Staggering Steps of Dependence

The sludge of the world can entrap one’s feet so quickly. One wrong turn and we find ourselves buried up to our knees. I ask the question, “Why? Why Lord have I fallen in this trap? Why didn’t you stop me?”

He replies, “Because my child, your feet will grow stronger as you fight your way out.”

“My feet? I must have heard you wrong Lord. My feet need to grow stronger? What about my legs, my heart, my knowledge, my wisdom?”

“Your feet carry you and guide you down my path. Your feet must be strengthened to persevere.”

So I move forward with staggering steps of dependence. A heart prone to wander, but eyes fixed on one thing and one thing alone—Christ my Savior!

It is God who arms me with strength,
And makes my way perfect.
He makes my feet like the feet of deer,
And sets me on my high places.
He teaches my hands to make war,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

You have also given me the shield of Your salvation;
Your right hand has held me up,
Your gentleness has made me great.
You enlarged my path under me,
So my feet did not slip.

-Psalm 18:32-36

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Looking Unto Jesus

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. –Hebrews 12:1-2

Wow, sometimes the Holy Spirit can really get on these “themes” in my life. I’ll be going through a season or phase in life and everywhere I go a certain scripture or lesson will be outlined to me. The past couple weeks it has been this seemingly simple message: Look to Jesus! For the last couple weeks everywhere I go whether in my thoughts, surfing the web, reading a devotional, at school and even in dreams this verse has been highlighted to me and more specifically the “looking unto Jesus” part.

Have you noticed how a lot of times when the Lord speaks to us He speaks in simple phrases of a few words, but these simple little phrases resonate deeply into our soul and mind bringing transformation, inspiration and revelation? This directly relates to how Jesus taught in parables while here on earth. The stories to a skeptic are nothing but silly stories but to one with “ears to hear” they come to life and bring darkness to light. It’s interesting how we humans will spend hours typing out our thoughts and write entire books to try and get a meaningful message across, but the Lord will just say a few words and they will reach the depths of our soul breathing life into us. The word of the Lord is powerful! Praise God and thank you Lord for your Word!

About two months ago I was praying before going to bed. About half way through praying I switched from praying in an outward audible voice to praying in my head. I then—for whatever reason—blurted out the question “can you hear my thoughts?” to God. Immediately a voice replied and said, “Yes, I hear you.” I was so shocked at first. I had never heard the audible voice of God and honestly was not really ever expecting to. My first thought was “whoa if God’s talking audibly to me now He must have something really important to say” so I replied “speak Lord for your servant hears” quoting 1 Sam 3:9 when Samuel heard the voice of God in bed. There I was waiting for a response. I was sitting there all excited waiting for God to tell me something deep and amazing but He said nothing else. I later realized that what He needed to say had already been said. God said, “I hear you.” Those three simple words have transformed my prayer life and boosted my faith dramatically. They have resonated in my mind and soul since that day. The simple words “I hear you.” I feel that someone reading this needs to hear those words tonight. Know this truth: Jesus hears you! He hears every prayer that you say to Him. He hears every worry and care in your heart. He hears you and He loves you beyond your understanding. Pray boldly and keep seeking first the Kingdom running the race with endurance. When you start feeling weak, look to Jesus!

The enemy loves to take our eyes off of Jesus. The enemy loves to shift our focus to ourselves. Out of the right motives of wanting to please God the enemy will take your eyes off of Jesus and have you focusing on your own performance in life. The enemy will make you focus on all your works and deeds making you think you have to live up to some certain standard to be acceptable to Christ. This is all lies! Jesus accepts you just as you are. If you are struggling with a certain sin then take your eyes off of the focus of beating that sin and simply look to Jesus! This is where the battle is won my friends. Sin will be overcome when we look to our Lord and find strength in His loving eyes gazing right back at us. Sin is only overcome when you throw that sin upon the cross and accept that there’s no way you’re going to do this alone. That’s when Jesus says, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.” (Matt 11:29)

Lord give us strength in this race of life. Give us endurance Father that we may continuously set our eyes upon Jesus even in the midst of trial and persecution. May your word be a light unto our path in Jesus name.

-I Want To Believe In God [dot com]

Moving Forward

Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ. –Philippians 3:8

The past is gone forever and does not matter anymore. What matters is the future of your life! Your future holds purpose, hope and meaning.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. – Jeremiah 29:11

Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future. The blood of Jesus covers all your sins. Yes, ALL your sins! Everything you feel guilty for… you are no longer guilty. Embrace the complexity of your mind with a renewed spirit. Submit yourself to allow a transformation to take place. Turn your eyes to Jesus!

