Tag: miracles

Ready

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Faith is trust.

Striving is not the solution.
Stressing out is not the solution.
Surrender is the solution.

Surrender yourself to God.
Surrender your situation to God.
Surrender your fears to God.

This isn’t about giving up but it is very much about giving over of yourself into God’s hands.

Not because you understand how God can work a miracle but by believing He can work a miracle.

Surrender is about trusting Him to be who He is – your loving Father. 

Since God assured us, “I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you, we can boldly quote, God is there, ready to help; I’m fearless no matter what. 

Who or what can get to me?”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭13:5-6‬ ‭MSG‬‬

Surrender your fears and embrace faith in your loving heavenly Father who sent His Son to die for you so that He could have you for all of eternity. 

He is faithful.

He will not fail you.

He will not abandon you.

Your Father is here, ready to help.

What do you need help with today?

Don’t Miss It

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Wednesday

“Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him”.

Philippians‬ ‭3:8‬ ‭NLT

At the end of your life, you may or may not have human praise but if you have gone after a real relationship with Jesus, you will have so much more than that.

You will have rich relationships, miraculous moments, great faith adventures as well as the single most important thing you can have with you as you step into eternity – Jesus Himself.

Don’t waste your life by pursuing goals to make yourself more comfortable, more secure or safer.

Live the life you were created for by pursuing the one goal of knowing Jesus.

Not just to know about Him but to know Him in every area of your life.

Not just to work for Him but to work with Him.

Keep this goal as the top priority and all the other goals will quickly fall into their proper perspective.

Doing the Impossible

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“Come,” he said.  Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.”
Matthew‬ ‭14:28-29‬ ‭NIV‬‬

It’s impossible to walk on water.

It’s impossible to feed 5000 people with a small boys lunch.

It’s impossible to heal a man born blind.

Jesus did all this and more while inviting his disciples to join him.

Jesus will invite you to do the impossible without expecting you to do it in your own strength. He knows you can’t do it without him. He fully expects you to fully depend on him for it. 

Peter wanted to be where Jesus was, which happened to be on the water.

Peter helped Jesus feed over 5000 people by doing what Jesus told him to do: pass out bread and fish.

Neither miracle came from Peter’s faith but from Peter’s focus. He was focused on following Jesus, on being where Jesus was and ended up doing impossible things.

When you follow Jesus, you will end up doing impossible things because of who he is not because of who you are. 

Whew, that is a relief.

Instead of fixating on how impossible it is to walk in the freedom Jesus paid for you to live in, just admit to yourself that IS IMPOSSIBLE in your own strength.

Without Jesus there is no way you can forgive your abuser, be set free from your past, be transformed by the renewing of your mind, be free from guilt and condemnation, walk away from a lifetime of lies and bondage and embrace the truth that you are a precious cherished child of God who is free to live everyday in the lavish love of Jesus Christ.

Don’t focus on what is impossible. 

Don’t even focus on your own faith.

Focus on following Jesus and following through on what he has asked you to do.

Today I am praying for you to receive all Jesus has for you, to boldly go with him to places you have never been before. To experience new life, new love, new freedom, new hope and a new normal. 

In Jesus Name, Amen.

The Solution is Surrender 

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“This is why the fulfillment of God’s promise depends entirely on trusting God and his way, and then simply embracing him and what he does.

God’s promise arrives as pure gift. That’s the only way everyone can be sure to get in on it, those who keep the religious traditions and those who have never heard of them.

For Abraham is father of us all. He is not our racial father—that’s reading the story backward. He is our faith father.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭4:16‬ ‭MSG‬‬

Faith begins with trust, is walked out in trust and ends with trust.

Striving is not the solution.
Stressing out is not the solution.
Surrender is the solution.

Surrender yourself to God.
Surrender your situation to God.
Surrender your fears to God.

This isn’t about giving up but it is very much about the giving over of yourself into God’s hands.

Not because you understand how he can work a miracle but by believing he can work a miracle. Surrender is about trusting him to be who he is – your loving Father.

Since God assured us, “I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you, we can boldly quote, God is there, ready to help; I’m fearless no matter what.

Who or what can get to me?”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭13:5-6‬ ‭MSG‬‬

Surrender your fears and embrace your faith. Choose to walk according to who Jesus is and not according to who others are.

Restored

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Being right with God isn’t the hard part.

The hard part is learning how to live it out.

You have lived a long time being broken.

A long time learning how to cope with it, how to function in it. The good news of Jesus Christ is that He has taken your brokeness upon himself and in return offers you wholeness. To restore your mind, heart, soul and spirit to God’s original design.

He wants to teach you a new way to live.

How to live whole and treasured.

