Victory Over Frustration

Hi there.  I had three phone calls the last two weeks by friends that were totally frustrated with their lives and circumstances so after the third phone call  I asked the Lord what was going on.  He told me that the enemy is trying to wear out the Saints so that they will give up or become bitter.

For  those of you who have not read my first response to frustration please use the link and read it as this article will be brief and to the point and I am not going over the same material again.
//greatcommissionhow2s.blogspot.com/2010/09/frustration.html

A) Ask the Lord for a promise for your situation then meditate on it and speak it out over your situation. His word will not return empty. (Is. 55:11) Make sure to watch your words.  Don't cancel out your faith with unbelief. A double minded person does not receive anything! (James 1:5-8)

B) Realize that the battle you are facing is not just about you.  It's about all the people you will influence.   Once you get a victory in an area of your life, you have authority to give your victory to others.  Duet 29:29 says that, "the revealed things belong to you and your children.

C) Check to make sure you don't have a stronghold, a belief pattern that stops you from taking God at His word. (Prov. 3:5-6)  Acknowledge Him in ALL your ways. Spend time daily focusing on Jesus and ask him to heal the wounds of your heart, so that you can have your promise.  Let the sun of righteousness arise with Healing in His wings.  In His light we see light.... and we all know that light has healing properties.  God's light has even more healing in it. (Mal. 4:2, 1John 1:7) God delights in the prosperity of His servants and He has commanded blessing to pursue us and overtake us. Also, He wants us to prosper and be in health as our souls prosper. (Ps. 35:27, Deut. 28:2, 3John 2)

D) Keep up the praise and thanksgiving.  He inhabits the praises of His people.  Every day worship till His glory is all around you or Holy Spirit tells you that He is there and ask Him what to say or do that will bring the answer.  Holy Spirit is the spirit of revelation and you can expect Him to reveal things as you seek Him.

E) Day dream with God. (1Cor. 2:16)  Envision the solution. Plead the blood of Jesus over you before you worship and then as you wait in His presence ask the Lord what He wants to show you.  Use your faith to believe that He wants to show you things and then ask clarifying questions to sharpen your mental pictures.  (Eph. 1:3, 2:6, 1:17)

F) Remember that the vision or the dream is just the beginning.  Once you have a dream or vision then take it to the Lord when you are in His presence and speak it out.  Call in what you are seeing or what you dreamed every day (in His presence) till it manifests.

You know God waited for Holy Spirit before He spoke. If God waited till Holy Spirit was hovering/moving  upon the waters before He spoke... how much more should we? (Gen. 1:2-3)

Therefore, to sum it all up, practice Psalm 100:4, "enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise..." and then speak what the Lord leads.... decreeing the things Holy Spirit has laid on your heart so that they will be established. (Job 22:28 )  Make sure you ask for  joy and strength too! "In his presence there is fullness of joy..." and  "the joy of the Lord is our strength." ( Ps. 16:11, Neh. 8:10)

Remember you are more than a conqueror.  You are called to rule and reign on the earth for the Lord.  ( Rom. 8:37, Rom. 5:17, 19, Heb. 10:13, Heb. 1:13) For example, when the devil tries to attack me with sickness I rebuke it. If the symptoms try to linger I stand with a good confession and I pray for my family. If they still linger then I go on a major assault praying for every single person I know and all those I don't know in town.  Be an expensive target!  Make the devil pay for every second he tries to oppress you.

Be encouraged, He is working while you wait on Him.  I know your life is busy and it's hard to make time to seek Him but it is so-o-o-o- worthwhile.  "Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him" (Is. 64:4)  That is why you keep Him first. The Lord told me once that if I would spend my anointing on Him, one hour a day, that He would work on my situation for me.  I obeyed and found out it works!

Let's pray: Thank You Lord for giving us joy in our journey with You.  Thank You Lord  for protecting our praise and worship times with You.  I declare that no evil comes near our dwelling.  Thank You Lord that You are sanctifying us completely and that we are more than conquerors through You. We command all these trials to turn into blessings for us.  Show us Lord what to decree in Your glory regarding all our situations.  We give you all the thanks and praise and  glory for our victories now. Amen! (Is 61:3, 1Thess. 5:23,  Rom. 8:30-38)

God's Leading

I can remember driving by this company called Computing Devices twenty two years ago. I felt a nudge to investigate it but I ignored it because I thought it was a software type of company.

Now that I think about it the Lord nudged me about that place a few times over the two years that I drove by.

At the time I was working in sales and I was not happy. God was trying to answer my prayer but my preconceived ideas and snap judgments precluded me working at this place.

You want to know what's funny? Twenty one years later I got a job there. It's now called General Dynamics and I love it there. I am kicking myself for not listening to the Lord so many years ago.

