GOD is waiting on you...

Happy Sunday!

Trust in God totally OR God takes his hands off! - Dr.  Bill Winston

When I heard this quote, I thought about a person trying to save someone who is drowning.  Perhaps, you have already been warned about trying to rescue a drowning person.  In panic, the drowning person will instinctively grab onto and push up on anything they can.  Sadly, many times, the one trying to rescue another ends up drowning!  God is trying to save us from Poverty, Sickness, and Death!  But if we insist on doing it our way, God will allow us to drown in our mess.   

Oh, I know what you are thinking..."God is merciful, He's sovereign, He's in control."  Yes, you are correct!  But most importantly, God is TRUE to His WORD!  He will NEVER contradict His Word.  He gave man DOMINION in this earth, after losing that dominion to Satan, Jesus came and RESTORED our Dominion and Authority.  NOW we are responsible to RECIEVE what has already been provided.  GOD isn't waiting to do anything.  He's waiting on US to do what we have been COMMANDED and receive the Blessing.  

BUT many of us would rather BLAME God, the government, or our families for where we are, and what we have.  This thinking is nothing new, Isaiah 45:9-10 says, "Woe to the man who fights with his Creator. Does the pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with him who forms it, saying, “Stop, you’re doing it wrong!” or the pot exclaim, “How clumsy can you be!”? Woe to the baby just being born who squalls to his father and mother, “Why have you produced me? Can’t you do anything right at all?” (Living Bible).  Sounds foolish, doesn't it?

God will not do anything that he has told YOU to do!  Stop praying and telling God to go to the hospital!  He told you to, "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure the lepers, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!"(Matthew 10:8, KJV).   Stop telling God to go to the prisons and help the homeless!  Jesus said a certain group of people would be recognized one day.  They will be the people that did the following things, "For I was hungry and you fed me; I was thirsty and you gave me water; I was a stranger and you invited me into your homes; naked and you clothed me; sick and in prison, and you visited me."(Matthew 25:35-36, Living Bible).  

God is a SPIRIT.  He determined that to do business legally in the Earth you must have a physical body!  That's why Jesus had to come in the flesh!  You have a physical body, and you have work to do!  He has given us the tools to change our lives and our world.  I know.  It's daunting...but God did not give us a spirit of fear! (2 Timothy 1:7).   Fear short-circuits your Faith!  Faith is the only thing that will defeat the enemy.

Love and prayers, Cynthia

LISTS

 Happy Sunday!

We love lists!  Every magazine cover I see has at least one list.   "Ten Steps to Great Abs", "Five Ways to Know He Cares", and "Seven Steps to a Happy Life" and on and on and on!  My Mother loved to leave us lists of chores that had to be done before she arrived home from work.  My children can attest to the fact that I have created similar lists in my child rearing days.  Even the Bible is full of lists.  Psalm 1 lists the description of a Blessed Man..."Great blessings belong to those who don’t listen to evil advice, who don’t live like sinners, and who don’t join those who make fun of God."(Easy-to-Read Version).    Proverbs 6:16-19 lists the seven things that God hates..."These six things the Lord hates, indeed, seven are an abomination to Him:  A proud look [the spirit that makes one overestimate himself and underestimate others], a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,  A heart that manufactures wicked thoughts and plans, feet that are swift in running to evil,  A false witness who breathes out lies [even under oath], and he who sows discord among his brethren."(Amplified).

So often I just wonder if there is a quick one step method that will cover all the bases.  Obedience is a great starting place!  When King Saul sinned, God instructed the Prophet Samuel to tell him, "Behold, to OBEY is better than sacrifice..."(1 Samuel 15:22, KJV).  Now before you brush me off and stop reading, even the Apostle James saw a need for simple obedience.  He compared our disobedient tongues with animals in nature, but even the animals can be tamed and learn to obey!  James 3:7-8 says, "For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison."(KJV).  Now thankfully, when we submit our tongues to the Holy Spirit in obedience, they can be tamed and used to bless ourselves and others.  Obedience is the key, and it's not hard to do!  1 John 5:3 says, "Loving God means doing what he tells us to do, and really, that isn’t hard at all."(Living Bible).  

