Words of Inspiration BlogInspirational and Uplifting

Whatsoever Things Are Lovely

Philippians 4:6-9 -  Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. 9 Those things which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

Dear Friends – Staying in peace in times of turmoil and stress, how hard it is. Settling it in your heart, what you’ve believed and received, is a must in today’s world, and certainly the foundation of a peace-filled existence. Scripture exhorts us to be anxious for nothing. But often we display just the opposite characteristics. I believe that the mind with its constant barrage of questions, concerns, doubts and fears, trips us up quicker than any other storms we may face in life. Staying in peace is both physically and mentally rewarding in that when fear and doubts come we know what we have believed and with our mouth we confess it. It sounds like a simple enough task, a rather menial endeavor, but think again. Staying in peace takes extreme discipline for even the most committed of followers. When the storms are raging in life it’s easy to start to focus on the waves. It’s easy to take our eyes off the Savior and begin to fret. And as the boisterous waves of life’s calamities and hard places continue to pick up strength and speed, it becomes even harder to stand.

But stand we must. Stay in peace at all costs. Run to God at these times and get alone with Him. He knows your heart before you call. He is aware of your needs before the prayer is spoken. But in your time alone with Him pour out your requests and supplications, make them known to Him heart to heart, then thank Him that He’s heard and will answer. How precious that no matter our problems, no matter what troubles us and keeps us on the run, we have a Savior that is ever at our side, looking for fellowship with us, to comfort us and settle us, to establish us in His way.

Yes staying in peace is a precious gift. That is why scripture says it “passeth all understanding”. For we ask ourselves how can we stay in peace in the torrential onslaught of mental and emotional turmoil? How can we stay in peace in the face of physical distress? Can we stay in peace in the midst of financial difficulties, for ourselves, for others? What about wars and rumors of wars? It is possible to truly trust God so much that these things don’t distress us and cause us to fall? Can we trust Him to such a degree that we spend our days looking for ways to comfort and strengthen others rather than worrying unceasingly about our own difficulties. This is the peace which passes understanding. This is the peace we experience through Christ Jesus, knowing He will keep our hearts and minds because they are committed to Him.

It seems impossible at times to stand believing, committed, trusting in Him at all costs, but to experience that peace that passes understanding, I promise you the end result will leave you strengthened, refreshed, encouraged, with a new perspective on your circumstances and the possible outcomes. What good is worrying about so much in life when in reality we can usually change very little? And so much time spent worrying about things that may never even happen can steal the moments we could be living, laughing, helping others, all of which have much more benefit than pacing the floor and wringing our hands in dismay when we have allowed problems or people to overwhelm us and send us reeling out of control.

No, we must not allow ourselves to lose another moment of this precious gift of life so lovingly bestowed on us by our Savior. It may not make sense to some lost in pain and despair. Some may ask how can just staying in peace change the situation or the outcome of such? First of all, it passes understanding, meaning we as mere humans can’t really understand how God can bring peace in troubled times just because we are trusting Him. But this loving Savior does bring peace when we choose to walk in it and above all stay in it. I actually put this to the test in my personal life. First I gave God a week, just baby-steps. In prayer I decided to trust Him with issues in my life that seemed too big to ever be resolved, with people that were difficult, and with situations I had no answers to and felt it had become my lot in life to just suffer through every day rather than walk in victory. One week. That’s how it all started and I can say it was the best decision of my life.

Circumstances may not have changed that much but I changed. My perspective on life changed. The realization of what was important and what was not changed. Trying to justify myself and my feelings changed. For ultimately God forgives us our frailties and failures and expects us in turn to forgive others. Let the sin debt be paid, friends, yours and others with whom you have to do. And those “others”, well they changed too because they saw the glorious work God had done in me. I started with baby-steps and am now experiencing leaps and bounds on my spiritual journey.  And all because I made the quality decision to trust God and stay in peace.

