Clear my day God

God, I need more of you, less of me...and less of the things that pull me away from you in my life. Help me to have the wisdom to know the difference between valued added things in my life and things that just keep me busy. Open my eyes to the things in this world that the enemy wants to fill my time with and give me the strength, through You, to be able to filter things out of my life each day to make more time for you. When I see myself acting in my own flesh, help me to stop, repent and refocus on you. I want to always be welcoming to your interruptions of my plans. Let my plans simply be a layout of what my day "might" look like and not a blueprint of how my day has to go. I pray I will always be looking for an opportunity to serve you everywhere I go, with everything I do. Thank you for trusting me enough to be used by you God. In Jesus name, Amen.

God has a FULL life for you.

In ministry we meet people who feel stuck in a world full of pain, sorrow, brokenness, confusion, disappointment and evil. However, I can't tell you many times after a time of deliverance and prayer people describe how they feel with...lighter, forgiven and really loved for the first time! If the world has you weighed down and/or you're tired of trying to find your identity, tired of trying to be who everyone else tells you that you should be, tired of living under the lies of the enemy telling you that you can't be forgiven or you'll never get it right or be good enough....then it is the time for you to find the real answers. God holds your true identity, He has a plan for your life, your forgiveness, more love for you than you can put words to...and a life full of joy..real joy, that nothing this world has to offer can compare to. Don't spend another day letting the enemy sell you lies....trying to fit into a very broken world...struggling to do things your own way. Give it to God and let Him show you His abundant life for you. If you don't know how to do that or what that means, find someone in your life who follows Christ who can help you. God has the answers....sometimes He is just waiting on us to ask Him the questions. My heart breaks for those who just continue to walk around in brokenness. He has so much more for you.

Godly Wisdom

Godly wisdom: If you are walking with Jesus then you have an assignment on your life. Mine may not be the same as yours, and yours may not the same as the next person's. However, something is expected from all believers. Being in close relationship with Jesus is the best way (and really the only way) to find out what your assignment is. But be cautious, because it is the moment you realize what yours is, and start to walk it out in life, that the enemy will come after you. However, the enemy is not as clever as some people give him credit for. He knows how to lie, trick and deceive people. Beyond that he really has no "new" tricks. But 1 Peter 5:8 warns us to "be watchful" because the enemy "prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour". Pray for Godly wisdom to always see the enemy's traps on your life. When you stay in close relationship with Jesus the devil's schemes stand out to you like a neon light and your ability to fight against or completely avoid his traps is so much stronger. It is in the moment that you find yourself compromising the truth, tolerating sin or becoming desensitized to things that should bother you that he has begun to squeeze the life out of you. By life I mean the life of Christ in your own life. In that moment do not let pride settle in, humble yourself, talk to someone, ask God to search your heart....do anything other than continue to let the enemy squeeze you. The python kills its prey by squeezing the life out of it...the enemy's python spirit kills it's prey by squeezing Christ out of your life. The end result will be death if you do not recognize it. But here is the best news.....it is NEVER to late...EVER...to say "God, help me!". His Love, Grace and Mercy awaits ALL who call upon his name.

Put on your armor daily...

In Ephesians 6:10-20 the full armor of God is explained. What it is and why we need it is written right there, but how serious do we take it on any given day. It tells us we need to put it on daily because our struggles are going to come at us daily. And God knew our struggles may appear to come from flesh and blood (people or the world), but He tells us they are really struggles the enemy brings into our life. Some we can see coming, while others seem to kick our feet right out from under us. However, if we have prepared ourselves daily, we can be ready for whatever battle comes our way. Which is the exact reason for this "set of instructions" in Ephesians. More of God's wisdom shared with us from God's Word. If you fill your life daily with God's Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Faith, Word, Salvation and Prayer it is so much harder for the enemy to take you down. Think about it like this, it is hard for your car to run out of gas if you keep your tank full. Yes, you may experience a flat on the way to work, but you can fix that and get back on the road because your tank is still full. But if you run out of gas....your stuck until you put more in. How many times in life have you felt "stuck" with no answers? We watch some people go through some tragedy, storm or trail that you think will completely take them down, but it doesn't. It make shake them, rock them a little, but before you know it they are praising God again and thanking Him for the goodness in their life. This is probably because they had "their tank full", were prepared spiritually for the battle and knew exactly who to turn to in the midst of the crisis. God wants us to walk through life prepared....that is why He gave us a way to be!

Sin: Escape the bondage of it...

