Birthday Tribute

~~Tribute to a special friend on her birthday~~

 

“An extraordinary woman of God”

 

Beautiful.....Kind......Compassionate....Caring,

Pure at Heart.....Hardworking.....Dedicated,

Gentle....Humble in all her ways.....Graceful

are some of the many words one can use to describe our dearest Lisa

 

Lisa is an extraordinary and mighty woman 

in the Kingdom of Christ

and it is because she is most humble, 

surrendering her life unto the Lord,

for his will to be done in her life, 

that she continues to shine whenever she goes

and be a beacon of light for the world to see.

 

Lisa inspires us to worship King Jesus, 

with all our heart, mind and soul,

She inspires us to shout praises unto the One True God,

She inspires us to stand strong in the wonderful name of Jesus

.....

Lis, you have inspired me to persist 

even when I felt as though I was on the verge of giving up

& you reminded me that we all have a great purpose in this world, 

because we are of great worth and importance to Jesus.

The Holy Spirit within you truly speaks to others,

to give support and encouragement in the most timely manner

and I pray that God will continue to use you,

to bring glory and honour to his name.

 

Lisa's heart is pure,

filled with love, care, devotion and affection. 

She is certainly, 

one of the most amazing persons you will ever meet;

one of the best moms you will ever be around;

and she will go to the ends of the earth,

to protect & provide for her dearest Sicily,

her little angel, her bundle of joy,

who brings warmth to her life and makes her smile.

 

Lisa represents the wonderful grace of the great God we serve

she overlooks the faults of someone 

to see the goodness in them

she will ask for God to extend his mercy towards them

and work diligently to bring them into God's kingdom

Lisa is an angel from heaven in every sense of the word

 

 

Lisa, may the Lord continue to bless you and keep you; 

May the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; 

may the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.

May God bless you with extra long life 

and forever more send his angels 

to take charge over you wherever you may go 

and be with you always

 

Happy Happy birthday.....God bless you always

from Nate 

 

 

The cry of the broken vessel...

Father, can You unlock the door to your throne room and let me enter in?
Will You allow me to sit at Your feet and lay my head upon Your lap?
Will You stroke my hair and wipe the tears as they stream down my cheek?
Will You expand my comfort zone by breaking the barriers I have constructed around myself?
I have no words in the moment
But my Spirit is melancholy...
My pain drips from every pore of my being
Yet Your Glory comforts me
With unspoken communication
You understand everything I am trying to say
And with the warmth and gentleness of your smile
I know I am going to be alright

Where men have failed Lord,
You continue to stand strong...

If thou doest well....

Recently, I have been facing a situation where I was at fault and had to be taught a lesson by God Himself. Its never easy when we are wrong, but as long as we can submit to God's authority, we will pass the test and advance to new levels with Him.

Genesis chapter 4 talks about two sons of Adam and Eve. Cain, the older, was a tiller of the soil, a farmer, while Abel was a keeper of sheep, a shepherd. They both knew God, but it becomes clearer that they each had a different relationship with Him. When the time of sacrifice came, both men were faithful in presenting an offering unto God, one that God accepted and the other, rejected.

A bible study service at church taught me that Abel's relationship with God was evidently deeper and Abel respected God more than his brother. When Abel brought his sacrifice of an animal, in my understanding, it means that he had to take time to prepare it for the offering. By the time he presented it, God was satisfied with Abel's gift, since he did it with an unblemished heart, out of love.  Cain's offering of crops was rejected by God. He questioned God about His decision, and God told him, that if he had done well, his sacrifice would have been accepted, like his brother's. In a wave of jealously, we later learn, that Cain killed his brother over the matter. 

The thing is, what we bring to God is not the question of weather it be rejected or not. It is how we do it. For example, do we give God worship from our hearts, or do we just allow sound to escape from our lips? Do we meet with God in the early hours of the morning to speak to him in prayer, or do we just utter some words when we remember to pray? Did Cain bring crops that were left over, or rotting among the few good ones? Did he intentionally decide to give to God after he had taken for himself? Did he give God something that costed him or did he give Him something that meant nothing? 

Church, after the offering, God gave Cain an opportunity to do the right thing when he told him to do well, so that his sacrifice will be accepted. I believe for myself today, that there are many areas where I have grown comfortable and have not been doing well in the eyes of God. I have learned in this time to give God something that will be accepted - not rejected. Let us take God more seriously, for He is our Creator. He stands over us in all power and authority. If we do well in His sight, blessings will follow... if not the curse will overtake us - Cain became a vagabond and a wanderer - a cursed man!
Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice... He gave his body over to torment, persecution, beating... He was spat upon, insulted, ridiculed, abused... and He did it out of love for you and me. Let us therefore NOW, give Him a sacrifice that He deserves... I chose to do well... what do you choose?

