter what their response, your reaction is to meet their need! You are to love them enough to listen to their story until you can find the chapter their stuck in that needs and requires your help. Are you obligated to do that? Absolutely! “You are your brother/sisters keeper!” John 13:35, “By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love and unselfish concern for one another.” (AMP) The Message Bible says it like this, “Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.” (vss. 34-35 MSG).

Listen: If you knew their story, you'd understand that they've been made to feel worthless much of their life. So they make choices based on the fact that they're viewed as trash by some (especially those closest to them). And that’s one of the hardest battles to be won, is helping a person get past their past, and to forget what they keep recalling. You have to love them Forward! Your love for your brothers/sisters needs to be progressive (‘proceeding gradually or in stages; engaging in or constituting forward motion’)! They will never get to where they need to be if they remain stuck where they are. And sometimes that means we have to be their “pen” of inspiration. When they feel the horror story is how it ends, we need to step up to the “desk” and say “oh no it’s not! There’s another chapter in you and we’re going to write it out!” They need to know that their character doesn’t die here; this is not the final chapter; the story is not over!

No Matter How They ACT, You Are Responsible to Stay In CHARACTER! Never Act Out!

Now, if we’re being honest here, we’ve all been in situations where we wanted to (and some of us did), treat other people the same way they treated us! After all, no one smiles at the person they held the door open for, and when they walk through they never parted their lips to say thank you. No one is happy about a person they’ve helped, that treats them harshly in return. But does that give you reason, justification or excuse? Absolutely Not!

Ephesians 4:26-27, “Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry—but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don’t stay angry. Don’t go to bed angry. Don’t give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life.” (MSG);

Matthew 18:21-22, “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, when someone won’t stop doing wrong to me, how many times must I forgive them? Seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, you must forgive them more than seven times. You must CONTINUE to forgive them even if they do wrong to you seventy-seven times.” (ERV); [By the way, that wonderful word "continue" is defined as "to persist in an activity or process; to remain in existence; to carry on with; to carry on traveling in the same direction." Its Latin Origin "coninuare", from "continuus" literally means "uninterrupted." So no matter their response or reaction, you have to CONTINUE to forgive them!]

Are You Getting This?! Your Only Reaction to Their Response is Love!

You have to step in their shoes, after all, that’s what Intercessors do. They fill the gap, step in the middle, carry a load that’s killing you! And truth is, maybe their story includes some awful hurt that has turned them hard so they won't get hurt anymore. Maybe there's some morally dark chapters in their past that can make them critical and legalistic today because they hate what they used to be. They may wound because they've been wounded. Remember: “Hurt People, Hurt People” Somewhere behind the way they act is a story of a perfectionist parent, trust lost because of abuse, the absence of a father's love, abandonment, failure, tragedy and the like. So stop judging their story, intercede instead, and simply help them to write a new chapter!

Stop concerning yourself with what they’re drinking; what they’re smoking; how long they’ve been fornicating; how many tats and piercings they have; why the marriage ended; why they didn’t finish school; why they left that church; why they dress the way they do; or why do they have 5 kids with 3 baby daddies! Concern yourself more-so with helping them to write their next chapter, instead of being stuck re-reading their last one!

The Bible is clear, "…Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice." (Ephesians 4:31 NIV) Which for many of us, that has been our response to their deeds. But instead, "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ in God forgave you." (vs. 32 NIV) That's how we'll respond if we operate, trying to understand there are needs beneath those deeds; there's a history behind those hang-ups.

One thing I can tell you from a lot of years of learning what's really inside people - when a person is hardest to love, they need your love the most! And that's when you ask Jesus to release His love through you because your love just isn't enough. React to their bad attitude or their bad treatment, and you can be just another person who just wounds an already wounded person more. Respond with the mercy and the grace and the compassion you got from Jesus and you can be part of healing that wounded person.

Everybody's got a story, and you can help write a new chapter.Remember the opening text: “…What’s the story behind these ruins?” (1 Kings 9:6-9 MSG) Everybody has a story behind their ruins! So don’t be so quick to respond and react! James 1:19, “Understand this, my beloved brothers and sisters. Let everyone be quick to hear [be a careful, thoughtful listener], slow to speak [a speaker of carefully chosen words and], slow to anger [patient, reflective, forgiving];” (AMP)

If that be our reaction, maybe, just maybe, their response will be our other opening text: “I’m on the edge of losing it – the pain in my gut keeps burning. I’m ready to tell my story of failure…” (Psalm 38:17-20 MSG)

No one wants to talk to someone that’s not listening. How about today be the day we stop lashing out at the way they act, and simply listen to their story? "Everybody's got a story to tell. The only problem is finding a person that will listen...and care."