It is the Spirit of God you sense…

Embrace it! Live it! Love it! Emanuel—God is with us!

(Psalm 139:14, Romans 12:2, Matthew 1:23)

-I Want To Believe In God [dot com]

“Where are you Lord?”

And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. –Deuteronomy 8:2-3

Have you been going through a time of struggle and hardship in your walk with God?  Has your faith been tested leaving you in trial and temptation so that you cry out, “Where are you Lord? I need you!”  If so, this is probably exactly where God wants you.  

Immediately after Jesus was baptized the Holy Spirit drove Him into the wilderness where He was tempted for forty days.  What’s significant about this is that Jesus had to go through this process before He could start His ministry.  This was not an easy time for Him.  He was tempted, hungry, humbled, and completely dependent on the word of God to overcome Satan.

Matthew 4:3-4 says:

Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”

He quoted the words that Moses had said about God teaching the Israelites while in the wilderness to be dependent on Him.

If you are in a time of wilderness in your walk with God then rejoice in your trial because God is teaching you something.  He is preparing you so that you might be useful for a greater purpose.   So embrace this trial and run the race with endurance, looking unto Jesus!  Give God all the glory through this process because it’s not about you. Perhaps that’s what God is teaching you.  John the Baptist said it best, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

The Lord God has set peace before you; go up and possess it!

Look, the Lord your God has set the land before you; go up and possess it, as the Lord God of your fathers has spoken to you; do not fear or be discouraged.’ –Deuteronomy 1:21

The Lord really spoke to me through this verse with possessing the land representing God’s peace and rest which we are commanded to enter and to not be afraid or discouraged in doing so. I feel like so many of us are believers but we play this half world, half kingdom balancing act. Many of our thoughts and concepts are still very worldly and in this we limit God. We limit God by not allowing Him to be a part of every single little aspect of our life. We still think of incidents in life as chance. There is no chance when you are a disciple of Christ. There are consequences of your decisions and actions but there is no chance or “luck.” Once you have invited the Holy Spirit in God is involved in every detail of our lives. The war comes when we decide to follow our own carnal instincts rather than following the Holy Spirit’s guidance. We must pray for discernment and control over our flesh constantly. We must pray constantly. We must be led by the Spirit.

I’m sorry but I’m through with the balancing game. I’m over it. God has won. I raise my white flag in surrender. I’m through circling around the land to see if it’s ok to enter. I’m trusting God and going in. I hope to see you all there with me. The promised land is not just heaven after death. Eternal life is not just life after death with God. Eternal life is Jesus Christ living in us while here on earth. There is of course an afterlife but that is not the only time we can have God’s rest. We can experience the peace and rest of God here on earth but only through complete and utter submission of every single little aspect of your life. Stop circling around the holy of holies and go inside! Stop battling whatever sin you cling to from your carnal nature and give it to Christ for victory. Put it upon the cross. Stop living your life in defeat. Offer it all to God and welcome His rest.

A while back I was wrestling with some carnal, lustful thoughts going through my mind and trying to defeat them through my own efforts. During this time the Lord revealed something to me in a vision. I never fully understood the vision until recently. It was a very simple vision. It was myself with complete light all around me. There was no visual floor or walls. I was just surrounded by white light. I was on my knees with my head on the floor, bowing down in complete submission. From this position the spirit part of my body stood up out of the flesh and looked up arms spread wide open. This was the new me standing in victory praising God and giving Him all the glory. It was the new me that was living led by the Spirit. I could only step away from my flesh once my flesh had been completely submitted to Him. It was my Spirit standing there worshiping God, arms wide open looking unto Him, while my flesh was in complete submission bowing face to the ground. This is how we must live our lives if you want to experience the peace of God. Your flesh must remain in complete submission at all times to God. Our fleshly body must be head to the floor while our Spirit looks up upon His glory. It is then that our Spirit can rise and bring glory to the Father and through this process bring rest and peace to your life.

