If we are standing on the Word, we don’t need to stand on the Word

That is a mouthful. Well, one day I was sharing with my husband that someone was telling me that they are standing on a particular scripture. He simply said to me, “If you are standing on the Word, you don’t need to STAND on the Word.” He explained to me that if we truly believe the Word, then just believe it, live as though it’s true, and that way you don’t have to toot any horn what you are doing. We both agree that people do this to either convince themselves or others of their intentions. But “intentions” is not what God requires, He requires us to “do” and “believe” and “live” what He says.

Some time ago I learned something about people from my husband. He said, “When people say what they are NOT going to do, that’s probably exactly what they are going to do.” As I pondered on that I began seeing that as truth. I would hear someone say, “I’m not the kind of person that does this or that.” And then no more than an hour goes by, that’s exactly what they just did or said!  See if for yourself…  it’s very true. I’ve even caught myself doing this at times.

My husband said, “They don’t need to proclaim anything, anytime someone proclaims it, they are not doing it.” He said they just need to do it… live it…. be it…. then they are it and the fruit follows.

I do recall the scripture that say, “Speak those things that are not as though they are.” This applies to people who are speaking things out that God is doing, not what they are doing.

This is definately food for thought.

If my mouth is full, nothing else can fit!

I came across Psalm 34 a bit differently than ever before. The first two verses was enough to knock me into submission! It says, “I will bless the Lord at ALL times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord, the Humble shall hear, thereof, and be glad.”

Let’s take this literally. If my mouth is filled with the Lord at all times, there is no room for bad talking, no room for gossip, complaining, worry or fear. And not only that, there is no room for FOOD to fit! I think this a good antidote for gluttony… keep our mouths filled with the Lord by blessing and outpouring, so that there is no room for “in-pouring.” So the next time you go to the fridge…  ”outpour” and perhaps “inpour” won’t take place! (smile)

When God When?

Have you been waiting on God to do something for you? I have in my lifetime, but there is something we have to also consider in this waiting. Are we waiting on God to do something we cannot do or are we wanting God to do “it’ for us?

Good questions.

I’ve known people who are waiting on God to knock on the door and offer that once in a lifetime job. Or for something to fall from heaven and land in their laps. Now I’m not saying that won’t happen, but in my experience, it doesn’t quite work that way. The Lord did so many awesome things in the Old Testament. He appeared to people, rained food from heaven, parted the seas… all kinds of stuff. But here is the clincher… When Jesus said on the cross, “It is finished.” That doesn’t mean because He was dying. He was making a statement for all things! He finished ALL the work. There is nothing else God is going to do! He did it, and He finished it. What are we still waiting for?

We now need to pick up where Jesus left off and continue the work. Continue pressing in with God in every area of our lives and listening to His voice. He said it all. He did it all. He finished it all. Now it’s our job to listen, believe and receive it All! We don’t need God to tell us any more than what is already in the pages of the Bible. We just need to go find it. Everything is answered in there. I remember someone saying that to me years ago and I didn’t believe it. Well, some 20 years later, now I believe it. Everything is in there!! Everything we need is in there. Every word we need to hear from God is in there. Clear direction in every area of our life is in there.

God tells us in His word that He sent us the comforter… not to just sit around and feel warm and fuzzy but to equip us to do some things. He is our Holy Get up and Go! He also said that He will “HELP” us in our life, not do it for us. We are his hands, feet and mouth on this earth representing Him. Let’s take that to heart and learn what that means! We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus… so let’s go do some work… see who is in need, see where you can say a kind word or give a helping hand. Even in that, we aren’t to “do” things for others either, if they are capable… so be sure you are “helping” them as the Holy Spirit helps us.

And go and enjoy your life! People who are successful had to put their energy into it…  just because we are Christians doesn’t mean we don’t have to do the same. What you put into something is what you get out. Reaping and sowing is how the Bible says it. So, let’s change our lives and the world around us by moving…  can’t steer a car unless you put on the gas.

