It is a New Year! As my devotional this morning said, "It is time to leave the past behind. It is time to embrace the inheritance I have set aside for you from the foundations of this earth. Receive now a new supernatural impartation of My love and breathe in deeply the fresh wind of My Spirit. It is yours for the asking. It is yours for the taking. Run with the vision," says the Lord. "Run with the vision and never stop running."
I love that! "Run with the vision...Run with the vision and never stop running." That phrase just gets me so excited about all the things that God has in store for us this year!
It has been interesting to Aaron and I to watch how "different" the parking lot at the YMCA has looked over the past couple of weeks. It is more full than ever now! We came to the conclusion of..."Ah, New Year's resolutions being activated(imagine a lightbulb popping into our heads at that moment as to why there were so many cars and why it was that we couldn't park closer to the door...LOL...I have to laugh because we were concerned about having to walk further to our car, even though we were there to go work out)."
Many have made or will make resolutions at the beginning of this year to do this, or that and it seems like throughout the year, we lose the vision of what we have "cast" out there to do. I think many times we don't "soak" ourselves on a daily basis of the visions, goals, and/or resolutions that we have set out to accomplish. Many times we get stagnant and procrastinate, I suppose for many reasons whether that be due to our lack of vision, fear, hopelessness, or the feeling that we will never attain God's will for our life and the goals we have set before ourselves.
But the great part of all that is that you already have a vision! Proverbs 29:18 begins by saying, "Where there is no vision, the people perish..." Therefore, if you already have that vision, pat yourself on the back, you're halfway there...and if you don't, pray that God births one in you. Have something that motivates and atomically activates you this year to grow and move to the next level in life. God has called us to be a people of vision, power, might and love. Take on challenges that God sets forth in front of you. This will help move you to the next level. Remember to continually "soak" yourself in this vision. Write it down...make it visual for yourself...keep it in front of you! Ask God to help bring it to the forefront of your thoughts on a regular basis. Don't waste this year away...have faith and a new hope that you will accomplish your goals this year. Always remember what 1 Chronicles 28:20 says,"Then David continued, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. He will see to it that all the work related to the Temple of the Lord is finished correctly."
God is always there for you...so when you are discouraged or feeling a lack of motivation...seek His face...He is there for you! Activate and RUN with the vision...Run and never stop running.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
When words cannot express...
Two of my close friends' dads passed away during this Christmas break. One on Christmas day and the other New Year's Eve. You know to be honest with you, I really didn't have the words to express to them how much my heart went goes out to them. The Lord then spoke to me, "just be there [physically] for them." So as much as I have been able to, I have just tried to literally just be there. As much as I felt that I needed to say "the right words" or "do the right thing"...the only peace I had was when I was just there hanging out with them and surrounding them with God's love.
I love this verse, "So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance (Romans 8:26 Amplified version). It just reminds me that even in those moments when you don't have "the right words" to say or you just don't have words, God never leaves you alone, He sends the Holy Spirit to pray with and for you. And so sometimes allowing the Holy Spirit to intercede for you in harmony with God's will, allows your requests to be heard by the Lord and it allows God to work on your behalf.
One thing I have truly learned over the years is that as much as I thought I wanted to be isolated and alone at times of my life... God has shown me that, "Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)."
These verses ring so true in my heart. God created and designed us for companionship, not isolation. He designed us to lean on one another, so that we may help each other up in our time of need. God designed you and I to be servants of one another...as Christ did for us.
Today, take time to think of a friend or two that may need you a word of encouragement, or for you "to just be there." Serve them by being what God designed you to be...a friend, a companion. And allow the Holy spirit to speak on your behalf in those times that you do not have the words to express.
I love this verse, "So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance (Romans 8:26 Amplified version). It just reminds me that even in those moments when you don't have "the right words" to say or you just don't have words, God never leaves you alone, He sends the Holy Spirit to pray with and for you. And so sometimes allowing the Holy Spirit to intercede for you in harmony with God's will, allows your requests to be heard by the Lord and it allows God to work on your behalf.
One thing I have truly learned over the years is that as much as I thought I wanted to be isolated and alone at times of my life... God has shown me that, "Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)."
These verses ring so true in my heart. God created and designed us for companionship, not isolation. He designed us to lean on one another, so that we may help each other up in our time of need. God designed you and I to be servants of one another...as Christ did for us.
Today, take time to think of a friend or two that may need you a word of encouragement, or for you "to just be there." Serve them by being what God designed you to be...a friend, a companion. And allow the Holy spirit to speak on your behalf in those times that you do not have the words to express.
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