So you call yourself a Believer, huh?

Do you want to bear the name “Believer”?
Then – START BELIEVING Friend.

Check out Hebrews 11:6 in your Bible. Here are the main points it makes:

1.    Without faith it is impossible to please Him (God).
2.    Those who come (go) to God must believe He is (God).
3.    We also must believe He is a rewarder of those who SEEK Him.

One conclusion: FAITH SEEKS GOD. Note, this is an on-going action, not a past-tense, single occurrence.

Thought: If you are NOT seeking God, yet call yourself a ‘believer’, I fear you do not have the faith that pleases God.

Note: This is not a ‘works’ message. This is a ‘you will know them by their fruit’ perspective. Do you call yourself a football star, but not play football? Do you call yourself a millionaire, but do not have a million bucks in the bank? So then, can you call yourself a believer, if you are NOT believing?

Question: How often do we forfeit God’s plans because of our lack of believing Him, His Word?

 
Hey Believer, the Word says:
-        He will never leave you or forsake you. Do you believe that?
-        There is now NO condemnation for those in Christ. Do you believe that?
-        With God, ALL things are possible. Do you believe that?
-        Apart from Jesus, you can do nothing. Do you believe that?

So then believer, why is your life not reflecting your belief?

Daily we are faced with decisions and opportunities that challenge our beliefs. How are you doing with those tests and challenges?

Is your life marked by distrust, disbelief, and despair? We’ve got to recognize when it is headed that way and dive into the Scriptures that are relevant to what we are enduring. We’ve got to inspire ourselves and ignite that faith to believe with the Word of God. We’ve got to pursue Jesus, be with God, be with Jesus to make things possible and resurrect our hope and the faith that pleases God.

We have to have a devotional life.

We have to set time aside (daily) to pour our hearts out to God. We’ve got to make time to be raw and real with God and leave ourselves available to Him to minister to us, our hearts, and move in our lives. We've got to spend time with the Lord to make it through the demands of life, here in this world, with this deteriorating society and culture. We've got to be with God, in Christ, filled with the Spirit.

Before we can be a disciple (a student/learner of Jesus' and God's Word), we have to be a "Believer".
  

This week, find 2-3 verses (or more) that you will make your life verses that you will choose to believe no matter what the circumstances say! And decide this day, are you truly a ‘Believer’ of the Most High God, Jesus Christ?

Got Marriage?

The M word: Marriage.
It is the cornerstone of the church.
It is the foundation of the future.

It takes two to tango, for sure, but often times I observe ONE doing the work of the two. Both adults signed up for this, both should remain faithful to keep their vows.

It's very much easier said than done, right? I know. So an accompanying discipline that ALL married individuals should remain faithful in then would be: PRAYER.

Imagine if you will, a marriage where BOTH husband and wife were equally committed to praying for themselves, their marriage, their children, their finances, and their ministry. Can you imagine what a powerful team that would be? They would be on track and winning people to the Lord, right?

Which is exactly why Satan, the devil, the believer's archenemy hates praying, God pursuing people. Consider a family. A mom, a dad, and oh, two kids. If the dad won't fulfill his role of a godly role model for his kids, if the dad won't encourage and love his wife unconditionally, the wife is overwhelmed with chores and lonely. She can easily become bitter and resentful and then very disrespectful. Five years of this will kill hope. Five years of no counseling will leave them both unequipped to deal with the problems that all the complacency began. Five years of NO SPIRITUAL WARFARE will leave the couple defeated and bound under the lies of the enemy. One of the devil's favorite lies: IT'S NOT WORTH IT!

The devil. The liar. If you read your Bible often, you will see where God trains us to know that the devil is a liar, he goes around like a roaring lion looking for some to devour.

His favorite delicacy: MARRIAGES!

 

Now, I don't know what kind of teaching you have sat under for the last few years of your walk. I don't know your church-teaching background. I don't know if you read your Bible. I don't know if you even have a prayer life. But I can say this, if you are married - then you need to learn to pray and do SPIRITUAL WARFARE.