Okay, some of you are saying, “What if I do something that isn’t in God’s will?” I believe that you cannot do anything wrong as long as you are truly doing what you believe you heard to do. Because He will use whatever it is for good! God is a GPS… He knows where you are, and where you are going. And if you make a detour, he will always put you back on track. He doesn’t get mad at you, He simply redirects you! So don’t use fear of making a mistake prevent you from going forward! It’s really quite cool out there… step out and watch God move. Again, He works with you… and will move as you move…

So be blessed today, and go enjoy your life!!

What is the answer?

For the past several weeks I have been teaching a class called Fearless Living. My husband has been attending with me and has been such a delight! Well, tonight as we were driving to class I had realized I forgot my teacher’s manual. I said to my husband, “I’ll need to use one of the students workbooks, I did bring a few extras. But my book has all the answers.” Then my husband said in his matter-of-fact sort of way, “Well, it doesn’t really matter what you talk about or what the question is, the answer is always God.”

Even re-reading this makes me smile….

This is my shortest blog yet, but what more needs to be said?

God is a Mathematician

The Bible is filled with calculations! I was having a little talk with the Lord tonight about walking in the spirit. I’m doing a seminar and wanted to come up with some practical ways to learn to apply the teaching. The Lord then reminded me about math and word problems. So as I pondered on that more, He showed me that He used math to build the universe. Everything has weights and balances. The word “and” us a math term to add. So I looked up the word “and” in the Bible and found something very interesting. No search results were found, but they had this to say, “And is a very common word so it cannot be displayed.” Hmm… another math term? Yes, “common.” Do you remember in grade school the question, “What is the common denominator?” In this example, it’s the word “and.”

When I began looking at the scriptures, and seemed to add two things together. Faith AND Truth. Mercy AND Grace. Receiving AND believing. Faith, Hope AND Love. The Bible is filled with this common little word. I never saw it in this light before.

Frankly, in school I flunked out of math. I couldn’t add two nickles that came up to 10 for the life of me! And forget about word problems, sent me into complete state of confusion. Yet, that is my Heavenly Father’s mind-set. So that means I can have it too. And as the Lord began showing me all the math problems I do every single day, I was alarmingly and pleasantly surprised! I had been lying to myself all these years saying, “I can’t do math!” Who was at the bottom of that? So I repented because I do have the “Mind” of Christ… a mind that can figure out word problems. How many word problems do you figure out in a day? Let’s take a look:

Let’s say you have to go pick up your kids from school then get groceries and go to the bank and post office within a three-hour time frame. Is that a math equation? Of course it is. We do math all day long, time management.

God said He has given us a “measure” of faith… Math!  He said that we need balance in our lives… Math!  What I do does matter – Math! The Bible says that when we love God, truly love Him, that act of obedience actually blesses 1000 generations after me – Math!

And just look at the Bible itself… it’s written using a numbering system; i.e. 2 Peter 2:1.

So now getting back to my original thought of walking in the Spirit. He asked me what some of the fruit is. So I said, “Peace, Love, Patience.” And then said, now use that as the “sum” – or the “wanted result” in your life and do some algebra.

____________ + ______________ = Peace

____________ – ______________ = Peace

So I then began thinking what do I need to produce peace? First, I need the power of the Holy Spirit because I cannot muster up anything without His help. The Word says that we can do nothing apart from Him. So that is the first part of the equation. Now what is the second part? That is what I need to do. So, the Holy Spirit plus trusting God produces peace. That word “produce” is a “sum” term that we use as teachers of the Word.

Now how about the subtraction one? The first is the Holy Spirit minus Fear produces peace. So we have a part to play in our wholeness and victorious living. It’s not all on God! We are part of His equation. We are part of the answer people!

The Bible says to work our your salvation with fear AND trembling. That means we have a part to play in all this… By understanding our part and applying the Word of Truth to our lives, we will find as we look back over our steps we “were” walking in the Spirit because of the fruit that we have left in our wake. Walking in the spirit isn’t going after fruit, it’s what comes when we walk in the spirit. But.. but knowing what fruit you want to produce will help you plant the seeds necessary for that harvest. Again… Math!

Secret Millionaire!