Exalt the LORD our God,
And worship at His footstool—
He is holy.
-Psalm 99:5

Now I am in no means saying I’m perfectly sanctified or “sinless” but I’m saying that the more and more we submit to God the more peace He offers us in return. I’m urging you to separate yourself from the world to the Gospel. Jesus said to deny yourself and follow Him! I think the words of Paul the Apostle in Philippians says it all:

Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

-Philippians 3:8-14

Victory does not have to be a lonely word…

Life is a test of man’s free will. Each is born with light and darkness in them and all have the ability to sense this. We instinctively do bad though we know it is wrong and want to do right. There comes a point in each man’s life where it is examining time. Do we strive to improve ourselves or give into temptation of darkness? Self-efforts at improvement will leave you exhausted. Many men will fight this battle their whole lives never fully defeating the darkness or fully submitting to light. The easy way out would be to give into darkness, to say I am nothing but an evolved animal and I choose to behave as so. Yes, you could say this is the easy way, although, the inner part of this man will tear him apart and sadden him by his decision. He will live his days unfulfilled, knowing he has made the wrong choice but feel too defeated to do anything about it. So, the war rages on until each one’s candle has burnt out, but what happens in the end? In the end there are only two options for the soul—complete light or complete darkness. Once your candle has burnt out the test is over. There is no going back to change your mind or try again. Your fate has been sealed.

So what do you live for today? Many have said that victory is a lonely word. They say, “I cannot defeat this darkness, it is a part of me.” They are wrong. There is only one answer to darkness and it is complete light through our savior Jesus Christ. When Jesus Christ was on the cross He took on the darkness of everyone. The Father of Lights in Heaven had to turn His face from His own Son because of the darkness He bore for the world. When it was over Jesus said the Greek word “tetelestai” which translates as “it is finished” or “it is accomplished.” He had overcome the world! Three days later He rose from the grave showing that not even death can defeat Him! He is alive! Victory does not have to be a lonely word. Victory can be found through the same power that raised Christ from the dead. The power of God! Invite the Holy Spirit in and He does not just invade your heart but also every single crack of your skin. This is where victory lies. If you are tired of fighting, if you are weak and weary, then submit to the One who has already won! Submit to the One who loves you—the One who is calling you home. Hear His voice and go to Him. Submit to the light of Jesus Christ and welcome victory.

And He said, My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. –Exodus 33:14

-I Want To Believe In God [dot com]

He Speaks!

The voice of The LORD is everywhere and He is not silent!
Oh that men would awaken to hear the voice of the LORD,
The living God that lives in us!
Hear Him!  See Him!  Listen to Him!
I pray awakening in you now as you read this.
The LORD speaks and He says: 

“Love the LORD your God as I have loved you!

Come as you are all you sinners,

Come as you are weak at heart,

Come to Me the LORD for I will make you whole again,

I will bring you peace,

I will restore your health and I will give you hope, for I love you more than you can ever understand!” 

Revival! Revival! Revival!

We are truly in a new season! God has begun a new work in the world.  The time has come to repent and get right with the LORD. Yes, the time has come for truth to set you free.

Escuchar la voz de Dios!

Let the power of God work in your life!

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5

Good old Proverbs 3:5.  Ranked as the third most popular verse in the Old Testament.  An easy verse to say but a hard one to apply as truth in our lives.  The Lord has been teaching me something—we hold ourselves back from peace by our own misunderstanding of God which causes us to question Him and not fully trust Him.  Do you trust God? Then stop questioning everything He is doing!  I know it’s hard, it’s our nature to question things, but when God is at work just be still.   We are finite, He is infinite!  Our thoughts are futile, His are righteous, faithful and with purpose!    

I’m going to be honest and say I have been stretched recently.  Being stretched can hurt.  I have been going through some big ups and downs spiritually and emotionally.   A lot of it I don’t understand but I do know that it is God at work.  I have offered my life to Him a living sacrifice.  I have told Him “have your way with me and do as you must so I could be of any use to You.”   Being stripped of your pride hurts.  Our flesh fights for it to remain.  My flesh says, “Wait I have spent years building that pride” but God says, “You are of no use with it and it must go.”  Where there is pride, there is self-glory and there is no room for that in the Kingdom.

There’s a new season upon us!  A season of much glory to the King of Kings!  A season of much praise to the Lord of Lords!  A season of triumph and victory in the name of Christ Jesus!  God is at work so relax and bask in His peace.  We are not the god of our own lives.  God is God, and rightfully so!  He is the teacher, you are the student.  Let the power of God work in your life! 

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!

“For who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has become His counselor?”
“Or who has first given to Him
And it shall be repaid to him?”

For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

-Romans 11:33-36