The Latter Will be Greater!

Happy New Year! We just experienced the kick-off of 2020 and we're all looking forward to better things. It's never too late to make adjustments on your goals or resolutions. As long as you don't quit, you're still in the game. Maybe things don't look so good right now, but that's OK because those things are subject to change! In other words, they're temporary.

In the household of God, "We look not at the things which are seen, but at those things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary and the things which are not seen are eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:18

That's a really big deal, and it changes everything! It means our temporary struggles don't matter. And it means, we don't have to "stare" at life's challenges as if they're were no hope, because there is. And it's a hope that endures. 1 Corinthians 13:7 says, "Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."  

We can rest assured that the God of the universe, the One and only Rock eternal, will keep His word concerning His promise. He is the God of His word. And that word is eternal. That's where we look!

Hope is never behind us, it's always ahead, therefore we look in that direction... forward. 

Forward to what? To knowing it's going to get better. If we stick with God, we'll be on the right path.
Which path? The path to the good stuff! 😊

Proverbs 4:18 gives us something to look forward to. Like an expectant mother, if we'll stay in the faith, (nurture it properly) there's coming a day when we'll see the glory of what's been developing inside us all along come to fruition.

"The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day." 

It means every day we're one step closer to fullness. It means every day gets brighter and brighter. (It gets better and better) That right there, should make you smile. Or at least give you some hope.

Here's something we can stand on... 

"Even though your beginning was small, your latter days will be very great." 

So, where are we in life? 

Some of us just watched Super Bowl 54. We saw two teams tied at halftime. And we know one of them came out ahead. What really stuck out to me was the score at halftime. 
Which was, 10...10. 

Every time I see the number combination, 10 10 I'm reminded of John 10:10.

 "The thief does not come except to steal, kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." John 10:10

As soon as I saw this, I had to take a picture. It's such a correlation to where some of us may be in our lives right now. In "Half- Time."  Maybe the "first half" of your life has left you injured and down on the field. But guess what, it's not over. Perhaps your opponent (Satan) has stolen, or destroyed something in your life. No worries, because you're not staying down.

It's only half-time and the score is about to change. Jesus has promised us life, and life more abundantly. If we'll cling to that promise like we're about to score in the Super Bowl, we will win!
Be encouraged, we're in the "second half" and it's about to get really good!

Do You Carry?

"Do You Carry"?  If you do, that's awesome. I'ts important to have some kind of defense mechanism living in our crazy society today.  Personally, my husband and I proudly support the NRA. My husband grew up on a large acreage of land in Northeast Ohio, so for him, hunting was his second nature. 

Anyways, that's not what I'm here to talk about. My question about "carrying" really isn't related to a physical weapon at all. (Although it is certainly wise to (legally 😎) own one. 

If you're going to carry a physical weapon, you may want to have some back-up nearby in your time of distress. I'm talking about hving a higher source of "fire-power" in your corner at all times. 

The weapons of our warfare...

"For though we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but they are mighty through God, to the pulling down of strongholds. 
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. And we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."  2 Corinthians 2:10

Wow! Evil forces are no match for our God. They don't want to mess with that kind of power. As a matter of fact, according to Isaiah 54:17... 

"No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you."  So we can see this thing is crystal clear. 

If God be for you, who can be against you?!!

But wait... there's more.. And this is the best part. As born again believers in the Messiah- Yeshua, Jesus Christ the Anointed One, the Son of the Most High God, we carry something so extremely precious on the inside at all times... HIM! 

Mary wasn't the only favored one. She carried the physical baby Jesus but we carry His Spirit. His life is inside of us. 

We are carriers of Gods glory!! His glorious Holy Spirit abides and "rides" with us everywhere.  And with that presence, we carry an abundance of love, mercy, healing, provison, joy, peace... I could go on and on. Because if we carry Him, we carry everything.

The world needs mending. The world needs God. That's why we carry the gospel of this wonderful news everywhere we go. 

I could expound on this wonderful, astounding truth forever, because there's so much to explore, although we've barely touched on such a deep subject, that such profound miracles abide in us.

😊😊😊😊😊😊💗💗💗💗💗   

Remember Who You Are

Have you ever questioned your "lot in life"? Have you ever felt like things haven't quite gone the way you thought they would? I know I have. If we evaluate our present conditions, surroundings, and dilemas we can be left feeling downright disappointed. I've been there. Standing in the middle in that negative force field trying figure things out, and make some kind of sense. But, what I found was to no avail because I realized something "magical." Something I've always known, but somehow forgotten. My assesments were all wrong.