Learning to discern Holy Spirit's nudges can take some training so I beg you, "today if you hear His voice do not harden your hearts," as the Israelites did in the wilderness." (ref. Heb. 4:7)

So many times we blame God for where we are and how things turn out in our lives and many times it's not His fault. He's trying to lead and guide us but we are not listening. Or worse still, we figure we know better and dismiss His guidance.

So I say to you (and myself), "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean upon your own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will direct your heart (path)." Prov. 3: 5-6

Daily quiet time will help you to hear His voice and discern whether the little nudges are something you should revisit or explore.

I let the devil run me ragged back then and if I remember correctly I was more interested in reading science fiction novels then spending time with God. I was of the mindset that "I deserved a break today." No, actually we all deserve hell apart from God's mercy and grace. I have come a long way since those days and so can you. All things are possible with God. (Matt. 19: 26)

Beware of snap decisions and preconceived ideas because they usually lead to trouble. Act in haste... repent at leisure is a saying I heard many a time. I remember vowing that I would never go out with an Engineer because there were so many boors in my classes. Well guess what? I had to eat those words because I married one! We've been married almost twenty years now. It's too funny.

You want to hear something else? My husband always used to say that he would never go out with someone that had a kid. I had a three year old little girl. God made him eat his words. His friends even reminded him of what he used to say. God's got a sense of humor.

Therefore, let's acknowledge God's leadership in ALL our ways. As we listen for the little nudges we get, we will be blessed because that's God's plan for us. He delights in the prosperity of his servants. (Psalm 35:27) Hallelujah!

Lord help us all to hear Your voice more clearly and not to over rule or dismiss Your gentle nudges. I bless the person reading this blog.  May they be blessed in all their ways, mentally, spiritually, physically and financially in Jesus' name. Amen.

Frustration!

Frustrated

I used to be so frustrated because things were not happening the way I wanted or in the time frame I desired.

It wasn't getting me anywhere except upset and living with no fruit of the Spirit in my life.

I mean lets' face it, when we are frustrated with God thinking that He's holding out on us do we really want to spend time with Him?  Of course not!

If we, being imperfect would not do that to our children, then how can we ever entertain the thought that God would deliberately withhold answers from us?  It doesn't make sense.

When I was worshiping one day I asked the Lord what to do because I can't worship when I am frustrated.  He showed me that He loves me more than I will ever know. He is for me and He supports me.  He will never leave me nor desert me when I need help.

If the problem is not God then it's something else.  Hmmmm, I asked Him what to do and I heard Ps. 112. I started reading and verse 4 caught my eye, "even in darkness, light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man."  Therefore no matter what's going on I can ask for His light to shine on my problem. James 1:5 also gives us ammunition, " If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."

Now that I know I have the right I can pursue God for answers.  The Bible says that," the secret things belong to the Lord our God but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever," (Deut. 29:29)  God wants us to pursue Him for revelation because whatever we get our children will get too.
He is not holding out on us.

We are told to, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." (Matt. 7:7)  We have not because we ask not.  Let's don't waste any more time being frustrated when the answers are with God.  It's time to seek His face.

We can ask any old time but I've found that there's a lot of noise going on down here.  Lots of different voices, including any preconceived ideas we might have.   It's a lot easier to get revelation when you are in God's presence.  I have found that in His presence is when I am the most productive.

So we enter His gates with Thanksgiving and His courts with Praise. (Psalm 100:4) We want to do Psalm 91 and abide in His presence. We want His angels to keep us in all our ways and to guard us.  Also,  we repent for the things we have done wrong, that we know of and trust that Holy Spirit will bring things back to our remembrance that we need cleansing from.

If I am having a hard time focusing then I pray in tongues fiercely till I feel I have a release, usually 5-10 minutes. When the worship songs start to come to me then I know I am getting really close to His manifest presence and glory.

Sometimes His presence will come in like a thick heavy blanket and sometimes it's with tears or laughter.  They are all good.  When I get the inner witness that I am in His presence/glory I ask Him what what to do or say to change things.

He's never failed me yet!  He wants us to have victory!  He gets no glory when we are frustrated and speaking all kinds of junk.

He is for us!  He wants to turn our trials into testimonies! We are co-laborers with Him!  We are His ambassadors living by the rules of the Kingdom of God. We are supposed to be blessed all the time in all ways. We are victors not victims through Holy Spirit! Now that's a lot better than being frustrated.

I want to bless you with  His joy in your journey.  I decree that Your times with the Lord as You seek Him are fruitful and protected from distractions. I speak Life over you. I ask, "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe." (Eph. 1:17-19) Amen.

My Special Children

It's happened again.  World Vision is closing down their work in a village and I am losing contact with another teenager.  It's heart wrenching.  Because it has happened to me before I asked for children in newly started projects in the hopes that I would be able to follow my girls through vocational training or college.