At the end of the first week, I found myself at a crossroads. Would I pick up the old life of worry, anger, fearfulness, or would I go on for another week of staying in peace? It wasn’t a hard decision. I was definitely feeling “lighter”. The old baggage had been tossed aside so I decided another week would be good. At the end of the second week, well I was no longer at a crossroads asking what I should do. No, I knew I was on a bountiful path that could only lead me to beautiful new beginnings. Since this “staying in peace” journey began I have 3 books on amazon.kindle and 3 books on amazon in print. Amazing that what I had been trying to do in my own strength for so many years miraculously turned around because of that baby-step week. I say none of these things would have come my way had I continued in struggling, worrying, unforgiveness, and all that entails. I trusted God and He met me at every need. I trusted God and He gave me a new life, a new purpose, and truly joy unspeakable and full of glory.

Truly, it has passed all understanding. I would not trade the old life with it’s worries, concerns, failures, uncertainties and drama, yes, always drama, for the peace I have found in Christ alone. I’ve been blessed, truly blessed, above and beyond anything I expected at the outset of my little baby-steps. My heart is at rest, my mind is at rest. It was an even more surprising  life-changing event because I’ve always been somewhat of a worrier. Now when thoughts trouble me, when I feel that urge to pick up the old life and take matters into my own hands, I commit it to Him. I commit it to Him knowing He is taking care of all things much better than I ever could. I commit it to Him knowing He is for me and not against me, and that all things are working together for my good. I commit it to Him, take my hands off, walk away in peace, that peace that passes understanding, and focus on the good that I can do, those that I may help in some way, or just relaxing and living the life God has called me to live. It’s gloriously liberating and freeing.

I pray these words of inspiration have encouraged you to stay in peace today, my friends, and begin to live the abundant life Jesus died to give us.

In His Love,

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The Holding Pattern

Ecclesiastes 3:1 – To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

Dear Friends – Victim or Victor? That is how we may perceive our situations and circumstances when we are in a holding pattern. You have the choice to be a victim of life or a victor in Christ. Often we feel a great pressure, maybe even some confusion in life when we have done all we know to do and things just don’t change in the way we hoped. God owes us nothing but He paid for us with the blood of His Son, Jesus. How precious we must be in His sight!  God owes us nothing but He gives us all things according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. What we allow to become a victim mentality, and this is by choice, is a missed opportunity to learn what God may be teaching us, both about ourselves and about others.

The holding pattern is a time we should use to grow spiritually. This holding pattern, though it may try our patience, can be in reality a great gift. So often we want instant relief, instant change, instant answers to prayer, especially when the heat has been turned up. But these are the times God calls us to trust Him for both guidance and protection. His provision is there if we are relying on Him, though it may not be the provision we desired. I saw on a church billboard this statement – God is never there when you need Him but He’s always on time. Yes beloved, that would be His time and not ours. There is a season and a purpose to all He does in our lives. In our limited understanding and finite minds, we may fail to grasp the true meaning of God’s purpose and plan both for the moment at hand and our lives in general. Perhaps we fail to see the bigger picture. After all, we are a part of God’s great tapestry and we are being woven into the lives of others just as we are being woven into Christ. What an opportunity for blessing others! For God is not as interested in our comfort as our character “for the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

If your life is in a holding pattern and you feel frozen in time, unable to move those mountains or seemingly affect their impact on your life whatsoever, believe that God is very much at work in your life. Scripture says in Hebrews 10:36-37 ”For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry”.  So what character can He develop in us through these circumstances?  What patience and virtue can come from trials and tribulations that are met with a welcome mat rather than taking the first road out? If God has allowed a situation into your life His intention is to bless you and others in the process. His word says He does not give us more than we can handle without providing a way of escape. But often our way of escape is to run away.

So when we run away, where are we going, for wherever we go, there we are. And just as we remain the same after trying our own escape maneuver, alas we look up only to find the problem remains the same also. As Martin Luther King once said, “Carve a tunnel of hope through a mountain of despair”. This would be God’s way of handling a situation.  There is no quick fix for most of life’s problems, but we do not have to view them as victims for which there is no hope and no help. For God is a very present help in times of trouble. Scripture says in Isaiah 58:11 “And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not”.