 

At the end of this I will list out verses for you to study to support this prayer discipline. But for now, let's look at life of families and I will give you prayer words that I would use in my life in each scenario. And for this post today, let's assume both husband and wife are Christians.

 

NOTE: When we are believers in Christ, we have the authority to rebuke the devil. Our authority is in Christ and the devil is under the authority of Christ. And the devil must bow down to commands IN JESUS' NAME!

 

Scenario 1: Spouse has an addiction and it is wreaking havoc in the home. They become consumed with this "thing" so much so that they neglect their family, no affection, no conversation, no responsibility...they are lost and drowning in it.

• First, my main thing that I would start praying for my spouse is 1) his/her spiritual walk. The Spirit is willing, the flesh is weak. A phone's battery will go dead if it never plugs into the charger right? So then, pray that they will be convicted to spend time with God. It is God who can do a work in our hearts. Intercede for their walk with God.
• Second thing I would do is 2) take authority over the spirit of addiction, rebuke the bondage that the enemy is entrapping them in. Also, include praying against the flesh that is trying to rule over them. I just need to list an example prayer below....

"Lord, I lift up my husband to you...and in Jesus name I pray that you would begin a work like never before. God I lift up his heart, do heart surgery. Heal the brokenness, heal the hurt, and soften his heart. Soften his heart to You. God cause his heart to be so sensitive to Your voice, Your conviction, Your authority. God, I pray a submissive spirit over my husband today! Cause him to be unable to avoid you. Invade his life. Invade his dreams, his thoughts, and day. God, send people to him today that will be speakers of truth, speakers of Your Word. In Jesus name. And I take authority over this bondage of sin. The addiction/bondage that is controlling him, I pray in Jesus name that you would release the captive. God set him free, in Isaiah 61 is says you bring liberty to the captives, please God free my husband from this addiction of NAME IT: (alcohol, sex, pornography, internet, food, games, gambling, Facebook, YouTube, - whatever it is that he is in). Break off the control it has. Take authority over the pull, the pleasure it brings him. Make him physically ill when he sits down to it, put a knot in his throat and convict his heart for his family God, in Jesus name. God give him a vision of what he is doing to us. But give him strength to overcome it. Give him strength to pray and agree with the work You are doing....And in Jesus name devil, I rebuke you. I rebuke you off my marriage, I rebuke you off my husband. I command every spirit of darkness to flee in Jesus name. Satan, you will not steal my husband and my marriage. I command you to take your claws out of my husband in Jesus name. I rebuke your addictive spirits in Jesus name. I rebuke the lies my husband is under, in Jesus name. I rebuke your work in our lives - Devil you have no authority in Jesus name, so be gone, leave, and stop it in Jesus name."

 

The prescription is: Do this daily. Yes, continually intercede.....because, this prayer will morph. As you intercede for your spouse, God will show you more to the problem. Perhaps, your spouse has this addiction, you start praying over them, and maybe really, they are struggling at work, but not sharing this. Maybe someone is harassing them, or tempting them, or something....something bad enough to push them to want to escape to that vice, that addiction. If God is to show you something like this, then you start praying over that situation, ask for confirmations, and even pray for a new job/opportunity.

 

Scenario 2: I hear this often in marriages. People who have been married 1 year, 3 years, 5, 7, 10, 20....those aren't magic numbers....just arbitrarily picked to point out, it happens at any point....But what do I hear? Those dreaded words: "I just don't love you anymore". People are funny. People are so fickle. Obviously, I am a HHHHUUUUUGGGGGEEEE advocate for PREMARITAL COUNSELING. This weeds out a lot of potential spouses that will desert you and who are not ready to really marry. But, often many bypass this in the name of SOMETHING: lust, convenience, pressure from parents, pressure from peers, pressure from the calendar saying 'you're getting old'....SIDE NOTE: If you're not ready to marry - DON'T. Period. That's a whole other topic..... So how would I pray if my husband, God forbid, came to me and said, "I just don't love you" or "I'm not in love with you". Anyone who knows me, knows my husband better watch out because I would go to my knees and pray, and pray and pray.