How do you say good bye?  I honestly don't know how.  All I could think to tell her was that I was only a prayer away.  All she has to do is ask the Lord for prayer support and He'll nudge me to pray in tongues and English for her. I told her I would see her in Heaven and that I would give her such a big hug when I saw her.

I've known Rose Marie for 12 years now.  I wasn't sure about sponsoring another child at the time I got her because I had two already at that time so I asked the Lord to confirm it to me.  Well, did He ever!  Rose is my eldest daughter's middle name and Marie is my second daughter's middle name. And if that wasn't enough, in a country of very French names she's got English type names.  God is so good.

Over the years I have sent her a French new testament and many bible stories in French and Creole tracts and how to use them.  I even sent her letters composed of only Bible verses to get her into her Bible more. LOL.

I know that she is anointed for business and I've spoken that into her life many times.  I won't get to see her in business  unless I get a transported in the Spirit like Philip did in the book of Acts.  That would be something. I won't say that it can't happen because with God all things are possible.

Anyhow, I've done what I can.
Now it's up to God.  There are millions of other children waiting for sponsorship and a Godly influence.  I've seen a few cute ones already, 4 and 5 years old just waiting and hoping for a miracle to help them into a better future.  I know the Lord will show me who's next in line for me to love.

Bless you, in Jesus' name.  I like blessing you because it breaks any and all curses off of you.
Bless you again in Jesus' name.  May you know His great, great love in a new and wonderful way this month. Amen.

Puppy Turn Around

The puppies are cute at 4 weeks old. They were not very good at licking up the pablum at first. They started licking it off my fingers initially and then I would draw them to the plate edge. Once they realized the food was there they got excited and tried to climb into the plate. Well that was hilarious as all legs skidded out on them.

It took them a while to realize that walking across the plate was not a good idea. I had to keep pulling them back.
The mother is from a little town way past Kitchener and the Daddy is from Missouri.   I was really happy with their markings and their health, so you can imagine my shock when the vet told me that one of them had a heart murmur.  I had done everything possible to make sure the parents were not related.

"What is that?," I asked in my ignorance.

She replied, "It's when the heart valves don't work properly." 

"Is it serious?," I probed, looking for more information.

"No, 95% of the time they go away on their own by the time the dog is full grown," she explained.

Hmm.  I couldn't get her to try the stethoscope again and she wrote the damning information on the vet report. This was horrible news. Sick puppies don't sell and I was counting on the money to pay off the summer bills because I didn't have a job. Never mind that fact that I was going back to work and didn't have time to look after an additional puppy.

By the time I got into the car to head home I was upset to say the least.  I told the Lord, "This is not blessed. You told me I was blessed, so show me what to say or do to change this into a blessing."

Immediately the words of the vet came back to me.... it goes away on it's own 95% of the time.   So what I needed was for God to speed up the healing process.  She was an otherwise healthy pup and played as hard or harder than the other pups, so I had peace to pray that.

As soon as I got home I got  my son and daughter to agree with me that Ruby was supernaturally healed and that she would never have a heart problem again and neither would her future puppies.
Nothing happened that we could see, no physical witness, tears, heat, tingles.  Therefore we stood by faith. I wouldn't let anyone confess anything but health and blessing over Ruby.

It was the longest 4 days ever.  I had a hard time sleeping at night because so much was hinged on this puppy selling.  I disliked not telling the lady about the situation, but the Lord kept telling me to wait whenever I asked him if I could let her know.  Ruby was scheduled to fly out on Tuesday so we went to the vet on Monday.

The senior vet examined her and when she had the stethoscope on her, she kept moving it.  Laughter and tears hit me as I realized that she couldn't find the murmur.  I had brought two business cards from church and was sharing about all the miracles that had happened recently in the meetings.

She didn't want to acknowledge the miracle and said, "Well, hang on a minute." Bringing out a pediatric stethoscope, she again listened to Ruby's heart from many different angles.

Well it's not there," she stated.  "It could be that it was intermittent," she offered by way of explanation.

We know better.   Ruby got her miracle and I got my testimony and the opportunity to witness to the receptionist and the vet. To God be all the glory!

Incidentally, this is what the vet put on the travel document:
"Innocent Heart Murmur noted on first exam Aug 19/10. 
Unable to detect today - maybe intermittent but unlikely pathological."

I emailed Ruby's new owner with the news and a pdf of the Certificate of Health and gave her the option of taking her or I would refund her money.  She decided to take her and Ruby flew out via West Jet on Tuesday.

I rejoice in how it worked out.  God is on our side and there is a devil/bully on the loose trying to kill, steal and destroy any area of our lives he can, especially our finances.  That is his last stronghold because he knows that money makes the world go around.

