Are you a good person?

Are You a Good Person?: http://youtu.be/TCSUKIhjevo

Love the Person, Fight the Enemy

Some people are in our lives for a season, while others are there until the end. When people hurt us, we feel so betrayed and rejected that we are sometimes overcome with grief. If we are connected to the Spirit of God, the first thing we do when we are faced with such situations is that we run to the throne room of God and lay our burdens down. Here, we recognize that there is no profit in loving those who love us back, but that the real challenge is loving those who hate us and despitefully use us. It is at the feet of Jesus we will recognize that we cannot look at the person with hate but we have to go after the thing that is driving them in the Spiritual realm. This is when we know without doubt that we have to help our loved ones to come to an understanding that Christ is Lord. We have to bring them to the revelation that it is evil that is dancing on the battlefield of their minds and causing them to act in such negative ways. It is here, in the Presence of God, that He reminds us that we are not fighting against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers and rulers of darkness and spiritual wickedness in high places. He tells us that everything that exalts itself against God shall be brought down to naught. We are therefore called to fight against the spiritual forces that are in operation in the lives of the people we love in order to help them to first see and then accept truth. 

We as Christians, as soldiers in the army of Christ, have to gird up ourselves as we get ready for battle. We have to put on the full armor of God and wage war against Satan and his troops as we march into the enemy’s camp and take back what the devil stole from us! We have to ensure that we are standing on the Word of God and all His promises for our lives. We have to be confident that what God says He will do, He will surely do it! We have to believe that we are valuable to God, that He has heard our prayers, that He has collected our tears, that He has seen and witnessed the persecutions we have endured - and that He is faithful to us. We have to claim the victory! We have to stay in our territory and watch God do His marvelous work to bring all things in our lives to His perfect order. 

God does not slumber nor sleep. Our connection to Him and with Him is quintessential. He is not going to sit by and allow the enemy to triumph over us. He is going to step in as our defender, and execute vengeance in every trial. Throw your doubts out the window and give it all over to Him. He is More Than Able to give you an expected end! 

Believe and Receive...

During the Tests, Trust God

Has there ever been a time in your life when you seem to have no understanding of why things are going the way they are? Well, honestly, I have. It's the time when you think you know what you want, and you do a good job putting up a front about it, but deep down you just have no idea how you are even going to get through the current situation. At these times, I am so strong some days and on other days I feel weak and down. I can't seem to cry - its as though I have cried out all the tears I had so many times before. I pray and I await a Word of Instruction from God, but sometimes it's as though I don't even hear His voice. Have you ever been there?
For me, I have been learning though that I have to be still. It is much harder than I thought. I am learning that I have to stay within the boundaries that I am limited to by my humanity and let God reign in His territory. I have to stop trying to do God's job and let Him control my destiny... These words are so easy to advise other people, but when it's you in the situation it appears so much harder to adhere to.
At this point in my life, I am facing a test. I am going through everyday uplifted in God's strength and peace. I am dealing with different things that I am now finding out had been wallowing on the inside of me for a while.
I guess what I am learning most of all, is that as we go through the most difficult periods in life, it doesn't do us any good to blame the people who appear against us, but to look within and see what God is doing in us as individuals. Each test is to take us to new places of self advancement and betterment. Embrace the tests...Let God mould you and shape you to the perfect specimen He envisioned you to be.

We have hope...