Yes even when things look dry and lifeless around you God is guiding you continually. We can be prosperous in lean times when we are trusting Him. And to be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters fail not, think of the possibilities. For folks around you are feeling dry and lifeless as well.  What a blessing to be used of God in such a time as this to minister to others in these times of great need. What a testimony one could have if God is allowed to bring His plan to fruition without our bailing before the work is done.

Scripture says in Psalms 28:7 “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him”.  Truly if we are trusting Him, He is helping us, and if He is helping  us our heart will be greatly rejoicing. To feel His presence in our lives gives reason to break out into singing for there is no love like God’s love, unconditional in all respects, deeply fulfilling. It changes us from the inside out to such a degree that the problems that once overwhelmed us lose their bite. God makes all things beautiful in His time and a temporary holding pattern is part of the process. But it is a richly rewarding process. We learn to appreciate the things in life that really matter rather than continuing to focus on little annoyances or even major catastrophes. Of course there is heartache in life, and a lot of heartache man cannot fully understand, but God knows and is working things out for the good of all in your life.

If we trust Him His word says we shall never be ashamed. If we run ahead and try to get things done or change things in our way and in our time, then we become responsible for the outcome, and not just the outcome for us but the resultant backlash that may be heaped on those around us, albeit that was certainly not our original intention. If things get worse, who can we blame but ourselves? For our lack of patience and rush to judgment comes with a price. I would rather know that Jesus is right there with me, guiding every step, and remain in a holding pattern until God moves me out, than let my impatience foil an exceeding abundant work of the Holy Spirit in my life.

In James 1:17 God’s word says that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning”. I believe that these gifts from God, things like deliverance after a long battle with illness or extreme difficulty, financial gain in times of severe lack, times of peace and love in place of turmoil and hatred, are just a sign of God’s great love for His children and His desire to bless us ultimately rather than watch us die in some self-made slime pit for which we can find no way of escape. I believe the fruits of the Spirit including love, kindness, patience, etc., are much more to be desired than material blessings and instant gratification, for they work a far greater reward in our lives than we could have ever imagined.

Our spiritual journey will be full of pitfalls, twists and turns, and uncertainty, but God will send spiritual discernment through faith and trust in Him. And this spiritual discernment in turn will lead to spiritual growth. God will speak to His children in His way and in His time about particular matters, but the Bible is full of words of wisdom, words that are full of life and life-changing. Take time to receive daily inspiration and Godly exhortation by reading His word, asking Him to open your eyes to see His working in your life. Ask Him to open your heart to feel His presence, His love, and to give you a heart for others around you, to see their needs and have a willing spirit to minister His life and love through the gifts He has given you.

Yes, dear ones, your life may be in a holding pattern, but this is only temporary. His word says in Proverbs 14:26 “In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge”. No matter how dire your circumstances seem to be you can have a strong confidence in the Lord that He will come through for you. He has not forgotten you or forsaken you. This feeling of being in a holding pattern is just God at work in your life so let patience have her perfect work and when patience is allowed to have her perfect work you will find you are entire, wanting nothing. What a blessed place to be! You waited on God and He did not disappoint.

In His Love,

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The Stirring

2 Timothy 1:6-9 – Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. 7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God: 9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.

Dear Friends-Never let discouraging circumstances destroy your testimony. Never let negative situations overwhelm you or cause you to doubt in such a way that you fall into despair and depression. We serve such a big God but we seldom can even comprehend that these unwelcome events in our lives, these tragedies or moments of failure, will catapult us to reach ever higher for the things of the Lord if we are trusting in Him. These times in our lives when we seem lost and out of touch with God are allowed to show us who moved, and are permitted only to draw us closer to Him, to force us, if you will, to rely on Him and Him alone.

