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God Sees Opportunity

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Do not be limited to what others imagine you as. Everyone is free to have thoughts and their own opinions, but you do to have to live within the jurisdiction of anyone’s mind. It does not matter what gifts, skills and abilities you have or what you have done people will categorize you. If you try, and strike three times some will label you as out even if they have knowledge that God can do all things and change all things. People limit God so why would limits not be put on you.

There are some who will see that you are on your third strike and they smell failure and expect it to reign. God sees opportunity when others are drawing a blank. He sees that you do not give up when you are challenged and that you are not ashamed to start over when you fail. Others see your failure without knowing your struggle. They do not know that during your adventure you acquired new information for the future although you struck out. Many will not read your story as success they will only see your strike and what you have not accomplished.

God see the success. Each time you have failed God knew that there would be a greater opening in your heart, mind and soul for him to enter into. He knew that you were not out, but ready to come into something new. God knew that you were in no rush to get to the top because he hid the concept of growth in your heart for you to find. While others thought you were crumbling and were waiting for you to be swept away you were progressing. God was molding you and developing you. Now you have a strong resume for the job ahead of you.

Keep trying, keep moving, and keep your ears on God’s voice. Anyone can come along to attempt to break you while you are already broken. Let them waste their energy, their best efforts do not compare to God. There is no piece of you he cannot find and make whole again. God sees all of you while others are only there for some of your plays and innings. They blink, day dream, and focus on the imprint you left the last time you fell, and that sums up what they are able to imagine for you.

However, with God you are free, free to live in God’s vision and you are not limited to what anyone else believes to be your reality. Look at all that you have, and top it with God’s ability and he will show you what you can do with what he has given to you. Stand, shake off the excess, tuck in your blouse or straighten your tie and walk past every strike and false limitation ready to live through God’s eyes.

Scripture Inspiration; Psalm 56:1-13 KJV

I Need Another Fix…

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Another lie for the liar, another steal for the thief, another hit for the addict, another drink for the alcoholic, and another loan for the spender, all fixes. These are nothing but temporary satisfactions. A sensation comes before the need and if you have one of these conditions it is time to learn how to recognize the sensation when it is forming and use power against it.

If you are saved, or a Christian you may be in the habit of using the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ to get you through another situation, sin, or iniquity as though Jesus is a fix. This is not proper use of the love and power God has for us and has given to us through Christ. Jesus has come to reconcile us to God and free us not to be a fix, a temporary solution. For those who do not know Christ yet take note of the proper use of the benefit of being reconciled to God to use once you decide to welcome Christ into your heart and life.

Think about the last time you called on God, did you request a fix for the symptoms, or a cure for the condition. If you requested a fix and received it you got by for a while, and then had to come back for the same symptoms later. If you requested a cure and received it you no longer had to come to God for the same condition. Getting by is not a way to live, eventually the symptoms will overwhelm you and force you into state that you never desired to be in.

What would your life be like if you ask God to cure your financial problems instead of giving you a solution to get by for a few months? How good would you feel if you had real joy instead of a smile that hides the pain behind it? With a cure you could actually stop having those sexual desires and build a strong marriage with one person, walk past a bar without feeling your flesh tingle, sincerely congratulate someone else because you are no longer bitter or insecure. Without asking and expecting a fix you can live free and enjoy being you through a cure.

The next time you are communing with God study your heart and define if your request is a cure or a fix. If you have been consistently asking for a fix you need to discover why. The fix does feel good, but you will soon be back in the state of mind prior to the fix. You will never live as you are intended to with a “fix” lifestyle. It doesn’t work for the liar, the thief, the drug addict, alcoholic or the spender. It won’t work for you either, get the cure.

And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight. Luke 7:21

Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. Luke 9:1

The Dust That Settles

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If you were to rub your fingers across a dusty shelf there will be evidence on your fingers that dust is in the atmosphere. Likewise, if you have been with God, seeking him and receiving him there will be evidence that you have been with him (Romans 8:11). There should be enough evidence covering you that someone else in your life should get a contact exposure to God.

The life of the people you encounter should be impacted in some way because you represent God. If you were one to stick your foot out to watch others fall over it, because of the dust of God covering you, you will no longer have your foot out. Now, due to change, when you see someone fall you will reach to the person with a firm intention of helping the person to his or her feet. To keep that state of transformation you must exercise a changed life and build on the new character you have taken on. You cannot be transformed and react the same way that you would have before the transformation. If you do you are living with a double mind, and you cannot serve both good and evil when you are covered with God’s spirit. (Luke 16:13, James 1:8)

Every day it is good to check for the dust, the residue that says “God is here”. Sin comes easy because we were born in it. We have practiced it and perfected it. It will take a push from the core of our beings to exercise living a transformed life. Any goal that you set in life has steps and a finish date. Growing as you are living a life reconciled to God will also take steps and goals to reach daily or weekly depending on your needs. Waking up with a phrase of being changed in the front of your mind (I am not the same person I was, I am becoming more of what God created me to be daily) can help you to recognize your change as you work on your goals (Romans 8:26). You will have good intentions in your mind as you awake and go about your day.