Years ago, Dr. Bill Winston preached a series entitled, "Christ in You" with the subtitle, "Fulfilling Your Dominion Mandate".  When Adam sinned against God he lost several things.  He lost fellowship, he lost assignment, he lost provision, and he lost his mind.  What a SAD list!  But Jesus came to get all of our stuff back.  What Jesus did for us is not just a sweet story to recant on Resurrection Sunday.  Jesus paid the price needed to get us back to Dominion!  You are meant to dominate!  Situations and circumstances are not supposed to dominate you!  You do have the upper hand, it's the Hand of God through the Anointing of the Holy Spirit.  Dr. Winston said, "Don't you dare complain when you are dominated!  Dominate!"   2 Corinthians 2:14 says, "Now thanks be unto God, which ALWAYS causes us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in every place."(KJV).   Don't miss this!  We are designed to WIN all the time!  We have access to the Unlimited Potential of God!  We can LISTEN and OBEY, and WIN!   Start where you are.  OBEY God when he says, "Don't lie."  Get to work on time, be the best employee they've ever had!  OBEY God when he says, "Give!"  He's responsible for the getting and he promises abundance.  Luke 6:38 is true!  "Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return."(NASB).   OBEY God when he says love your enemies.  Hating people is like a self-inflicted wound.  They continue on their way, while you are get stuck in the mud of what they did to you.

We may always have lists, but obedience can change our lists to lists of gratitude and thankfulness...like "One Million Ways God Has Blessed Me".

Love and prayers, Cynthia

"Get your Angels out of the Unemployment line!"

 Happy Sunday!

"Don’t forget to be kind to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!"(Hebrews 13:2 Living Bible).

What is the ministry or assignment of Angels?  Great question! I'm so glad you asked!

Angels are assigned to PROTECT us.   Psalm 91:11-12 says, "For he orders his angels to protect you wherever you go. They will steady you with their hands to keep you from stumbling against the rocks on the trail." (Living Bible).  Do you remember the story of Daniel?  Targeted by haters, thrown in the lion's den. The next morning when the king ran out to see what had become of Daniel, Daniel replied, "My God sent his ANGEL and shut the lions’ mouths so that they couldn't hurt me. He did this because he considered me innocent. Your Majesty, I haven’t committed any crime.”(Daniel 6:22 God's Word Translation).  Don't take this story for granted.  Those same lions devoured Daniel's accusers.

Another time the King of Syria was out to get the Prophet Elisha. Elisha's servant went out and discovered they were surrounded by the Syrian Army.  Elisha told his servant, "Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them."(2 Kings 6:16 KJV).   He prayed that the servant's eyes be opened. The servant looked again and saw, "The whole mountainside full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha!"(2 Kings 6:17 Message).

Angels RESPOND to the Word of God.  A pastor once said, "Get your angels out of the unemployment line!"  Angels respond to prayers that line up with the Word!  When you speak the WORD you give the angels something to work with. Proverbs 18:21 says, "Words have power in matters of life and death, and those who love them will savor their fruit."(Voice).   

Angels are sent to MINISTER to you.  Did you hear that?  These are not little fat babies with wings! The normal response to seeing an angel was fear and dread. Every time an angel appeared to a person in the Bible the angel had to say, "Fear not!"  The prophets saw angels and fainted or fell as dead men.  Angels are fully equipped, capable, and strong enough to do what must be done! Hebrews 1:14 says, "Did God ever say to any of the heavenly messengers, "Sit here, at My right hand, in the seat of honor; and I’ll put all Your enemies under Your feet?" No, of course not. The heavenly messengers are only spirits and servants, sent out to minister to those who will certainly inherit salvation."(Voice). 

How can I put my angels to work?  Great question! Get the WORD in your mouth and speak it OUT LOUD.  If you are experiencing financial difficulty, don't moan and complain about how broke you are! Speak out loud..."The Lord is my Shepherd [to feed, guide, and shield me], I shall not lack."(Psalm 23:1 AMPC).  Are you having problems at work or in your business? Speak the Word...Psalm 1 says, "those who follow the Lord and obey..."Everything they do is successful."(Psalm 1:3 Easy to Read Version).  Are you sick? Speak the Word to your body...“Through His wounds, you were healed.”(1 Peter 2:24 Voice). 

Love and prayers, Cynthia