Perfect Love Casts Out Fear

by Joyce Meyer

Do you suffer from fear or insecurity? What about the fear of lack? Are you worried that God won't come through for you? 

I have been there too. 

I have been literally worried sick about so many things, including my past, my future, my finances, what people thought about me. And because I couldn't get my mind off of my problems, I found myself in a place of utter torment. 

But we do not have to fear that God doesn't love us or that He won't come through for us in our time of need. We need to learn to accept the reality of His love for us, so that our fears do not control us. 

First John 4:18 says that perfect love casts out fear. If you're afraid of facing a person or a situation in your life, God's love can help you put your fears to rest. 

The Cure for Insecurity

Because I had been abused in my childhood and was fearful of being hurt or taken advantage of, I became very insecure. And I spent many years trying to control everything and everyone in my life. 

Instead of trying to control and manipulate people, I needed to learn to trust God, pray, and believe that He would do what was best for me at the right time. Most of all, I needed to abide in His love. 

First John 4:16 points out that we should be conscious of God's love. It needs to be more than just a biblical fact for us…we need to experience it daily. 

Several years ago I was so desperate for a revelation of God's love that I began to keep a journal of the things He did in my life that I believed displayed His love. No matter how small they were, I recorded them. 

When people gave me things, I recorded it. When I was shown favor in situations, I recorded it. When God answered prayers and did things for me that I had requested, I recorded it… 

This process helped me become conscious of His love, and I began to heal. I found out that the love of God is the cure for the insecure. 

Overcoming the Fear of Lack

Another major fear people face is the fear of lack. The fear that your needs won't be met—that God won't come through for you in time. 

You may be in a situation that you've never been in before, facing all kinds of new responsibilities. You may have needs that are beyond your resources and the spirit of fear is attacking you, telling you that you aren't going to make it. You may feel like nobody else cares. But God cares. 

In fact, Hebrews 13:5-6 says you can trust God to come to your rescue. 

Even when it seems that absolutely nothing is happening in your life, He is working. Beloved, God has a good plan for you, and He'll manifest it right on time. 

If you need financial support, He'll provide. If it's physical support you need, He'll sustain you. If you need emotional support, He'll comfort you. He'll nourish you and bring you back to a place of strength. 

God is for you. He is not against you. Satan is against you, but the greater One lives in you! 

Let Nothing Separate You from God's Love

During hard times and moments of insecurity, Satan works overtime trying to convince us that God doesn't love us—that if He did, either we wouldn't be in this situation, or He would've delivered us by now. 

I confess with my own mouth the truth that God does love me during these attacks of fear. And I encourage you to say several times a day with confidence, "God loves me!" Don't allow the devil to steal this truth from you. 

Romans 8:38-39, which I pray will comfort you right now, says: 

For I am persuaded beyond doubt (am sure) that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things impending and threatening nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

As long as you refuse to let anything separate you from God's love, you will have the victory. 

---

This article is taken from Joyce's DVD teaching, One Life.

Love Song 2

oh Lord Im so glad I found You

Theres none like u

You fill me with courage, 

You lift me on wings of hope

Out of darkness, You captivated me 

With the marvelous warmth of your light

Jesus, You are everything

My second chance of living

You are my One and Only God

Who is like you Lord

Everyday, my heart chooses you again

In your presence I could feel you breath cover my existence

Holy are you, 

You fill me with your blessed assurance

As I stand on your grace

I am renewed..

Come out from Amongst Them...

I have been thinking a bit about my life, and how God called me out of what I thought was ‘a good thing’ into something even better. In obedience I succumbed to His will, and since then, I have never looked back. I have seen where my dreams changed from simple to things so big that I know it is with God ONLY that they can be accomplished. I have begun to behave and think in different ways that I could not have before my understanding had been enlightened. It’s all because of  Jesus. To Him be the Glory and the Praise - He alone deserves them.

