DON'T FORGET!

 Happy Sunday!

"The Eternal your God promised your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that He would give you this land. When He brings you into it, you’ll live in beautiful and spacious cities you didn’t build. You’ll have houses filled with good things waiting for you—cisterns to hold water already dug out of the rock for you, and vineyards and olive orchards that you didn’t plant. You’ll have all you want to eat and more. When this happens, be very, very careful! Don’t forget it was the Eternal who brought you out of Egypt, where you were slaves."(Deuteronomy 6:10-12, Voice).

Don't forget who brought you out!  

So many scriptures encourage us to remember and not forget all the good things that the Lord has done.  Ecclesiastes 12:1 says, "Don’t let the excitement of being young cause you to forget about your Creator. Honor him in your youth before the evil years come—when you’ll no longer enjoy living."(Living Bible).  We are prone to forget.  But meditating on the good things and recalling them can encourage us and strengthen our faith.

Lamentations 3:20-22 says, "I’ll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness, the taste of ashes, the poison I’ve swallowed.  I remember it all—oh, how well I remember—the feeling of hitting the bottom.  But there’s one other thing I remember, and remembering, I keep a grip on HOPE:  God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out, his merciful love couldn’t have dried up. They’re created new every morning. How great your faithfulness!  I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over). He’s all I’ve got left."(Message).

Love and prayers, Cynthia

Refusing to be Ignorant!

Happy Sunday!

The best way to identify the Blessing and its effect on your life is to compare it to the curse.  Many times, in the Word, God uses comparisons.  Think about it.  In Deuteronomy 28:13, we see that the Blessing will make you the head and not the tail, above only and never beneath.  This one scripture can tell us so much about how the blessed life will be.  You will be the leader and not the follower.  You will never have to live under the circumstances, but you can rise above them.

The Blessing will repair everything that the curse has destroyed.  But you have to believe it!  You will never receive the blessings you cannot ENVISION.  Proverbs 22:9 says, "He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor."(KJV).  Another translation of this scripture says, "Generous people are genuinely blessed, because they share their food with the poor."(Voice).  Did you see that?  A person that is willing to BLESS others will always be blessed.  That person is looking beyond what they have and trusting that God will bless them again.  

Galatians 3:13-14 says, "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the BLESSING of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."(KJV).  Jesus paid the price for you to be blessed.  Think about how you would feel if you paid for a special vacation or event for your child, grandchild, or family member.  You told them where to go, when to be there, and how much fun they will have attending.  But they didn't trust your promise.  They disregarded the instructions and ignored the travel arrangements.  I know how I would feel!  I'm just happy God is more loving and merciful than I am.  The Apostle Paul said, "I would not have you to be IGNORANT" many times in the New Testament.  He begged the believers not to be ignorant!  Ignorant is defined as lacking knowledge, information, or awareness about something in particular.  Are you ignorant of your rights and privileges as a child of the King?  Are you ignorant of the blessings that are GUARANTEED to you as a giver?  Are you ignorant about what the Bible really says?  The world says, "What you don't know can't hurt you!"  That's a lie!  What you don't know can kill you!

Don't be a casualty in this war!  We are in a faith fight!  Hebrews 11:6 says, "It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he CARES ENOUGH to respond to those who seek him."(Message).  Receiving your inheritance requires that you read the last will and testament.  It requires that you believe that you are eligible to receive, and it requires that you take possession of what belongs to you.

Refusing to be ignorant!  Love and prayers, Cynthia

Are you Thirsty?

The Happy Sunday!

Isaiah 44:3 says, "For I will pour water upon him that is THIRSTY, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:"(KJV).  Don't miss this!  God will pour water on ground that is thirsty.  Water represents the Word of God, and man was formed from the dust or earth.  God will hydrate you when you are thirsty for the Word.  I know that in popular culture, being "thirsty" is not seen in a positive light.  In the Urban Dictionary, "thirsty" is defined as being too eager to get something.  Don't let popular culture cause you to miss your Blessing!   In Psalm 42:1 the psalmist says, "My soul is dry and thirsts for You, True God, as a deer thirsts for water."(Voice).  Another translation of this scripture says, "A white-tailed deer drinks from the creek; I want to drink God, deep draughts of God. I’m thirsty for God-alive. I wonder, “Will I ever make it—arrive and drink in God’s presence?”  I’m on a diet of tears—tears for breakfast, tears for supper.  All day long people knock at my door, Pestering, “Where is this God of yours?”(vs 1-3, Message).  

1 Kings 17:8-16 is a familiar passage, but it always provides fresh revelation.   Jesus said in Luke 4:24, "No prophet is accepted in his own country."(KJV).  This passage in 1 Kings proves that the prophet did not go to a widow in Israel, and there may have been many needy widows during the drought and the famine.  He went to a widow in Zarephath.  In verse 9, God tells the prophet, "I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee."(KJV).  She had already been told what to do.  But her obedience had to overcome her fear.  Think of how she must have felt contemplating making this last meal and then starving to death, she and her son.  Dr. Bill Winston said, "The biggest miracle is believing the Man of God!"   The widow had to trust that what the Lord said, and verified through the prophet was true.  She had to be willing to take her eyes off the present circumstance and trust God.  

Lets go back to Isaiah 44:3, in another translation it says..."Like a devoted gardener, I will pour sweet water on parched land, streams on hard-packed ground;  I will pour My spirit on your children and grandchildren—and let My blessing flow to your descendants."(Voice).  Once I was admiring a picture posted on Facebook.  It was a bowl of fresh string beans from my cousin's garden.  They looked so sweet and delicious!  When she planted her garden, if she used seeds...the seed packet did not show a picture of the seed. The packet showed the final product.  The packet was a vision, or a visual representation of what she could expect over time.  Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."(KJV).  Faith is our seed packet.  When we see the promises of God, we plant them in our hearts and can expect that in time we will get the exact harvest we desire.  With God there is always a guaranteed return on our seeds planted!  Galatians 6:7 says, "What you give is what you get. What you sow, you harvest."(Voice).

Love and prayers, Cynthia