Have you seen the new reality show called “Secret Millionaire?” I have, and just watched an episode the other night. I was in tears as I too wanted to find people in need and help them. But I don’t have that kind of money. These are millionaires with a huge check book. And as I pondered on that desire, I heard as loud and clear from the Lord, “You are a Secret Millionnaire.” I began listening and He continued, “The lives that you are helping and touching right now is more than any check book could offer. What you offer is priceless… You are giving people the keys to the Kingdom!”

Wow… I was so excited about it. The Lord began showing me that though we may give money, it will eventually run out. That is why there is a saying, “Give someone a fish, and he will eat for a day, teach them how to fish, and they’ll have food for life.” Because truthfully, the money we do give will be used up and they’ll keep needing more. But the life-giving gift we offer from Heaven is a continuous spring of living water – priceless!

So this tells me that we don’t have to have a large bill fold at all… God’s economy is not the world’s economy. The value was placed on a human life when Jesus died on the cross in our place. No amount of money could compare to that. And as we lead and guide people into the truth, salvation, and our Heavenly Father’s arms… wow….  how awesome is that!

I heard Jessie Duplantis say this, “The only thing we can take with us to heaven are people.” I tend to believe that to be true. No amount of money or possessions can give eternal life. Whoever has eternal life, is someone who is heir to the kingdom and a “secret” millionnaire too. Let’s pass this on!

 

Umbilical chord OR Unbiblical chord?

My husband and I get into the most amazing conversations as we talk about the world, and our lives, and things around us. One day we were talking about soul-ties and co-dependency. How people tap into others to get what they need, and begin to drain dry that individual. We all know those individuals, when we see them coming, we turn and go the other direction. But some were caught up in it. They started “enabling” those who latched on causing them not to take responsibility for their own lives. I began saying that the umbilical chord has to be cut. The only time that is to be used is to give life to a new-born, not adult to adult! Then my husband said, “It’s an unbiblical chord!” We both laughed and saw that as a truth!

So we have to ask ourselves if we are we connected to someone unbiblically? If so, let’s take responsibility for that and repent for putting a “person” in the place of God. The only true soul-ties and dependencies should be on God and God alone. All else is sin. And if someone has a “link” to you as their source of life, you also have to severe that chord through truth, love and forgiveness.

I had to face this in my own life because as a minister, our job is to help people. But it gets distorted when that help becomes a crutch to another, where they aren’t taking responsibility for their own lives but putting it on another. This is what a DO DO bird does. They find a family or a home to come and nest in and it becomes all about them and what others can do to make them comfortable. They even kick others out of their own homes. And as ministers, we don’t want to hurt anyone, but we aren’t being honest here either. And the scriptures even say, “Don’t throw your pearls to the swine.” We have some hard decisions to make sometimes, but we can do it as Christ did… with truth, love, and courage.

 

Do you carry a big purse?

This insight is something the Lord showed me the other day, and I hope you get freer yourself, for those who carry a big purse like I did.

Carrying that purse was heavier than a bowling ball. My neck would ache, and yet, I would still carry it.

A friend came to visit me. The purse she used was quite small, and because she is in law enforcement, even carried a gun in it. The Lord used that to show me a truth. I asked the Lord why I carried a big purse. He said, “Because you are in fear.” I said, “I am in fear, how?” He said, “Because you are in fear of not having everything you need.” I gulped and said… oh my… You are right!

So I immediately repented for fear and went to my closet and got out a smaller purse. I put the bare essentials in it, and was at peace!! I didn’t even know I was carrying around fear!

I realized that when we make our lives, we put things in it to make us comfortable and good. But when we leave that “comfort zone” we can see how far we still have to go in faith, etc., and in this example… facing more fear. I remember when I went to Hawaii with a friend of mine. She was into snorkeling, dinner cruises, etc., but I didn’t realize I was afraid of the water!!! I hadn’t had to face it in the mountains where I live, it wasn’t until I was out of my “norm” that I saw I had a long way to go. I did enjoy my vacation as I did face those fears and repented along the way. But it’s amazing what we don’t know until we know it!