Life definitely has its ups and downs. It's like a never ending play in which we are all actors and actresses - vying for the leading parts. It doesn't matter what we look like or what our preferences are, we are placed on this journey simultaneously. For many, situations, trials, challenges, persecutions and circumstances bring hopelessness. For these, it's as though a big, black hole had opened up in the middle of the planet and caused them to fall in. They shout from the depths of their hearts crying out for help, but they see no one coming. The hundreds of friends on their social networks, their 'hanging' buddies, their relatives - no one seems to be there when they need them the most. They feel so low, so down, so alone, that death appears to be the most pleasant escape. But, not for us. As Christians, we know who our Father is. We know that life is not always going to be a bed of roses. We know that trials will come. We know that we can be broken down, tormented, persecuted, insulted, rejected, abused, let down, ridiculed and the list of negatives goes on and on. But we also know that we have hope. We know that in every situation our Father in Heaven hears or cries, sees our pain and attends unto our needs. We know that without a doubt we will be delivered, we will have the victory, and we will succeed! We know that we are never alone and nothing that shall rise against us will prosper, because God remains forever with us.
Still, with all this practical knowledge, we sometimes feel defeated. In the midst of life's many challenges, we sometimes faint in our faith, becoming weary in the circumstances. We sometimes allow the situations to control our thoughts and actions. We can even entertain defeat as a friend. But, my brothers and sisters in Christ, we are called for a purpose. No matter the situation that is in operation now, all things work for good to those who love God. God's plan is still on. We are still included in His plan. We may not be able to see what the end of it looks like, or understand how something so wrong could turn around to be so precise...Relinquish control over to Him. Give God the entire thing and let Him work it out on your behalf. After all, He is the one fighting our battles for us - we have only to 'dance on the battlefield'. He loves us and His thoughts towards us remain good all the time. In this season, He didn't change His mind about your victory - He is taking you there through the current test! Embrace it, be strengthened in it, and most of all, thank God for it!
Love you all in Jesus' Name!

Love and Bitterness

TheFreeDictionary.com meaning of Bitterness is 'resulting from or expressive of severe grief, anguish or disappointment'. It proceeds from strong animosity that has been bottled in for a while. It sneaks its way into our hearts when we believe that we are being treated unfairly, being hurt repeatedly, or have been victimized in some way or the other. 

Personally, I have been through episodes of drama in my life that caused my self esteem and self worth to diminish in a fleeting moment. I fed myself excuses for the actions against me in an attempt to deal with all that was happening. I hung my head in shame believing that I must be everyone's biggest joke. The depression I experienced only seemed to get worse as the days dragged on by. I begun to get so angry...angry at everyone and everything. More importantly, I begun to get angry at myself. 

Coming to Christ was the best thing I had ever done. SO many things begun to change. My very thinking began to take on a new direction. All the unforgiveness I harbored on the inside was slowly being released and I was becoming free. 

But, then it happened. God was doing such a marvelous work in my life. I couldn't understand His methods and I didn't have a clue what the result of the test would be, but I trusted God. I have been in a situation where I was being emotionally abused on what felt like a daily basis. Now, I have been separated from the problem and I have been experiencing the peace and joy of the Lord as I face each new day. I had been so hurt for so long that it just became apart of me. I carried it around with me wherever I went. I held on to the pain for so long that it caused bitterness to take root in me. Scripture says in Hebrews 12:15 'Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled'. Here, I understand that bitterness is like the root of a plant that is hidden under the surface. The more stable the root, the more healthy the fruit. So I began to look for the fruits of bitterness that is evidently in operation in my life. To my horror, there it was indeed... anger and wrath. 

If you have been through anything like me and have noticed the fruits of bitterness including anger, wrath, slander, and malice, please know that there is hope. I cried before God when I recognized this ugliness was within me. But, I was reminded that God is a loving God who makes a way when there seems to be no other way. When I thought that I was so horrible in His sight, He made me to understand that LOVE dispels bitterness. Because we have Christ in us, we do not have to show hate to those who hate us, but do what the Bible commands and love them. Yes, they have caused us unimaginable hurt that caused our hearts to be torn into bits and pieces, but we have to win the war with love. 

God loves us. He calls us to be like Him in that we can have a heart like His. His heart is filled with love for people. If we hate those who hate us, what profit is there in that? We ought to love them so that Christ in us can be apparent to them. We have to win them over with love.

So, don't let this bitterness continue to flourish in your life. Seek now to curse that 'tree' that is springing up as you lovingly draw nearer to God. May God Bless You All.