Last night I was reading about Abraham and Lot and it got me to think more about the decisions we make. To begin with, God called Abram whose name He later changed to Abraham. At the time, he was living with his father Terah, his wife Sarai (later God changed her name to Sarah) and his nephew, Lot (whose father, Haran, had died). Obediently, Abraham left his home and his father’s house to go to a land he did not yet know! The thing is though, he took Lot with him. Now you may be wondering what the big deal is since he took Sarah also. My understanding is that God called him - a man, who is the head of his household, therefore allowing him to bring along his submissive wife. But, God did not call Lot and his house with Abraham. God only called Abraham, where He promised, as evidenced in Genesis 12:1, where He would make him a great nation, bless him, make his name great and by whom all families of the earth shall be blessed. Lot was not apart of this prophesy. When God calls us, we often make decisions to bring along those we love, because we cannot separate from them. We feel, that this love we have for them is enough to qualify them to be receivers of our blessing. In the same way, some of us, when we are called out of the things of the world, we hold on to some habits, things, traditions and customs, failing to see that by being called, we must let them go. As the Word shows us in Genesis 13: 1-12, Abraham had to separate himself from Lot. Verses 14 says, 'And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward.’ The key word is NOW. It was only when Lot went out in the direction of Zoar, that Abraham could be eligible to receive his blessing. How many of us are still dragging along people, and things that God did not call with us? I myself brought along a person when I was called. I kept them with me for almost seven years. Then one day, God whispered to me the word, ‘bondage’ in connection with the person. I knew that God was calling me to separate. As painful as it was, I decided to obey God in this rather than listening to myself or the people around me. I separated myself and disconnected as best as I could from the person. What seemed like an immediate response to my obedience, I began to see the blessings of God rain down upon me. More often than not, I was living in awe of God’s splendor and majesty. Today, I see where even when I thought I was obedient, there were things that I needed to do in my life that would please God. I was living a compromising life by my constant connection to this person. Remember Lot's wife? She compromised by looking back into the world. She was longing for the world, even though God gave her a chance to be saved. We have to show God that we are focused on Him, that we value our salvation. God showed me that if He called me, it was to bless me and my generations to come. I sit back and I reflect. If I had not come out, then life would have been a complete defeat. My children and their children would have been reaping the curses I sowed. Their lives would be filled with failures - academically, financially, in their family lives, their marriages, their careers, their health, their self esteem, their confidence and so many other areas… 

For me, I trust God. When He called me out, and when I separated myself and chose to be a non-compromising Christian, I understood that His plans were to prosper me and give me an expected end. I was assured that He is the author and finisher of my faith. I knew He held my beginning and my end and that my future was secured in Him. Today, I know who my God is and I know that I can rest in Him. Today, I may not be seeing the outcomes to the situations I am facing, but I know that God sees it - and that they are good. Church, I encourage you to drop off the things that you have been carrying around with you that are not part of the blessing God wants to release in your life. I encourage you to separate yourself from the people you love (by not doing the things they are doing in the world) as you demonstrate your obedience unto God. I encourage you to stand in Christ, because He is standing with you. 

May God Bless You Richly.

The Gift of Power!

As we seek God through His Word, we will see that as a son or daughter of God we have been given a great gift - the gift of power, that lives inside of us. In 1 John 4:4 we are told, 'greater is He who lives in me than he who is in the world'. I am assured here that the power to overcome darkness already lives in me - therefore, I am a power-filled being, equipped to take on the enemy at all cost. However, we sometimes do not recognize how much power and authority is in us and we are blinded by the subtlety of the devil. Just imagine church, our Great God created all of the universe, the things we see and so much more that brilliant scientists of our time are trying to figure out. This Magnificent God who put the stars in the sky and knows them by name, who commands the winds and seas, and who painted the colors of the atmosphere - HE LIVES IN US!

Therefore, we have power and authority in us. We are weapons against the enemy. But, like my Pastor preached recently, if we are not using the gift, we won't see any results. He gave us this example: say someone buys you a car that they parked in your garage for your convenience, but everywhere you need to go you walk or use public transportation - how did the gift (car) benefit you? In the same way, if you already have the power of God in you and the enemy comes and you never use the power, how will you be successful, prosperous, or victorious against the enemy?

The devil is so subtle - sometimes we accept things happening without even discerning it is him. For a couple of weeks I had been hearing what I assumed was a bird on my rooftop making somewhat of a clocking sound. The sound would only be heard at night and was loud and very irritating. I tried to find out where exactly on the roof it was, but I couldn't see. After hearing the message on the power of God in me, I decided to use it. That night after church, I came home and was enjoying a cup of tea. And then I heard it. The sound was loud especially in the quiet of the night. I began to declare in the atmosphere the power that is living in me and I command the evil to depart from my dwelling place. To my amazement, after a couple of tries, the sound stopped. From that moment onward, I never heard the sound again. The devil uses people or animals, or any body he can inhabit. We have to be able to discern him and rise up with the power in us and fight against him. Remember, he has already lost! Victory is ours because our God is victorious! Let's step out now unto the unknown territory God is taking us to. Because He is with us, we can be sure we will only flourish!

Love you all - powerful people of God!