• First, I would pray for myself in this situation. Pray for God's protection over my heart and mind, and a myriad of things like: God protect my heart, keep me confident. Show me my identity in You Lord....along those lines for sure.
• Second, the key thing I would take authority over is the lie! The lies of the enemy trying to rob my marriage of it's purpose. Again, the devil is a liar. It would go something like this....

"Lord, in Jesus name, come minister to me. My heart is wounded from my husband's words that he's not in love with me...never will be, never was. Lord heal my heart. Give me the mind of Christ. Take authority over my thought life....take authority over depression and give me your strength to endure this season of prayer and intercession for my marriage and husband. Protect my heart from bitterness and hopelessness. Increase my faith and do a work in me through this. Give me endurance to pray until we come out on top, and keep me mindful to continually pray. Protect me from the lies of 'just find someone else', 'it's not worth it', 'tap out', 'give up'. God, put a determined spirit in me to intercede for my family. I know that you have a plan for me and my husband. God help us get there....and devil, I rebuke the lies you are speaking to my husband. I rebuke the lie of 'no love'. I rebuke the lies of hopelessness you are speaking to him. I rebuke you devil off my marriage in Jesus name. I take authority over any generational curses from our past ancestors, I rebuke the curse of divorce. I bind and tie any words of death spoken over our marriage in Jesus name....Devil, leave and stop in Jesus name...and so on..."

 

With this one you can pray all kinds of things, and yes, again God will begin to reveal things of their past that is influencing....lies from counselors or worldly friends...lies, lies, lies.

 

Why do I know these this works...outside of my personal testimonies of this kind of prayer working...the WORD!!!! Again: Read your Bibles, daily.

 

Ephesians 6:12: For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

 

John 8:44: ....(The devil) He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

 

Matthew 16:23: But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan". (Jesus simply told Satan what to do...the devil has to bow down to Christ and our prayer will execute Christ's authority over him.)

 

Matthew 17:21: (Jesus said)...."But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” (Study this section, it's when the disciples were unable to cast out demons....search my blog for a post on fasting...I'm pretty sure there is one.)

 

Isaiah 61:1: The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me
To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives, and freedom to prisoners...

 

1 John 5:14-16: This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him. If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death...

 

I leave you with this last verse w/ the underlined being what I stand on always when praying for the success of my marriage.

IT IS GOD'S WILL THAT

OUR MARRIAGES SURVIVE & THRIVE!!!!

 

So then...will YOU partner with God and intercede on your spouse's behalf and for your marriage, for your sake and your kids?

 

Consider this...the enemy loves to lure us to sleep and be complacent in prayer so that he can rip us off of our family and our walks with God...our children's salvation. The devil will use ANYTHING to keep us from serving the Lord in our fullest potential - by the Spirit of God!

 

So now...what's on your agenda DAILY? PRAYER!

 

****Note: This is not an exhaustive list of verses, nor are these exhaustive prayers...nor is this the only tool in the toolbox for scenarios like this....although: THIS IS A STARTING POINT...because I know that when you show up to prayer, God will show you great and mighty things to lead you down the path of victory. (Read Jeremiah 33:3 - this is why I pray so much!)

In a DRY season? Here's how I endure...

Did you even know that I have a YouTube channel? I do. Here’s what I posted up today as a response to a subscribers question. NOTE: Never do I want to appear to be ‘that person’ who never has hard times…I do, just like most…but I always stay connected to God for Him to carry me through it.

I was asked if I have dry seasons with the Lord so here, I hope to answer how I endure spiritually dry seasons. The one thing that I do is remain in Him. (John 15)

First and foremost, I remain faithful to my devotional life, even turning to the Old Testament to read of the history of God's faithfulness despite nothing seeming to 'jump out at me'.

