Conditions rarely decide your path, more than often YOU decide your path

On Monday, April and Gray and me were suppose to head out and get our Christmas Tree.  I was feeling slightly under the weather so we decided to go yesterday.  Well, yesterday was not the best time to get a tree.  It was raining and extremely cold!  However, we decided we were going to do this no matter what.  It was a bit more difficult getting the tree in the rain, and even putting it up on top of the SUV was challenging!

Gray and I did our first Annual Father and Son tradition,  which my Father and me use to do, carrying the tree into the house together!  No matter how hard the weather made it to get our tree……. it didn’t STOP US from getting the tree and having one of the best nights ever!!!

The enemy can be a lot like this!  Every time you start to do something of value or of great personal joy, he steps in and brings the storm!  He tries to rain you out or freeze you out, because he doesn’t  enjoy you enjoying anything!  He will make things difficult and sometimes hard.  You may be doing something right now, that is of great value and importance, and it seems like it’s just to hard or like nothing is running smooth.  Just know this… he may make it a little bit harder and may make some rain come or freeze come…… BUT HE CANNOT STOP YOU!!

The only thing that could have stopped us from getting that tree, would have been if WE decided not to go because of the conditions!

Conditions rarely decide your path, more than often YOU decide your path!

So no matter what the weather looks like…… GO GET YOUR “TREE” even if you get a little wet!!

So no matter what the weather looks like…… GO GET YOUR “TREE” even if you get a little wet!!

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Praise = Victory!

Gen 49:8

^“Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies”

 

Ever wonder what the big deal is about YOUR praise?  Ever wonder why preachers and leaders and saints seem to always talk about PRAISE? 

The biblical meaning of the name Judah, means “PRAISE”!  Genesis says that Judah ( Praise) was about to here what his blessing would be.  The blessing that was spoken to Judah ( Praise) was that every single enemy that had ever or would ever mess with him, they would be in HIS hands!  Judah ( Praise) you will have your enemies by the neck!

This is very significant in scripture, because what the bible is saying is that you will have control over your enemies!  The old saying goes, he that controls the neck controls the head!  Well, maybe thats not an old saying or the one we are thinking about…. but, you get my point!  Judah was to have his enemies by the neck, thus controlling there movement!

This was going to be done, by Judah ( Praise) being who he was!!  PRAISE!! 

Praise is the weapon that will allow you to have your enemies by the neck!! Next time trouble comes in…. begin to praise and watch the control shift into your hands.  With praise you can control the movement of your enemies!  Doesn’t mean that you might have a wound or two or a battle scar…. but, you will come out on the other side of the fight…. INTACT!!!

JUDAH…….. PRAISE… you will have your enemy by the neck!! It’s time to get control over the enemy…. by using your PRAISE

Man, I feel a shout coming on!!!! My praise will have my enemy by their neck!!!!

^{Will “The Church” welcome the Backsliders?}

^{Luke 15:25-30}

²⁵Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing.

 ²⁶And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.

 ²⁷And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.

 ²⁸And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.

 ²⁹And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:

 ³⁰But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.

 ³¹And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.

 

 

We all have heard of the Prodigal son.  His story has been preached and taught through Pentecost.  His story of having it all and then making a bad decision to leave the blessed place and go out into the world, just to return back to the blessed place.  But, I want to draw focus on a story that doesn’t get told much.

When The Prodigal son returns, his father greets him with love and acceptance.  The father pulls out the best and basically says, you can have your place back with me, just like you had it before you left!  This of course is a type of Christ accepting us back when we go astray.  Everyone was excited that one who was lost has now returned home, back where they belonged…… except for the prodigals brother!

This brother had been at the blessed place and had never left to taste of the world, so when the front door opened and in walked the backsliding brother…. he kind of felt like this is ridiculous for DAD to be so excited about him.

The prodigal is a type of the people who live for God and decide that they are better off without him and backslide and walk away, while his brother is a great type of those who keep on living for God and never leave God!  It shows us a great attitude that some Christians have towards backsliders!  They are like the brother who never left home and when the forgotten lost brother comes home they aren’t so thrilled!

How is your attitude today towards those who you know aren’t living for God?  Will you be standing on the pathway with the Father, waiting for the lost son to return home?  Don’t allow the spirit of the Prodigals brother, attach itself to you and the attitude of , ” well, they shouldn’t have left” gets ahold of you!

Let us stand in faith for those who have fallen and lets stand with God and wait for the day that they walk through the doors and lets wrap our arms around them.  The prodigals will come home…… how will you welcome them?

The condition that renders Praise useless!

Jer 44:14
So that none of the remnant of Judah, which are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall escape or remain, that they should return into the land of Judah, to the which they have a desire to return to dwell there: for none shall return but such as shall escape.

God had looked upon Judah and had seen that they were in Egypt and not in the land of Judah! They were living a life that was displeasing to God! Sin was in their hearts and God was fed up and tired of it! Now Judah was desiring to go back to the land of Judah, but God would not allow them to return back because of sin!

Judah means praise! Judah was a people of praise and that didn’t change their direction. Disobedience and sin, caused praise to have no affect! If you have sin or disobedience in your life, PRAISE won’t get you back to the land of Judah! Praise was what they were about, but it didn’t get them out of Egypt! Doesn’t matter if praise is who you are and what you do, it won’t get you out of your Egypt and back to your land of Judah, if sin is there!