I hope as things come up where you leave your “comfort zone” that you face those things like I did, and make changes where needed to stay free from the bondage we find ourselves in. There is a word for it… being deceived… it’s a sneaky thing and can happen without us even knowing it.

Even the very elect can be deceived!

Have you ever received a once in a life time deal? Well, I did. It was very real, looked completely legitimate, but it wasn’t. I’m talking about a speaking engagement I was offered in London. I checked out the website and had great hopes of being an international speaker!! Well, as I continued to research this “too good to be true” offer, that’s exactly what it was. Too good to be true.

We have so many desires that when something comes along that fits into what we want, we “want” to believe it. But we cannot put our guard down people. We have to be wise as serpents, gentle as doves. We need to understand that the enemy is counterfeiting God so closely that even the very elect could be deceived!

We don’t need to fall into fear or be suspicious, we simply need to seek out the truth. When we do that, we won’t go wrong. Putting all emotions and desires aside, seek the truth in whatever it is you are wanting to do, and you won’t be deceived, you won’t be hurt or embarrassed. The truth will make you free.

Now mind you, I did pray. I asked God, “Should I accept this offer?” And I heard a resounding “YES.” So that morning, I decided to respond to the offer and say yes. It started the ball rolling, the only problem was, it was rolling down the wrong hill. Then I said, “But God, I thought you told me Yes.” What the Lord showed me was that I said “Yes,” but “yes” to wherever HE was going to send me…  That opened me up to believing God is going to send me places I’ve not been before and use me in many different ways. But before this, I never had a desire or a dream to go anywhere outside of California. Now this whole thing opened up great possibilities for me, the doors flung open. So to equip me, the next thing I needed was a passport. So I got one of those. So even though it was a “lie” God used it to prepare me for the “real” thing. The TRUE thing. And I’m so excited about that!

Someone asked me if I was disappointed. I thought for a moment and said, “Not actually.” See I’ve learned the past several years that no matter what opportunities come, continue being in the moment I have. In other words, not get so caught up into what is “going” to happen, but stay in “what” is happening now. Enjoy today while getting to tomorrow. And even in this so-called amazing offer, I plugged along every day the same. I enjoyed the presence of God, I continued working on books, continued to minister to people, shared time with my husband, exercised and cooked good meals. I didn’t put all those daily things aside anticipating the “big” day! So many rob themselves of their “now” by looking out ahead. The Bible is very clear that why boast yourself of tomorrow, you don’t even know that there will be one! Also to not take thought of tomorrow… Why? Because God wants us to be like Him. He lives for today, and so shall we. Do you know how I know that? Because He said, “I am that I am.” I am is a present tense word… Faith is “now.” Today. That’s all we have folks. So even if you are planning a wedding or getting a book published for the first time or doing a concert, don’t rob yourself on the journey getting there! Because that is how the enemy can rob you! This is a deception, and even the best of us can get caught up in it.

Be very courageous, seek the truth, study the Word, and ask for God’s leading. Also, among many counselors there is safety. So if you need some help, ask a few select people. And that’s what I did. Many came through and helped me find the truth in all this. I call them “watchmen” and very glad they are there for me and this ministry. We need each other to help us sometimes, and there is nothing wrong in that! Even Jesus asked the disciples to stay up with him and pray because He needed some support. We are no greater than our Master.

We need to sharpen up these last days because things are going to come at us that look true, but they are not. This was a wake-up call for me and hope it is for you too!

What do we give?

My husband came into my office today and brought me a little gift. It was something that he picked up for him, yet he gave it to me. I said, “Tom, don’t you like that?” He said, “Yes I do. I don’t have to give you things I don’t like.” We both stopped and bursted out laughing.. because we realize that people give away things they don’t want any more or it’s all used up and old.

I remember the wedding feast in the Bible where Jesus turned the water into wine and the people said, “You saved the best wine for last. Normally people give out the best stuff first.” Tom is like that. He gives the best stuff all the time. Things he likes, he gives to me.

We need to be able to give up things we “adore” otherwise our loyalties are misplaced. Our loyalty is toward God and God alone, and our decisions reflects that.