I was looking at life as though I were cursed instead of blessed. And that is a flat out lie!
It was like I had a bad case of "spiritual amnesia" or something.  Had I forgotten who I was in Christ? Did I forget my true identity? Why was I looking at failure when I was actually victorious?  Why was my vision blurred?  It was like looking in the mirror and quickly forgetting what I look like. All  because the devil wants me to forget... that I look like Christ.  Now I remember, who I am. And I encourage you to remember who you are. If you belong to Christ, let Him define you.

I'm no longer a child of the flesh. I was born of Gods descent and made in His image and likeness.  He has broken the curse of sin and death and has blessed me with every spiritual blessing.  I have a bright hope-filled future in front of me. I am more than a conqueror through Christ. Greater is He that lives in me than he who's in the world.  I am not afraid. I am not sick, I am not broke. I am blessed.

Temporal things don't matter. They are subject to change.  My "lot" in life is full of the goodness of God. He is my Rock, my Shelter, my Healer. my Fortress.  He's my truest identity. I live in Him and in Him, I am strong. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. The joy of the Lord is my strength. I will not forget, but remember my roots. I am rooted in Him. Rooted and grounded in love.  I am established and secure in my royal position.

I am seated in heavenly places with Christ. Far above princpalities and powers of darkness. I am a daughter of the Most High God. I am a daughter of the King. I belong to the household of light. I am free from calamity and chaos.  My lot is peace.  I have inherited an abundance of righteousness.  I am right with God. Things go right with me and my children. My children rise up and call me blessed. My children are right with God, they are saved and blessed.

God is for me He is not against me. He fights for me. He makes my prosperous. He illuminates my path. I do not fear tomorrow. I know who I am. I am His.

Stretch Your Thinking

And just like that, it's summer! Already it feels like a hot oven out there! I live in Florida where things heat up quickly. We really don't have a wintery season. It goes like this. Our Winter air is somewhat cool, but the ground doesn't freeze. Since there's nothing to thaw, Spring temps can escalate to a quick "boil." And all through the Summer, we're still cooking! When Fall arrives, the heat tapers off but it's still quite steamy. 

I guess I don't mind it all that much. I'd rather be hot than cold. And I really like the beach!! Anyways, I said all that to say this. Even though we're in the Summer season. I'd like to stretch your imagination back to a cold winter night. It was a night like no other. They say it's always darkest before the dawn. I find that to be true. Especially on this night. It was the night that Christ was born. Yeah we think about this at Christmas, but it's so extraordinary, we should ponder it every day!
The day that Light came into the world to extinguish darkness.

But lets go back a little further. Like nine months prior to His birth. The day of "conception". Mary 's life was about to expand in every way. God saw her heart and knew she was willing to bear His word.

Her angelic visitor brought a message that would shift her thinking completely.

"Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God wll give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." 

"Then Mary said to the angel, "how can this be, since I do not know a man?" And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will ovrshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One is to be born will be called the Son of God." Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:26)

The next five minutes was probably intense with emotion!

Can you even imagine? (Mary) ... Wow! What just happened?! I saw an angel! And he said I was going to be the mother of the Son of the Most High God! "Who am I that such favor has fallen upon?" She must have thought about this day and night. How could she ignore such miraculous news?

"But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart." Luke 2:19

She must have had a hard time falling asleep that night. Day after day she held on to that word which came to her. This news was so astounding, maybe even hard to believe, because God had to send an angel to convince Joseph as well. Although she couldn't see any physical change right away, Mary felt different inside. She knew God had spoken. 

Let's move ahead to her second trimester. This is getting even more real! Her belly is starting to show. The Son of God is growing inside! She can feel Him kicking and moving about. Oh! What joy did flood her soul! For nine miraculous months, she carried Christ in her womb. And the Day of His birth was no less amazing. Her and Joseph would finally embrace the Son of God. 

What a glorious experience this must have been! 

I also have some amazing news for you. Are you ready to stretch your thinking and ponder it in your heart? When you're born-again of the Spirit of God, He overshadows you with the same Holy Spirit which covered Mary. Christ comes inside to live, in you!  Although we don't carry the physical baby of the Christ, and we don't have to. He only had to come once to fulfill His mission. No, we have the risen Savior abiding within! 