You are God’s representative, what are others saying about God’s Kingdom when you cross their paths. Are there high volumes of customer complaints or are they normal. Check to see if you are transferring God by contact. If you see that you are not, get in God’s atmosphere and get covered again.

What Is That Smell?

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Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren these things ought not so to be. James 3:10

There is power in the tongue that can bring about life or death and growth or decay. That power can cause healing and encouragement in one’s own life and that of others, or it will allow things such as: sickness, disease, depression, death, hatred, and stagnation to live freely.

We like our words because they can actually satisfy us as though we had a five course meal, but at whose expense. We should not fill like we have gained or been lifted up in some way if another person’s livelihood has been compressed. (Proverbs 26:28) When our mouths open and words exit or when we send a written message out we have the choice to decide what is formed.

Have you ever opened a trash can and the smell of perishing food and the mixture of everything else a trashcan holds hits you right in the face? This is the same fragrance ours words produce when we are not speaking life. We can stink, and God can smell us. If we were able to take in the scent as God can we would be more aware of the responses we have while communicating. Walking around smelling like the amount of life or death that is in our tongues would either cause a smile or sicken us. However, the reality is that the aroma is not actually there to us so we need to make an effort to be aware of the thoughts, actions, and reactions we have to all the information we process. It is not because we sometimes hear garbage with our ears. It is because we receive it with our minds that it becomes a part of us, and could possibly roll off our tongues as garbage for someone else to hear.

Don’t live on repeat if the message you have is deadly. Press shuffle and wait for something good to enter your thoughts then resume to play. With a strategy like this we can begin to overcome the thoughts in our minds that cause us to distribute such an awful scent. Taming the tongue will take practice and it may not be the easiest thing if negative words, lying, deceit, and gossiping have been instilled in us. We will also need to be committed to a new way of thinking and responding for the change to transpire.

Is putting the foot of your tongue on someone else’s life really worth the hole you leave in your own spirit? No it isn’t, that leaves two lives injured. Challenge yourself and practice saying good things to others. Before death can flow from the tongue it has to develop in the mind. Stop and think, and work to lift others in your speech instead of tearing them down. Remember only you hold the power over your own tongue.  Smell good today. 

A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is breach in the spirit. Proverbs 15:4 

The Meat And Potatoes

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The core of the body determines the strength of the body. The core contains traits that will strengthen or weaken it such as: confidence, insecurity, pride, humility, encouragement, negativity, kindness, hostility, good, evil… These very traits are pumped from the core to all parts of the body, and are then released as thoughts, words and actions (Luke 6:45). If the core is weak, no worries, a renewal can take place.

What the core produces declares our state of being, clean or unclean. There may be some good deeds in the heart, but until a renewing of the heart takes place evil resides there and will execute its plan daily. Of course the core of a being varies from one individual to the next, but when newness arrives the similarities are more apparent within the traits. This newness that can transform the center of life is not magical or mythical, it is as real as the air that is taken in and released by the nostrils. Think about how real the air you depend on is. Imagine going more that 60 seconds without that life support. If you have ever held your breath for that amount of time or longer you know that, although the air is invisible it is real, and you need it.

God is that realness, but like the air you do not see him, you feel him, and there is no other god who posses this authentic touch (Isaiah 45:5). Though you do not see him you must not cancel him out, you need him. There is no other way to become whole, but through Christ and God working together. The Spirit of God is also needed for a spiritual transformation that is legitimate. He is the one whom transports change to the heart that leads to new communications and actions (2 Corinthians 5:17, Ezekiel 36:25-27).

How does this change transpire? First by recognizing a need for change, second by opening up your mouth and asking God to examine and work on your core, third you have to allow him to do his work, fourth acceptance of the renewing must follow, and finally, it is imperative to live each day without fulfilling the desire of the previous (hindrances) heart. You will need some supplies like: prayer, faith, encouragement, trust, and guidance to get you through these steps and to stay on track. Christ is a guide and the Bible is a map. As you build your relationships with God he will place all your needed supplies before you.

Having a foundation is essential and a renewed heart is exactly that, a solid start (Luke 6:48-49). If you are renewed continue to remember that you are pleasing God with your new life and build on what you have daily. If reading this has awakened you, and you are thinking of becoming renewed do not hesitate, take the next step. You will soon find yourself walking closer to God and you will feel his presence as it thickens in your life.

Scripture Reference: KJV