It has been my experience that times of lukewarmness are often felt in the lives of even the most faithful and loving servants of Christ. As humans we lose passion and strength when the battle has raged for such a time that we have become weary and perhaps doubtful as to what our purpose in life really is, what God is up to in our lives, and what we are to be doing as our feelings wax and wane as the moon changes, and that sense of slipping away to someplace we desire not to go sets in.

Beloved, often in our journey with the Lord, these times of turmoil and feeling out of control are allowed to simply encourage us to rest. Just rest and get alone with the Lord for a refreshing, a time of healing and rejuvenating the spirit. It is not always that we have failed or chosen a wrong path, or tried to develop a gift that is not ours.  God is keenly aware that we all have limits physically. We all come to the realization at one time or another that we cannot do all and be all to everyone at all times, nor has God given us that calling because He is aware of our human frailties and limitations. That is why His Word instructs us to rely completely on Him in all situations because His strength is perfect when ours is gone.

Often times when we’ve reached a point of frustration and fatigue in our spiritual journey, when things just don’t seem to be working in the way we would desire anymore, I feel this is a time when we need to stop and consider where we are and what we’ve been doing. Is it our way or God’s way? Our way may prosper for a while, but ultimately will fail. Perhaps in our eagerness to serve God and experience more of the Lord in a deeper way, we charge out ahead of His plan and end up out of His plan, or at best exhausted and questioning, “What now?”

It is at these times that we need to stop our busy-ness, steal away with God, and stir up those God-given gifts on the inside of us. For me it is writing, writing to encourage others, writing to share that with God truly all  things are possible.  I write to share hope and inspiration for even though I have been cast down I have not been destroyed. The moments in my life when I felt the enemy would surely destroy me I’ve committed to God and allowed Him to teach me my place in His tapestry. What the enemy means for evil, God uses for the furtherance of the gospel, thus what the enemy sends for my harm, God uses for my good and the good of those around me, as it becomes a living testimony of the love and constant care of God in our lives.

You too have God-given gifts whether it be the gift of encouragement, intercessory prayer, gifts of teaching, words of knowledge, I can’t speak concerning your gift as only God knows. But let God help you develop His specific gifts in your life. Truly you are unique, deeply blessed and highly favored, and your gifts will show you that. You have a unique way of speaking, a unique way of loving, a unique way of reaching others that is yours and yours alone.  Often, only you can reach those around you. At times you are the only light others see in their lives.

So if you’re feeling a lack of satisfaction in life it is a good sign you may be off track. And if you are recognizing the dis-ease and/or lack of peace, it is a wonderful conviction of the Holy Spirit that God wants to give you a better and more peaceful way. It isn’t hard to acknowledge that perhaps we allowed ourselves to be led astray, but it is much more difficult to lay down our will and allow God’s way in. It is there that we acknowledge our wonderful, loving Savior knows what is best, that our “works” don’t matter but our obedience does.

Beloved, turn today and ask Him into your heart. Let Jesus be the Lord of your life. With God at the helm your gifts will make room for you in places you never dreamed you could go. And when you get there, you’ll have energy and strength to enjoy it all. So humbly ask God to reveal your gifts to you today, then with a thankful heart begin to use these gifts for the Lord, and  experience the abundant life He has given each one of us. Let these gifts be refined and polished to such a brightness that God’s love is seen in all you do. In this I promise, you will never regret it. You can have a satisfied mind and in today’s society this is a rare gem, much sought after but seldom found.

In His Love,

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May these words of inspiration encourage you today that Jesus is our Peace. He made a way to Peace with God through His sacrifice on the cross. We have only to believe it and receive it.

John 14:27 – Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto  you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Dearest Friends – Having peace with God for many people seems an impossible task. It is so easy in today’s fast pace to forget that peace with God is a state of being to all who believe in Jesus and His completed work for mankind.  And the peace that Jesus left to us is not just a state of peace with God but an actual state of wholeness. This peace is not a matter of trying to obtain it through some formula or good works and deeds. This peace is free to all who will receive it. Just as we receive grace to help in time of need, and mercy from the throne room of God, so peace is given to us through faith in Jesus.