How to live trusting and trusted.

How to live nurtured and nourished.

How to love and be loved.

“He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.” (‭Romans‬ ‭3‬:‭21-24‬ MSG)

It takes time and perseverance.

God provides the time, we provide the perseverance.

Don’t give up. Everyday you are learning how to live restored in Christ.

“Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭4‬ NIV)

The Line

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There was a line of air between the ramp I walked down and the airplane I flew in last night to go down to Southern California. I could see straight down to the ground below. It is only a couple inches wide but every time I take that last step, my heart skips a beat and I know it is a commitment.

I am committing my time, my trust and my very life into the hands of pilot and crew. I am trusting that we will fly. I am trusting that we will arrive safely to our destination.

I love to fly. I actually find it very relaxing but every time I cross that thin line of air, my heart picks up a beat. It always feels amazing to fly and that it has become a normal mode of transportation for human beings.

I wonder if the crew who fly everyday have lost the wonder of it. Doing
something everyday, no matter how miraculous it actually is, can become monotonous, normal and joyless.

Your life with God is like that. It is amazing and miraculous. Instead of a line of air you must cross, it is a line faith.

The first time you cross it, you know it is a miracle. You know it is a gift.
You know that you are committing your time, your trust and your very life into a relationship with the living and Almighty God. You are trusting that it is even possible to have a relationship with God. You are trusting that in the end of it all you will arrive safely to your final destination- eternity in heaven.

But then you cross that line day after day, year after year and forget that faith is a miracle. It can too easily become monotonous, normal and joyless.

It takes intention and a good reminder to wake yourself up to the wonder of life with God now and for all eternity.

“You never saw him, yet you love him. You still don’t see him, yet you trust him—with laughter and singing.

Because you kept on believing, you’ll get what you’re looking forward to: total salvation.” (‭1 Peter‬ ‭1‬:‭8-9‬ MSG)

Have you lost the wonder of your faith in Christ Jesus?

Did you know that you can love and trust God daily but it won’t be filled with laughter and singing unless you remember the look down at the thin line of faith you are crossing. Until you remember the miracle you are living.

Every day, in every way that you cross it, it is a miracle that you get the privilege of living out.

You will live it out best when you take a moment to recapture the wonder and take hold of the joy of crossing the line of faith.

Prelude to a Miracle

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It was a simple sentence uttered at a complicated time.

The world had already moved on, the end of the story already written.

But the story was not over for God.

“So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.” (‭John‬ ‭11‬:‭41‬ NIV)

Thanks giving was the prelude to this miracle.

“Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”

“The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” (‭John‬ ‭11‬:‭43-44‬ NIV)

You may think that the story has already been written. You may have closed the book and rolled the stone over that part of your life.

Jesus still defies death. You may think the story is over but God doesn’t.

He will call life from where death prevails and unbind the grave clothes the cling.

What area does God wanting to breath life into you today?

Be free. Have faith. Grab onto new life and step out of the old grave clothes that belong to the past.

Walk in your new life in Christ.

And when you come to a place where fear rises up to tell you that the story is already over, begin to give thanks that in Christ your story has just begun.

Thing that Can’t Succeed

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There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord. (‭Proverbs‬ ‭21‬:‭30‬ NIV)

When your perspective comes from you, everything looks impossible:

I can’t make this happen.
I can’t do this.
It is too late.
I have nothing left.

When your perspective comes from the world, everything looks possible:

If I am smart enough, I can make this happen.

If I plan everything right, I can do this.

It is not too late, I just need more education.

I will create a plan and stick to it.

The problem with both of those perspectives is that they are focused on your own power and strength.

When your perspective comes from God whether it is possible or not doesn’t matter.

If God wants something to happen, nothing can stop it.

Your job is to be faithful to what God has asked you to do. Faithfulness doesn’t take a special gift or talent. Everyone can be faithful.

God is not asking you to do miracles, He is asking you to be faithful. He is asking you to do your job and let Him do His.

Open Eyes

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God is showing you things all the time but you don’t always see them.

Especially if you’ve been walking with God for a while. We tend to “catalog” things according to what we have already experienced.

When you begin to catalog what you see God doing under “things you’ve seen God do”, you can miss the new things completely. They are still happening but you are missing it.

The joy gets sucked out of your relationship with God and you wonder what has happened.

How can it change?

As with all things, begin with a prayer:

“Open my eyes so I can see what you show me of your miracle-wonders. I’m a stranger in these parts; give me clear directions.”
Psalm 119:17 MSG

Ask for God to open your eyes.

Admit that you haven’t been here before.

Even if everything looks the same all around you, it is not.

It is a new day and God wants to do new thing.

Open eyes = joy filled life.