Don't be moved!

The Lord spoke to me this morning in my devotional and I believe it is a word you will find very encouraging. I read Proverbs every day, the chapter corresponding to the day of the month. Today being the 10th it is Proverbs 10. A chapter devoted to the wise sayings of Solomon contrasting the wise man with the foolish or evil man.

The blessing of the Lord- it makes [truly] rich, and He adds no sorrow with it [neither does toiling increase it]. God's blessing is there for us, we don't do anything [toil, strive] to receive it, it is there by virtue of our relationship with Christ. We are made righteous by the blood of Jesus Christ. Praise God!

Wise men store up knowledge [in mind and heart], but the mouth of the foolish is a present destruction. The lips of the [uncompromisingly] righteous feed and guide many, but fools die for want of understanding and heart.

These are wonderful passages of scripture filled with God's wisdom. Now hear is a key verse as we go into the Springtime and the season of tornado's and bad weather. Proverbs 10:25- When the whirlwind passes, the wicked are no more, but the [uncompromisingly] righteous have an everlasting foundation.
Psalms 125:1- Those who trust in, lean on, and confidently hope in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides and stands fast forever. Praise God

Matt 7:24-25: So everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts upon them [obeying them] will be like a sensible (prudent, practical, wise) man who built his house upon the rock. And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it was founded on the rock.

These scriptures have application in many situations in our lives. They apply to our relationships, our finances, our health, our spiritual condition and also to our physical surroundings. Jesus was trying to teach the disciples this lesson when they were in the boat on the lake and a storm arose. He fully expected them to be able to take care of the situation and not be disturbed from His sleep. You remember that He was asleep when all the bad weather was going on around Him?

Jesus had to rebuke the storm by speaking to it and immediately the storm ceased. You've no doubt read this passage many times and maybe you've never grasped the significance of the power available to us through our relationship with Jesus. He intended for us to have power over the physical world around us. His plan for Adam was for him to rule over the earth.

We have been experimenting with this power for many years. Every time that a storm is forecast to come into our area, Jamie and I take the authority Jesus gave us and exercise it over our property. We usually will quote Psalms 91especially verse 10 which says: There shall no evil befall you, nor shall any plague or calamity come near your tent (your home, all your property, where ever you are, your children, etc.). We have never had any damage to our home or cars, our children or us.

We fully trust in and believe God's words to be true regarding our safety and we speak them out in faith trusting that He will protect us. Do this next time that storms come into your area. Instead of giving into fear, made a faith decision that His word is more powerful than any storm and trust that He will protect you. Just imagine that you're on that lake in the boat with Jesus sleeping. Instead of waking Him to do what He told you to do you take control and silence the storms in your life through the power of His words spoken through you. He'll wake up and say "Well done good and faithful servant".

Jamie and I bless you and ask God to richly bless and keep you according to His mighty word!

The Haunting Past

The more we mentor, the more we learn that there are still issues in our own lives that we are dealing with. Have you noticed how when you have overcome certain issues, the enemy tries to throw them back up in your face as if  they are still issues. We must always be wise to his schemes, not ever letting our guard down.

I was praying today and the Lord reminded me that those things of the past can be used by the devil as a "homing pigeon." I’ll explain... My husband is a mighty, faith man. Did you know that the opposite of faith is fear. Fear means flight or flee, being so scared “that which may cause flight.” Alan trusts God with his whole heart. He does! But there was a time early in our marriage where we were not in financial harmony. We have since, done Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace, we pray together seeking God’s financial council and we are in agreement when we do everything now. Now we are investing in the stock market together.

However, that homing pigeon of (financial) fear still tries to come back and land on Alan (to roost in his thoughts), even though Alan has already overcome that. So we must first, have the eyes to SEE as it is happening so that we can, REMIND the enemy that we have overcome that fear and THANK God that we are new creations in Christ Jesus. The old creature has passed away, behold we are made anew. “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back [to the things behind] is fit for the kingdom of God” Luke 9:62. Fear cannot run roughshod over us anymore. It has no place. We now stand firm, in Jesus’ name.

Try that he may, the enemy cannot succeed in tormenting Alan in the area of financial investments. We bind our minds to the mind of Christ meaning that the enemy cannot come in the back door. Half of the battle is being aware that there is an accuser of the bretheren. Since we know that the opposite of faith is fear, the enemy longs to pervert Alan’s “faith mindset” to a “fear mentality”. So we take our authority because we are no longer in that place of fear anymore. We have spiritually matured! We are so far removed from that place we were years ago, there is no comparison to what we knew then to what we now know. And we aren’t going back, but are moving ahead in Christ Jesus. Empowered by the Holy Spirit! Praise God!