 

During these seasons, we have to keep the faith and continue to believe:

1. God will never leave us, nor forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5, Joshua 1:5)

2. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. (Romans 8:38, 39)

3. Nothing is too difficult of God. (Jeremiah 32:17, 27)

4. With God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26)

 

We have to turn our woes and anxious thoughts into prayer, crying out to God for intervention. When we stay at our post and remain faithful, we will be victorious in Him.

 

**Disclaimer: When depression is beyond a down and dumpy season, I am a believer that doctors and modern medicine is useful and helpful. I encourage anyone to seek a doctor's help when that dark gloomy cloud does NOT lift. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, therefore there is no condemnation to those who need some assistance from anti-depressants either. Take care of yourself spiritually, yes...but also physically and emotionally!

 

WHY do you want more God????

Wrote this one line in my prayer journal today:

"Lord, you are so good...thank you for showing up...."

(Referring to our table leader meeting last night.)

 

 

And then I wrote the following down:

 

"God will show up in the way we allow Him to."

 

 

For those who expect little from God, they will get little.

For those who expect greatness from God, they will get abundance.

 

And I am never talking about money when I mention 'abundance'...I am so over that message.

 

Personally, I want an abundance of:

COMPASSION                     

PATIENCE

GENTLENESS

SELF-CONTROL

FAITHFULNESS

PEACE

JOY

and the greatest of all: LOVE

 

 

I also want an abundance of:

WISDOM & KNOWLEDGE

ADMINISTRATIVE ABILITY

FAITH & HEALING HANDS

WORKING OF MIRACLES

 

We get these from pursuing God for who HE is as a disciple, not seeking His hand as a consumer.

 

Ask God for the spiritual things to develop within you, and then you will begin experiencing His presence in your life, His spirit moving in your days, and His love pouring out of your heart!



I want my dreams to be HIS dreams

Do you dream?
I do.

I lay before the Lord begging Him for certain things to happen in my life. Although for me, at the center of my requests is the consideration of what is best for my family and God's will for my life.

My husband and our boys are so dear to me, no words can fully express how much I love them. And their state of being and health is at the forefront of my mind when I pray and dream. I do not ask for things that would take me away from them. I do not ask for things that would compromise our relationship, or my responsibilities to take care of them all.

I ask for things that would allow us more time together, better environments to live in, and spiritually encouraging activities.

At the heart of our requests are our motives.

My goal in my dreaming is for it to never be all about me.

Godliness with contentment is great gain, the Word says.

My dreams are for a life that will allow my asthmatic son to breathe better, both my boys to get the best K-College education, my husband to be encouraged in his walk with God and endure the least amount of stress as possible...and for me to be able to serve God in the way that He calls me.

I love my family. After my walk and relationship with God, they are my next priority, and then my health and ministry. My dreams are centered on what is best for us all...not what Jennifer wants.

Wants and needs are two different things. I love receiving what I need from God. He promises to give us our needs. But across the pages of the Bible are warnings to not get caught up in money, riches, popularity, etc. So those things are never part of my requests.

I do love the Lord so much. So much so that some react to me as though I'm ridiculous for how much I do...but if I am going to pass down an unswerving faith to my kids in this materialistic, lust-filled, selfish world...I better be pretty radical in my commitment to Christ. I always pray that my boys will be men of God who will pioneer ministry and make uncompromising commitments to Christ into the future. For who will raise our grandkids in the Lord?

My dreams take all that into account. If my goal is to raise men of God who will chase God, how can I give them an example of chasing fame and fortune...chasing prestige, power, and popularity?

Now, if while I live sold out to Christ and commit to fulfilling all that He calls me to, and all that happens, then you will find me on my face again, asking God to not let any of it compromise my relationship with Him....to not let it rip my family off of my time and attention, to not let it interfere with who I am in Him, and even changed me from a friendly caring person to a selfish, boastful person.

I do not want anything of this world that would interfere or attempt to lure me away from my most prized possessions (my boys), most important relationship on earth (my husband), and my most crucial foundation of living (my Jesus, my God).