Sin: "Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer
than you want to stay and cost you more than you want to pay." I can't take credit for this saying, but I can attest to it's truth. I am hurt by and sick of watching people, marriages and families get ripped apart by the affects of sin. When you are in it, you are blind to it. When you escape it's control, you are sickened by it. Notice I said escape it's control, I did not say escape sin. We will never escape sin while we are on this earth. If we could in our own power, we would not have needed Jesus. If God knew He had to send Jesus to rescue us from sin, then I think I will trust His knowledge over my own. And I will take sin and it's power pretty serious. It is the moment you think "this has no control over me" that one of two things have taken place. Either through Jesus you have been set free from the bondage of that sin...or...you are in denial and it has more control over you then you even realize. A good way to tell the difference is by looking at the direction your life is taking. Is the road your on filled with healing and restoration of your life and relationships, or is the road your on leaving behind busted relationships and regret? The enemy loves to make us feel guilt and shame due to the sin in our lives. Those are usually the after affects of it though. In the midst of it he will make it seem innocent, deserved, fun, fulfilling, harmless and maybe even justifiable...however, once you have "stayed longer than you want to stay" in that sin, the "cost" will eventually be emptiness, regret, loss, shame and even death to things in your life that were once full of life. Truth and the love of Jesus can release you from the bondage of sin. We cannot do it in our own power, and the very thought that we can is an insult to the cross and Jesus.

Love...or...Acceptance?

In a world where almost anything is accepted you may find that you may stand alone, or with a minority, when you refuse to accept things that go against God's word. And because of this, a lot of people confuse love with acceptance. It is very possible to love someone (family or friends) with all of your heart, but not be willing to accept the choices they make, their lifestyle or their denial of God's absolute truth(the bible). This does not mean you don't love that person with all your heart and wouldn't do anything for them. In fact, you may have already done a lot for them and just had to pull away because their choices caused you pain. But your absolute love for them is still there. I strongly believe that God wants us to LOVE the sinner, but not the sin. Because we were ALL once that sinner. Once we found Christ, the desire to attempt to not sin should become stronger that the desires to chase sin. And that is the difference between living for Jesus, or choosing not to. So I hope we can all let someone in our lives know that even though we don't accept some of the things in their life, they should not confuse that with us not loving them. If there is anything Jesus came to teach us it was to love....but He did not teach us to compromise our beliefs or accept that which goes against His word. I know it may be hard for some to understand, but the biggest way you are showing them you love them is by being on your knees in prayer for them every single day.

Love your way back into a restored relationship!

Who are you going to love today...no matter what? Think of your worst day...when you had a really bad attitude, said something extremely hurtful, or did that thing that you wish so badly you could take back...even if God is the only one who saw you do it. Now, think about this....God loved you just as much that day as He did the day you were at your absolute best. Kind of hard to wrap our minds around that sometimes, but that is God and that is the example Christ led us by. So now think of someone who is hard for you to love right now. Maybe it is because of some pain they have caused, or some way they have disappointed you or some rejection you have felt by them. No matter what it is, you can probably think of a day you let God down just as bad. But His unending, unfailing, unconditional love for you did not stop. I challenge you today to love that person in your life that is so hard to love...and then don't stop today. Love your way through the storm you are in. Love your way through a damaged relationship. Love your way into prayer for someone. If you LET your heart feel love for that person the way God feels love for you, you will see why He can forgive us the way He does. I think Jesus spoke so much about loving one another because He knew that if you can really love someone, even when your disappointed in them or their choices, it makes praying for them, forgiving them, fixing things with them so much easier. And when you really love someone, all you really want is to restore the relationship, not dwell on the problems. Thank you God that You don't dwell on our problems, but love us back into a restored relationship with you instead!

Praise your way through the storm...

Let us never forget that the God that gave us all the good in our lives is the same God that will bring us through the storms we face. Praise Him in the storm just as much as you praised Him in the good times. There are 3 places everyone is at in life...Either you just came through a storm, you are in the middle of a storm, or a storm is coming your way...But know this, a storm is the perfect place for God to deliver a miracle in your life! When the disciples found themselves in a storm and Jesus walked up to them on the water, they did not know it was Him until they "heard His voice". That is so important! Listen for His voice in your storm and you will know He is there with you. He can calm any storm once we realize He is there with us. Praise your way through the storm and take all the power away from enemy! What a testimony!

Pray, Trust and Believe....or Worry?

With all the news of things going on around the world in the past 24 hours it would be quite easy to let yourself get shaken with worry or fear and play "what if" scenarios in your head. However, I will stand on the truth that none of this surprises our God or catches Him off guard. Some people tend to act like God turned His back for a moment and something happened that He didn't expect. In times like this I don't try to explain "why" these things happen, I just pray and know that my God is still on the throne. Evil people do evil things, that is a sad fact. But God turns evil to good every day. I feel horrible for the families of each person on flight MH17 and I will spend my efforts praying for healing and peace for them instead of worrying about the state of the world tomorrow. If tomorrow concerns you that bad, then spend today making sure you are where God wants you and doing all you can to make sure others are secure with God as well. Matthew 6:25-34 is a great piece of scripture about wasting your time on worry. One of my favorite parts of that scripture is "Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?" And the answer is NO we cannot. But we can trust God with our tomorrow and do His will today! And that is true whether your in your own personal trial, or looking at the state of the entire world! Please join me in praying for our world and all the evil going on in it, but not spending our days worrying about it so much that it's distracting what God wants us to be doing today!