In Philippians 4:6-7 scripture says we are to be anxious for nothing, but in every thing by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving in our hearts, making our requests known to God, and in this we will have the peace of God that passes all understanding which will keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. It is a very powerful passage of scripture and yet we must not miss the simplicity in its understanding. For to humble ourselves and pray, to seek God’s face in any circumstance, to have an attitude of thankfulness before Him, and to receive great peace in return is most assuredly a cause for rejoicing.

Scripture goes on to say  in Romans 5:1 – Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. What a treasure to have peace with God!  The peace the world gives is unstable and fleeting at best. We remain fearful and troubled if we look to the world for everlasting and life-changing peace. But once we are at peace with God, once we have been made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, what joy awaits.

We must allow His peace to envelope our hearts. We must allow this peace to calm our fears and drive out our anxieties. Precious ones – you may be in heaviness at this very moment. You may be struggling with many of life’s perplexing issues, but look up and see our Jesus seated at the right hand of God, ever living to make intercession for His people, and know that you are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time (1 Peter 1:5).

Friends – Our God is for us and not against us. He promised He would never leave us or forsake us. Jesus came not into the world to condemn the world but that we might have peace and that the world through Him might be saved. His word says in 1 Timothy 3:16 – And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. And this He did because of His great love for us! Open your heart to Him today. Let His peace have rule and reign in your life. We are made perfect and upright by our faith and trust in Him and scripture says in Psalms 37:37 – Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.

The grace of our Lord be with you all.

In His Love And God Bless Each Of You!

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Being Faithful In Adversity

 James 1:12 - Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to them that love him.  

Job 23:10 - But he knoweth the way that I take: when he has tried me I shall come forth as gold. 

Beloved – May these words of inspiration bless you, and the words of encouragement be a motivating factor in your life this moment as we reach deeper together into the things of Christ. For all of us that try to live faithful in Christ Jesus there will be trial and test. When trials and temptations arise in James 1:2 the Bible says to count it all joy.  This seems the reverse of how we react to trials and temptations in this life.  But the trying of our faith works patience and if we let patience have her perfect work we will be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.  Often in times of crisis and hardship we just don’t know what to do or how to best handle the situation.  In James 1:5-6 God’s word says if any man lack wisdom let him ask of God who gives to us liberally and is no respecter of persons.  If you ask in faith, believing He is able and willing, His wisdom will be shed abroad in your heart.  If we remain faithful in the hard times, trusting God to care for us and bring us through, looking to Him for wisdom in the situation we shall receive most bountifully from God.  His word says in James 3:17-18 that the wisdom that is from God is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits.  God is eager to assist us.  He is eager to help us.  He is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1).  If His word tells us to be still and know that He is God in Psalms 46:10a, then we can entreat (earnestly beseech) His mercy to deliver us from any of the fiery darts of the enemy and trust that He is faithful who promised.

Many times in my own experiences when I have earnestly sought the Lord’s answer, the Lord’s help, more often than not, the answer was not readily apparent, or the answer seemed the reverse of what I had prayed for.  But in standing firm, believing that what He sends is best, I have received not only my answer but it has come in the form of a very special gift, all wrapped up in love and tied with wisdom, as every good and perfect gift comes down from God.  It comes to me in ways I could not have even prayed for as we seldom see the situation from all sides.

The same is true though for “unanswered prayer”. We don’t understand at times why God delays or denies seemingly innocent requests, but later in life we are usually shown how wrong our request was and with what love He protected us from harm or further distress. Of course I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the times He gave me exactly what I prayed for exactly as I prayed for it, almost demanding He come through my way, and I have lived to regret it. But even in those times I have taken the experience and used it to grow in my faith and trust in Him. Those experiences have shown me He is a faithful and loving God and His way will always serve us best. It truly becomes a work of patience and He knows what we need before we even ask and He will do only what is best for us. Again dear child, it is His good pleasure to give us the Kingdom.

In His Love And God Bless Each Of You!

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