Folks, let go of what the world says you need. Even well-meaning Christians out there have messages that honestly contradict what the Word says.

Be:
A student of the Bible,
A disciple of Christ, 
A follower of God's leading.

Let go of what interferes in your most important relationships in heaven and on earth. Our children will take your torch and carry it on...and what will they reflect to people when you are gone? Will they carry on your godly values and character? Instill in them what God instills in you, and He will insure your godly heritage continues!

Stuck in L.A. traffic...stuck with complaints!

So the other day, my husband, my near 5 yr. old, and I were stuck on the 405 in Los Angeles, CA. Folks in Bako, Rosedale Hwy. ain't traffic, okay?

But as we are stuck there...gridlock before the 101 off-ramp...my 'family' is falling apart over the traffic. Hey, it was 7:30/8 a.m. what did they expect? (Expectations, that's a whole other topic). But complaining, complaining, complaining. This was Daniel's first experience of being 'stuck in traffic'. (Yes, we will plan better and drive down the night before to avoid that next time.)

But as they were going on, and on, and on....I said, "Hey guys, why don't WE ;) turn our complaining into prayers?" "Daniel, let's pray that God will get us out of this traffic, okay?" And within 15 minutes, we were getting off the freeway. Our idling in the middle lane, turned into crawling, then merging over because our off ramp was coming up...and then, the freeway opened up so that we could safely get off the freeway.

Now, obviously, when you tell your child to pray for something that is so tangible, in the back of your faithless mind, you're telling God, 'oh man, I really hope you do this'...right? And at the same time, your faith-filled mind just knows that He will and so you pray w/ greater expectation. (There's that word again....)

On the way home tonight from class, I was reminded of this freeway illustration and the power behind my words:

WHY DON'T WE TURN OUR COMPLAINING

INTO PRAYERS!!!!

So what have you been complaining about?

Your spouse? Have you prayed for him/her lately...today?

Your finances? Have you prayed for more? Have you asked God to direct you on where to spend WHAT you have? Have you even submitted the little bit to HIM?

Your kids? Are you praying for them?

Your boss? Are you praying for him/her?

Your job? Are you praying and learning more to grow into a new position? Are you thanking God that you have one in this economy?

Your house? Are your eyes open to those on the cold streets? Are you praying for God to help you with your budget, or to provide for more so that you can have a nicer one? Are you asking God what your purpose is on your block, in your neighborhood is?

Your church? Are you lifting your leaders up in prayer, interceding for them, asking for God's intervention and direction in their personal lives?

Your parents? Are you praying for them? For their salvation? For their heart to be softened?

I am guilty too.

Complaining is like overeating,

it's so easy to do and we don't know when to stop.

But, here's your reminder...stop complaining and start praying. Jesus said to 'cast all your burdens on Him'...share it all. Complain to HIM, get it off your chest to Him. Then ask Him to give you spiritual eyes to see what needs to change in YOU...what is your role in all this dissatisfaction? See, when we go to the Lord w/ all our complaints and an open heart, He will take the burdens, He will show you what is in your life for you to grow, and He will give you light at the end of the tunnel for the things stifling you...usually with instruction on how to pray even deeper about that person/trial/thing that got you complaining in the first place.

God wants us to go to Him about everything. I go to God and apologize in advance..."I'm so sorry I feel this way...but God, I need to vent"...and once I do...and I am quiet to listen, my heart is softened or I have a renewed sense of direction to go.

We have to retrain the way we handle inconveniences.

We have to turn off the dripping faucet of whining and complaining,

and turn to the spring of Living Water.

Remind me of this next week when the docs drop the ball, or my kids have simultaneous meltdowns, my husband doesn't take the trash out, and I have an urgent errand with an empty tank of gas, right?

We all have ugly moments...but we need to handle them before they handle us! Our kids are watching and learning too. How we handle life will be how they handle life...and my goal is to have spiritually-leading young men. So with that....I'm off to pray...and praise the Lord for all His goodness!

Goodnight!