Get locked in to God's will for your life...

Lock In: Lock in to what God has for you and don't let go! We don't realize how honored we are that the creator of the universe takes the time to show us His will for our life. When this happens please don't take it for granted. God needs a job done and He has chosen you to do it. Humble yourself and realize He doesn't need "you" to get the job done, He chose you! He will get the job done one way or the other, but He knows there will certainly be a blessing in it for you if you follow His will for your life. There is an amazing feeling that comes when you "think" you are doing something for Him and you find out that while doing that thing, He was doing something in or for you at the same time. He has a purpose for anyone with breathe in their lungs and longs to reveal it to us like a loving daddy who longs to teach their child how to do something for the first time.
Psalm 138:8 The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.....

Discover who you were made to be...

It is when we discover who we are in Christ that we can stop believing the lies of who we have to be in the world. The last thing the enemy wants you to see is the beautiful person that God created you to be. If he(the enemy) can get you to slip just a little each day, he can hang guilt and shame over your head...and he knows that will create distance between you and God. Just a little bit of distance between you and God will affect your confidence to witness to others, your confidence that you ARE forgivable and your ability to see your true worth to Jesus. The enemy trembles in fear at a person who discovers their full potential in Christ, turns from their sin and fully surrenders their life to Jesus. He knows that person is a danger to his very existence. Discover your worth in Jesus, or help someone else discover theirs today. Lay down your corrupted thoughts, choices and ideas that are accepted and promoted by the world. Choose today to accept The Truth and start down the road of discovering who Jesus made you to be! It is NEVER too late to admit to Jesus that you have placed your desires above His...but today you want to change that! His LOVE covers ALL....and His blood already did!

Tell your testimony...

When you can find real peace, real joy and real satisfaction from God in the middle of your storm, that IS your testimony right now! Don't overlook all that He is doing for you while you "quietly wait" for him to give you a testimony. Go tell others what all He is doing for you NOW... in the midst of your storm. If He sees you are faithful with this testimony, then who knows how amazing He will make the final testimony once the storm has passed.
Thank you God for my storm! I never thought I would be able to say that, but you have allowed me to tell my testimony to those I may never have talked to about You otherwise. You have been able to show your power, your faithfulness, your healing and your love through my storm, and that makes it all worth it.
Revelation 12:11 "And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by THE WORD OF THEIR TESTIMONY, for they loved not their lives even unto death."

Unconditional Love...

When you experience the unconditional love of Jesus, and you turn from it at some point in your life, the enemy tries to convince you it really wasn't "unconditional love". However, it is, always has been and always will be unconditional love for you. Don't buy the lies of the enemy! Getting back to Jesus is as easy as turning away from your sin, and turning toward Him. You only need to ask for forgiveness, you don't have to ask Him to love you. He already does more than words can explain. 
Romans 5:8 says "But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." 
If He died for you while you were still messed up in sin, then it doesn't get much more unconditional than that.

Minister to others while God ministers to you...

As I attended my 2nd time of ministry in deliverance and healing last night with the Freedom House healing and deliverance team, God again showed me that He has every intension of using my life in this way. God showed His amazing love and power by setting bound people free last night. It is amazing how God works because while you are ministering to others, you are also being ministered to. Only God can do that! When He delivers a word to you and you speak it out to someone only to find out it had amazing meaning to them, it increases your faith in ways I can't even explain.

However, for God to be so gracious as to pair me up with someone who traveled almost 2 hours to get here, and then to find out their life is almost a mirror of the storm God has been bringing me through was absolutely amazing. I can't tell you the feeling it brought to me for God to allow me to walk along side someone in healing who is in the same storm as me. Thank you God! It just showed me that He can and will use you in the midst of any circumstance IF you let Him. He has carried me this far and He will continue to carry me. This I know! But to give the strength, through HIM, to step out of my own trial and pray with someone and tell them all the amazing ways God has been healing me just showed me His power and unending, unfailing love. I pray He will continue to use me and open my life up, my experiences up and my healing up to make an impact in the lives of others.

God....use your people and the power they possess through the name of Jesus Christ to break the chains of bondage of the enemy and set them FREE!!!! In Jesus name..Amen

With God it's receive...then give.

Some people think God is like a pop machine. If you put the money in, then the pop comes out. (Give, then receive) That's not how our God operates at all. Imagine walking up to a pop machine and the pop is already out ready to take. You take it, you can drink it and then you can put the money in the machine when you are thankful for the pop. That is how our God operates. He hands you the gift free first, then once you realize what He gave you, you become so grateful that all you want to do is give back.
It is not do your part first then come to God. It's come to God first and receive what He has for you. When your really receive His gift it will naturally change your life and you'll naturally give back. Receive, then give!