Only some made it back! But I bet they did so but weren’t the same!

For your praise( Judah) to put you were God wants you and where you want to be ( land of Judah), and out of the mess your in( Egypt), put purity and holiness back in your life! Then can your praise be a Moving force instead of just an Echo!

Letting go of the past, unlocks your future!

Gen 19:26

“But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.”

God had given a direct instruction, that Lot and his whole family were to leave the city that God was about to destroy! They were instructed to not look back or turn back!  God was telling them that I am going to destroy this city and I know that it is a place where you lived, but I have greater things for you and I want you to leave this place and I’m going to destroy it.

The problem was that Lot’s wife couldn’t let go of the place she was before! She couldn’t let go of her past… the past that God said I’m bringing you out of!

God is ready to do a great thing in your life today… he is ready to bring you out of some of the things that you are going through..but GOd says when I bring you out of it… don’t look back at that place that GOd saved you from.  We have to many people who hold on to the past and the things that God wants to deliver us out of! Because Lot’s wife couldn’t let go of the past or the thing that God was bringing her out of, she was frozen right there as a pillar of salt.  She held onto her past and thus never moved forward another step with God.  The rest of the family moved on with God, but not Lot’s wife.  Her unwillingness to let go of the past or the thing that GOd was moving her out of, prevented her from walking into the place that God had for her!

If you are unwilling to let go and trust God, you will never enter into the places God has for you! But, not only will you not enter into the places of God, but you will not make any progress in any other areas of life…..

When God begins to move you out of something, grab onto him and don’t look back!   Don’t let your past or what God is ridding you of, hold what God has for you!

Are you a Fence Dreamer or a Field Builder

What has God put in your spirit? What has been aching at your heart?

There is no-one on this planet that doesn’t have a dream! The only thing that truly seperates many of us concerning our dream or vision, is some people are fence dreamers and some are field builders!

A fence dreamer is someone who sits on the fence with their dream. They don’t do anything, they just sit on the fence. It comes from that saying about doing nothing, just a fence sitter!!

A field builder is someone who gets off the fence and gets into the field and starts building the dream or vision. God gave you a dream and a vision, get to the field!!

Stop spending all your time wondering if it’s God and settle it! Get off the fence, and get in the field. I’d rather die in the field than die on the fence!!

We have to many fence dreamers and not enough field builders! Build on that dream! Leave the fence to the pigeons and the crows…. Get out and soar with the Eagles!!!

A miracle out of season!

The bible gives us such an awesome story of faith and action!  It’s party time and there aint no wine!

The mother of Jesus approaches him and says, ” We don’t have any wine”! Jesus tells her in essence… ” So what, doesn’t matter it’s not my timing yet… I am not ready!”  Don’t know about you but so many of us would have gotten our feelings hurt and walked off mad!  But, for Mary… it was party time and there wasn’t any wine!!  Here is the awesome thing about this story… Mary knew God could do it.  Even if it was out of season, He could do it!  So she just basically ignored him and activated her faith in what he could do.  She went and got the pots and put them in front of Jesus and said, ” well we are all standing here and we all know what you are capable of doing and we know you can do it if you will”! 

Jesus was standing there with all power in Heaven and Earth and a bunch of folks with Faith!! WOW… think about it, on one hand it wasn’t the right time and right place, but on the other hand he had people who stepped out in faith and acted on it.  So what did Jesus do?  Did you think he said.. ” I don’t care what you do or what faith you have it’s not time!” NO, NO, NO!!!!!!! He moved in the miraculous out of season, because he could not resist their faith and action!

There are times when God will move against seasonal rights and bring forth a crop.  I am in the process of doing this!  I have begun to pack up my house and put things in boxes, and I will go before him and say here I am with faith and action…… will you not bless me out of season?

God is a God of seasons, not doubt.  But, there are times when desperation becomes the battle cry and your faith pushes you to another level that God has to move out of season! Get ready to go to that next level, where even in droughts God will bring forth your crop!!

Learning to let go and Trust!

How many of you have ever played the game where someone stands behind you and you fall backwards and trust that they will catch you?  If you haven’t tried that one…… TRY IT!!!!  The theory is that by letting go and falling back, that you are signifying complete trust!  Think about it…. You don’t really trust someone if you aren’t willing to ” LET GO”!

I have been in this thing of trusting God for about a month!  God’s call has come and doors have swung open so fast that it almost tore off the hinges!  But, now there is complete silence and one of the last few doors seems to be welded shut!  I have trusted God, but I have never just ” LET GO” and just fallen backwards into his arms.

But, this week I completely surrendered and said,” Not only do I trust you… But I am letting Go!”.  I still will prepare for my future.  I still will get my house in order, But I will not try and figure out what he will do and when he will do it!  I have let go, and it has release stress and anxiety off of my shoulders!

It still is hard to trust God and let go… But, when you do here is a few things that happen….

1. God is able to step in and do it his way…. which lets face it, is much better than yours

2. We are able to live a little bit more stress free, which enables us to become better servants!

3. The world sees the confidence we have in God and God is glorified!

4. From this a natural deepness in relationship with God is formed!

It isn’t easy to do, but whatever you are dealing with…. Let Go and Trust God!! I believe he will show up and it will be much greater and Grander than anything you could have imagined!