But I have felt Him "kick!" Sometimes when I read the word and get the revelation, it penetrates (as a sword should) it quickens, and "jolts" my spirit with life. And I know it's Him. This doesn't have to end. It's not a nine month pregnacy, but an eternal one. Stretch your heart to believe this impossible thing. Jesus, the Son of the Most High God, lives and abides inside. He fellowships with us, and gives life to our mortal bodies!  It's amazing grace, it's amazing news, and it's an amazing reality. There's so much to ponder. For we too, are highly favored and blessed!  

Stop Comparing Yourself To Others

Have you ever looked in the mirror and felt unsatisfied with the image looking back at you? I think we've all "picked ourselves apart" at one time or another. To be straight forward, it seems like I've dealt with this issue most of my life.  It sounds like this: "My nose is too big,"my hair is too thin... "Where did that wrinkle come from"? "My pores are too large"... "my skin is too red", etc.  I could go on, but I think you get the point.

But why do we do this? I think it's because we all want perfection. But the reality is, noone is perfect and nobody's flawless. The truth is, we will never be totally satisfied with our fleshly appearance because that's not where our true self image comes from. God made you by hand and He doesn't make mistakes! Your truest beauty abides inside of you.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder". When God looks at you He doesn't see flesh. He sees your heart. But He can also see the man He formed in the garden. Prior to the curse, we were...perfect.

"God made man in His own image".  When we examine ourselves in a negative light, we're actually dissaproving of Gods sculpture, which is ...us.  Do you think Adam thought of himself less than anything? Before the curse started to steal his identity and break him down, he never once had an negative self image.  All of this self hatred comes from trying to "break a curse" that's already been broken.

Someone has broken it for us! The second Adam.... Jesus.  And guess what? We don't have to be sick no more, we don't have to be poor no more, and we don't have to be dead no more!!

Now that we have been re-instated to the Blessing, that nasty curse no longer applies.

Have you ever seen something put together wrong? We all have. Just the other day at work, I saw a little decorative sign that was upside down. Whoever put it together placed the rope on the wrong side of the picture. Compare that to God "assembling man." Do you think He's constucted us improperly?... No! A thousand times "No"!  May we never direspect Him in such a way.

We look the way look today is a result of time, and how we took care of the body He gave us. We've all made mistakes, Which Christ has forgiven. The point is, don't look at the "old man" anymore.  He died with Christ, you have been made new.  Once again you've been made into the image of God 💗

"If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, old things have passed away: behold, all things are become new."  2 Corinthians 5:17

We don't have to look at the "old us" anymore.  Our self image comes from the One who lives in us. When you think about the price He paid to set you free, you no longer see the mess. If we purpose to "shake off the lies" concerning our appearance, inside and out... we'll be free from comparison. 

Whenever my dog gets up from rolling on the ground she's got dirt all over her, but she doesn't let it stay. Almost instantly, she shakes it all off! We need to be like that!  Shake it off!  You're not dirty!, you're not inferior, and you're not bad looking!  As a matter of fact, you're good looking! 

After God finished His creation, He said it was good!

Just a few days ago, I got my hair cut. I used to wear it up everyday to hide the damage I caused it over the years. Needless to say, I've always wanted strong, healthy hair.  Hair that looked normal.  Anyways, I took the leap and got the "dead stuff off", literally.  Although I don't look like the picture I showed the hairstylist, I'm okay with that!  God made me, and I'm happy about that!

Moving Forward in 2019

Happy New Year! Can you believe we've moved into 2019 already?  The older we get it seems like time zooms by quicker and quicker with each passing year. Wouldn't it be great if there were only a pause button?

Ahhh, if we could just re-live the "good old days".  Although we can't freeze or preserve our favorite moments in time, like a canning jar they're sealed up tight right inside our hearts. The good news is we don't have to look back longingly, because your latter days will be greater than your past.  (Haggai 2:9)

Every good thing in our past can be used as "stepping stones" towards something greater. 😃

Time doesn't go backwards it's always moving forward. That means our best times are in front of us, not behind us. Every sixty seconds another minute goes by.  Minutes turn to hours - which become days, days become months, which grow into years. This isn't a bad thing. It all depends on how we look at it.  

Yesterday is over. The bad stuff is behind us. Don't drag it to another day. In other words, if we had a bad day, or even what seems like an awful year, so what. Let it go.  Don't "get stuck in the past". We don't even have to look back. Wer'e not going that way. Take all the good and "carry it over". We are promised better things!  We've got a bright path ahead of us.  Proverbs 4:19 says this: "The path of the just is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter, until the full light of day".