So the challenge is to renew our minds and then ask the Lord what we can say or do that will change things.  He says that all things will work together for our good, to those that love Him and that we should have no fear of bad news, so now we have to dig in to the word and put it to work for us. (Rom. 8:28, Ps. 112:7-10)

Rejoice!  Again I say rejoice!  The Lord takes pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.(Psalm 35:27) That's good news in these economic times.

I decree you are blessed with God's wisdom  today. May you have His joy in your journey and may you know His love more and more, in Jesus' name I ask. Amen.

Blessing is ours!

God wants us blessed, plain and simple. We can't bless others if we are not blessed ourselves so it's time that we started believing for more so we can do more for the Kingdom of God.
 
In Psalm 24 we read, starting at verse 3, "Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the LORD, And righteousness/vindication from the God of his salvation." (italics mine)

Psalm 112 we read, "Praise the Lord. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands. His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man. (Psalm 112: 1-4)

Now don't reason yourself out of God's blessings for any reason. His grace is enough.  God knew that we could not do it so He sent his son, Jesus and Jesus fulfilled all the righteous requirements of the law.

That's how we apply Galations 3:13.  Jesus became a curse so that we could have the blessings he deserved.  He had a clean hands and  a pure heart.  He did all that we could not do so that we can boldly say, "Jesus' blessings are mine, now!"

You might not know how to turn things around so that you can come out blessed in your particular situation but Ps. 112:4 gives us the answer.  Even in our deepest darkness, LIGHT (revelation) dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man/woman. Hallelujah!  

We have the right to ask God what to say or do to command our situation to turn into a blessing. Then we stand with a thankful attitude, having done what He told us to do and watch things turn around. 
Psalm 112 doesn't end there. In verse 7 we read, "He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes."

God wants us to have no fear over bad news!  As things are shaking economically around us and our livlihoods are being affected God wants us to know what to do.    He wants us to trust in Him, to trust in His great and precious promises.  He wants us to look in triumph over all our foes at the end of the battle.(vs 7)

Lack, poverty, famine, sickness, disease, mental infirmity,  all these foes must bow to the name of Jesus!

I love that verse about having no fear over bad news.  If there was ever a time to meditate on that verse it's now. 

For example, we waited too long to make dentist appointments for our 3 children and then I lost my job so we had to postpone them again.  I was starting to claim dental health, but at that point I had not had a breakthrough personally.  I asked the Lord one day if I could make appointments for the kids and I heard yes, so without any money on hand I booked appointments for myself and the kids.  I had no clue where the money was going to come from but I was standing.  Every day I tried to praise and worship the Lord and then when His presence would show up I would ask him to provide for the dentist.

Three days later my husband came home with a cheque for $1650.00 from a completely unexpected source. He started to cry when he told me about it, shocked and amazed at God's goodness and the kindness of the man who helped us.

Isn't God good? I should say so.  We claimed multiplied blessings back to the man who obeyed Holy Spirit's prompting and I set the money aside for the dentist. I want to be faithful with what God has given me.

So I can say this works.  I have many more testimonies to share when I get some time.
Have fun meditating on God's promises for you.  He really does want you blessed so you can be a blessing!

Justice or Grace?

Someone was complaining to me today that God was unfair and that He would help someone and then maybe not.

I cannot agree with that.  God does not have multiple personalities.  He is the embodiment of Love.  His mercy and grace are over all his works and even in the old testament He extended grace to King David, a murderer and an adulterer because he cried out for forgiveness.  Of all people King David deserved to lose his throne, his kingdom and his life, and yet God forgave Him.

So what's the deal?  One thing I have learned is that our mouths get us into more trouble than we ever realize.  What we speak about God limits what we will receive from Him.  God asks us every day to choose life and much of the time we won't.

We want justice, whether it be the person driving without regard for the rules of the road or the coworker that got the promotion we thought we needed.  Wanting justice costs us grace and the price is too high, in my estimation.  We can't walk in justice and grace at the same time.   Wanting justice shuts down our faith and paralyzes our praise and worship.

God has promised that 'all things will work together for our good' and we have to take him at His word. (Rom. 8:28)  If He really is God almighty then it's high time we start asking Him to turn our troubles into blessings.

As we stay in grace the promise of Galatians 3:13-14 becomes available to us. "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree. He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit."  Since we have the blessing of Abraham on us (as we walk in grace) we have the right to ask God what to say or do that will turn this circumstance, that's coming at us, into a blessing.

He's our Daddy and as we run to him, with the right attitude He'll show us what to do.  He wants to help us.  He gets no glory when we suffer with lack and hurt and torment.  Rather, God gets glory when His people get breakthroughs financially, physically and mentally.

Bless you as start to command your troubles to turn around into blessings!

ps. Testimonies are coming. It's been a busy summer and I've been keeping my journal up to date with lots of nuggets from the Lord and testimonies... so check back every so often.
Bless you again in Jesus' name!