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Don’t Settle for a Sippy Cup

13 Feb

I love the way God uses Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and whatever other app that’s out there to encourage His daughters.  The hashtag I am personally using right now is #CHOOSE.  The phrase I am using to spur my heart to gratefulness is “if you will not count your blessings Marilyn you will never be one.”  So I’m all about the quick drink of Living Water throughout my days but what I am wondering is . . .

  • If I am not careful will I find myself trying to survive on them?
  • Will I begin to believe that a pick-me-up sip of Jesus can take the place of immersing myself in Him?

I don’t think having a sweet little meme give us a nod-our-heads-click-the-share-button moment is enough to satisfy our thirst, revive our tired souls and bring life to our bones.  No, you and I will never know full refreshment apart from absolutely diving into the Living Logos, splashing around in the Holy Scriptures and drenching our hearts with the power of His Word.  Those hashtags and witty sayings are wonderful as reminders, but apart from the active muscle of the word of God they cannot strengthen, sharpen or sustain us.  They will fall short.

And what I know for certain is that the enemy loves a dry and desperate soul. He will prowl through that parched land seeking to devour and deceive us if we refuse to go to the Well that never runs dry.  The adversary of our blessed Messiah will hiss against the Will of God, the Word of God and the Worship of God in our hearts and minds every opportunity He gets.  

Our souls need the Living Water of both fresh and familiar truth flowing through them to keep the desert winds at bay.  The truth about who God is, what He does, who He makes us, and what He desires for us.  I repeat some semblance of that at every conference and I follow up with the little phrase, “you gotta know what you know.”  That little phrase has no power.  But the truth, the truth has the power to set us free . . .  from every misperception, every stronghold of unbelief and every lie we are laboring under.

“If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples.  Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”  John 8:31-32

No hashtag, no meme, no photo saturates our souls the way He does.  Girlfriend, enjoy all those fun things, share them on your timeline, retweet them, forward every single one to someone who needs encouragement—but don’t substitute them for the word of God.  Don’t try to quench your heart thirst with a sippy cup half-full of your heavenly reality. You find the verses to back up whatever truth that tweet or post brings to mind and at the risk of sounding indelicate, you guzzle whatever portion of the Living Water you are blessed to receive.  Be greedy for the territory God has given you on the bank of the River of Life.  Claim your inheritance of a refreshed soul and satisfied heart.  Kneel down, drink deep and trust Him to make your cup overflow.

John832creationswapoverflowcup

Lord,  Praise You for Your unfailing Truth. Allow my soul to be refreshed in you today.  May my cup overflow with an abundance of YOU. In Jesus Name Amen.

 

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Today. Live Like It!

22 Jan

Refine me O Lord, remove every idol and allow me to be shattered into pieces if that is what it takes to know You more.  Be the desire of my heart and let no trial, no temptation and no deception distract or disturb my heart.  You are good.  You are the Lover of my soul and I claim You as the love of my life.  Fill me with yourself this day.  Be obvious in Your blessing.  Let me walk in your power and rely on your love.   I need You Lord.  O, I need You.

Sister in the Faith,

If you are in a place, hard pressed on every side, and crying out to your God, let me assure you based on the authority of His Word . . . He hears.  If you are in a spot, filled with pain, unable to identify let alone utter the words to give voice to your hurt, trust the Holy Spirit to lift up the groans words cannot express, lean in close and . . . hear the shout of love from Calvary.  Believe in the One that spoke the heavens into being to speak your language and spur you on toward wholeness and healing in this day.  Woman of Faith, your God is all about your full rescue, your complete redemption and your absolute restoration.

Neither this temporal world nor the prince of the air have the power to steal your joy, to kill your love or destroy your holy dreams.  Exercise the authority given to you by Jesus Christ and you stomp on every snake that hisses lies of shame.  You put on the shoes of peace, which is the gift of wholeness from God, and trample every scorpion that stings you with doubt.  You Sweet One, are a child of the King.  You have not been given a spirit of fear or timidity.  Your heart resounds with the Roar of the Lion of Judah who speaks love and courage to your soul.