That means, that your future, which is as close as the next minute, will become brighter and brighter and brighter! Doesn't that make you smile! 

Let me share something good with you. On the morning of New Years Day 2019 I was putting on my wrist watch and glanced at it in a peculiar way. I was puzzled for a moment thinking "do I need to set my watch ahead"? Like Daylight Savings Time or something. "Oh, it's New Years Day, I don't need to adjust my watch".

As I thought about it further I realized that something spiritual had occurred. My year had changed, and so did "the time in the spirit". It's a "New Spiritual Year".  Not just for me, but for you as well. It's sort of  like Spring-forward, but we've gained much more than just an hour!

I believe that God is bringing forth dreams and manifesting His bounty more quickly than we've imagined.  

He's moved His "clock ahead" in such a way that He's speeding things up for our good. And I believe it's approaching fast. 

If we look ahead in such a way and expect Gods' promises to be expedited, we'll anticipate each day with joy, knowing full well that He who promised is faithful to bring it to pass. If there's a dream inside you that's living, it shall soon be birthed. In order to keep the dream alive, you must feed it with hope. 

Look for God inside of every second, and every minute of every week. He never leaves. Seek Him every month, keep finding Him- all year long, even throuout eternity... what astonishing Light we will see up ahead. Our outlook for tommorow is good! We may not be able to freeze time, or "capture it in a bottle" but we have something much better, we can fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.  

We'll see the brightness of His coming, we'll see His word coming to pass, we'll see our future so exceedingly bright and illuminated with Gods love. We we're never meant to have a dull day or a dull life. 

As we approach the next minute, look for Jesus. Just the mention of His Name changes everything.

2019 and beyond is full of promise. You're not waiting on God, He's waiting on you. He is your compass, move forward in Him.  💖

Why Doesn't God Intervene?

Although it may not look like it, feel like it, or seem like it, God is intervening. Right now Jesus is at the right hand of the Father - interceding for us.  (Romans 8:34) The word intercede means to intervene. It means that God the Father and God the Son, is getting involved with you and your life.

The Bible says that Jesus is praying for us. He is our Intercessor - A person who intervenes on behalf of another, especially by prayer. Jesus is our Advocate. He defends our rightful place. While the devil is busy accusing the saints, Jesus is pleading the blood.

He shed His blood to pay for every sin. He shed His blood to heal every disease. He shed His blood to break the curse of sin and death. His blood sacrifice is the way to live with God forever.

John 10:10 - Jesus came that we may have life, and enjoy it to the fullest.

The abundant life, the curse-free (blessed) life belongs to us. Why?
Over 2000 years ago, Jesus intervened on an old rugged cross.

So why in the world does everything look so bleak? It looks that way because we look at life through our own eyes. We see everything in the natural. But that's not how we're meant to see.  The devil wants us to see in the natural and respond to what we see. He shows us lack, sickness, doom and gloom, etc.

Through the eyes of faith we see the supernatural. "We walk by faith and not by sight." (2 Cor 5:7)

"For our light and temporary affliction is producing for us an eternal glory that far outweighs our troubles. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

2 Corinthians 4:18

The Bible calls faith a substance. It's evidence of the things we are yet to see. (Hebrews 11)
The time it takes between standing in faith and seeing the answer is called trust. 

Abraham wavered not at the promise of God despite the barrenness of Sarah's womb. Although it took many years to manifest, that promise came to pass. God is faithful. 
I know it hurts to wait. I know it's hard. But yet, we have One Whom we can run to. 

Think of it like this. When a child falls down and skins their knee they run to Daddy. Daddy picks them up, binds up thier wounds, then He kisses where it hurts - to make it all better :) 
The child smiles and joyfully goes back to playing. 

That's the exact same thing our heavenly Father does for us. Do you know that the Father gives kisses from heaven? He sure does! When you run into His presence, nothing on earth matters. It all melts away. He gives joy for mourning and a garment of praise instead of a heavy heart. (Isaiah 61)  

He is a burden lifter, a bondage breaker, a lover, a friend, a mender of brokenness. When we draw near to Him, He draws near to us. And when He is near, you know that everything is going to be alright!  As we look at life through the word of God, we see the goodness of God is coming straight for us. Expect it! 

When you are pregnant with His word and expect it to birth glorious things in your life, they will surely come!  O taste and see that the Lord is good.