Listen to Him! Be intentional in grabbing hold of the truth of you IN HIM. Trust Him to be who He says He is and know to the marrow of your bones you are who He says you are.  Dig into the Word, know your holy destiny. Let your spiritual reality match your practical existence.  Put on the full Armor of God and Beloved Warrior, you walk into this day claiming every inch of your inheritance in the Name above all names.  Not tomorrow.  Not when you are feeling stronger.  Not when things settle down.  Today.

You are more than a conqueror.  The victory is yours!  Live like it.

creationswapbootswithroadluke10

HELPS Word-studies

1515 eirḗnē (from eirō, “to join, tie together into a whole“) – properly, wholeness, i.e. when all essential parts are joined together; peace (God’s gift of wholeness).

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Let’s Change the World

9 Jan

four hands sisters 2cor1613

Beloved of God,

May I be so bold as to encourage your heart to encourage a heart today?  May I challenge you to come alongside a sister and whisper strength to her soul?  Is there any greater blessing than the Sisterhood of Faith when we live it well?

Blessed by the unity of the Spirit.  Connected by the love of Christ.  Daughters of our Father in heaven. How beautiful we are when comparison and competition are left behind and we choose to applaud one another at every turn.

Oh, Sweet Woman of God, how might it change our world if we encouraged one another to be alert not only to the tactics of the enemy and the temptations in our midst but even more so to the unlimited, holy possibilities all around us?  To step out in faith and obedience toward what could only be described as the impossible?

What might it be like if we didn’t wait to be invited to hold one another up but simply began to pray for the victories of our sisters?  Her conquering of unbelief?  Her standing strong on the foundation of Jesus?

How would life look if ours were the loudest voices in the crowd spurring our sisters on toward courage and strength?  Toward bravery in the battle?  Determination when life is difficult?

What if we committed to be one another’s loudest, most fervent cheerleaders?  How might it be if we choose to love one another well?

It is time to stand arm-in-arm and shoulder-to-shoulder as the family we are called to be Sister.  Time to be the voices of encouragement, edification, and strength for one another.  Time to stand firm together, celebrating every victory with unabashed joy.  Time to be strong in our love for one another and quick in our grace.  Time to live by the notion that no amount of authentic applause is enough, no genuine accolade can be shouted too loudly, and there can be no excess when it comes to celebrating our Sisterhood.  Rejoicing in one another simply cannot be overdone.  We are bravest, we are strongest, we are our best when we’re together.

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What if . . . ?

3 Jan

What if victory is found not in the declaration of achievement at the end of the battle but rather in the choices we make to fight well? The choice to listen closely to the Voice of the Good Shepherd when our own flesh, the world and the enemy tries to scream louder in our souls. The choice to intentionally walk in the footsteps of Jesus when a myriad of other paths tempt us to go our own way. The choice to have wild expectations of God’s beautiful intervention—expectations of hope, goodness and action, despite our circumstance. The choice to believe the More of God in the midst of it all…more love, more affection, more attention…specifically for us. What if these are the things that bring the beauty of Romans 8:37 to life?

Lord, may I #choose this day to live, fight and move through the battle well. May I face each crossroad with determination to choose you.  In Jesus Name Amenchoose 74532_pinecones_in_snow

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Let Your Cape Fly!

4 May

“Be strong and courageous, and act; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished.  1 Chronicles 28:20

 

Superhero Shadow

We kneel before the Mighty One and ask that He empower us to be Grace Warriors.  That He fill us with the courage necessary to lay hold of the holy destinies He has called the Daughters of the King to live out.  We pray for the humility of the Lamb and the power of the Lion to fall upon us in perfect unity to conquer with love the spheres of influence He has placed us in.  O Lord, let us stand firm in our Kingdom Sisterhood as our capes fly in the hurricane winds of the Spirit to fully apprehend and decisively lay hold of the width, length, and breadth of the love of Christ Jesus.  May we understand the measure to which you have equipped us and comprehend the super abundance of love, compassion, tenderness and joy that flows within, through and about us.  Open our eyes to see, our ears to hear, and our hearts to live for you. 

In the Name of our Mighty Messiah we pray. 

Amen

so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.  Ephesians 3:17-19

#grateful

 

 

 

 

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