The same yesterday, today and forever!

The most beautiful thing about God's Truth, His Word, the very thing that He is, is that it NEVER changes. He is the same yesterday, today and forever.(Hebrews 13:8) This is great news because it means that even at times when we change, our hearts change, our lives change... He does NOT. Our world may change and get shaken all around us, but He does NOT. Your job, your family, your circumstances may change. But HE does NOT! He is, always has been and always will be faithful, reliable, loving, forgiving, full of grace and full of mercy. Whether you realize it right now or not, this will be the best news you hear today! There will be a time in everyone's life that we will be so thankful that this is He is this way. Because even at times when we are at our worst, or life is at it's worst, He is still the same almighty loving God of ALL and He's got you and everything around you! And He delights is showing us this is true! Believe it!

Prayer for today...

God, today, release the strongholds that the enemy has placed on people's lives. Let Your grace, mercy and forgiveness be found when it is least expected. Let bound people experience freedom, and those who have been set free share your love and their testimony with others. Help your sons and daughters represent you well to a hurting world and help the hurting world look to your for answers. Show the world you still are a God who cares about our pain, struggles and sorrows (little or big) and you are still doing miracles in the lives of people every day. Give us the wisdom to turn to you, the faith to trust in you and the desire to walk completely away from the temptations of this life so we can experience all that you have waiting for us. In Jesus name, Amen.

Faith

Faith: Faith is an interesting thing. There are times you can feel your faith is very strong, and other times you may find yourself questioning your faith. The thing I have found, is that if we are honest, most of the time that has way more to do with the "subject" than our actual faith. There are times I feel like a "double minded man" because I am telling people I am trusting God and I am praying about the issue, but then when I ask God to search my heart He will bring that very thing to the surface and ask if I "really" trust Him. That is when I find that my mind and my heart are at conflict with each other. My heart trusts God, but my human way of thinking wants to say, "is that even possible?". It is in those times I find it best to be as real and honest with God as possible. It is in those times I can relate to the man in Mark 9 that is asking Jesus to raise his daughter back from the dead. He obviously had belief or he would not have been asking Jesus to do the seemingly impossible. But he also recognized that he was struggling with the unbelief of "is what I am asking even possible?". And the best thing he did was say to Jesus "Lord I believe; help my unbelief".
I am praying for the "seemingly impossible", and I encourage you to do the same. Believe with all the heart you have, and then ask God to supply the rest. If we are honest with Him, He will help us fully believe. I know God loves nothing more than to show us that NOTHING is impossible for Him. With each thing we allow Him to prove that with, He gains more honor and more glory. But He needs us to get "out of the way" in our human way of thinking and trust Him to do what only He can do! He wants to show us that miracles and healing still happens every day! Believe it!

The Light

No matter what you have been through, or what you may be going through now, the "darkness" cannot last forever. John 1:5 says "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." The enemy can only bring darkness into your life as long as you allow him too. Jesus is "The Light", and the moment you allow The Light back into your life, everything changes. If you are still in the dark place then I invite you to decide today that the dark days are done and it is time to allow The Light to penetrate whatever has brought darkness into your life. Remember, light exposes things too. Be ready to let Jesus expose anything that may need exposed, so He can do ALL that He needs to do in you.
The amazing thing about Jesus is that once you have allowed him to bring light back into your world, He will give you the strength to go be light in someone else's world. Receive the light, then go be the light...what an amazing plan He has for our lives.That is true restoration!

Boldness Prayer

God, I pray for a BOLDNESS from your people to been seen like never before. Not a boldness to push "our" own ways God, but a boldness to stand up for and represent Your Word. Help us to find ways to love people like never before, to pray for change like never before, to help the hurting like never before, to free the bound like never before, to heal the sick like never before and to see results like never before. I pray you will instill in us a FAITH that is unshakable, a LOVE that is unstoppable and a PERSEVERANCE to see it through, in Jesus' name. Help us to stand in the face of the enemy and not grow weary. To fast and pray individually and corporately as you call us to do. To see those who have strayed away to be returned, and those who are lost to be saved. To share what we have because we KNOW what we have will make a difference in the lives of those around us. Most of all God, let our lives reflect you more than our words. May we BE a living breathing example of the Word of God and the Life of Jesus EVERYWHERE we go! In Jesus' name, Amen.

Let the doubt drive you closer to God.

If you are walking the narrow path right now and living in a way that pleases God, then more than likely there was a time when you were not. There may have been a time in your life when the path you walked was wide and you were conforming to the worlds ways. If so, you may still have people in your life that knew you then and doubt you now. Do not be discouraged by them. In John 6:42 they doubted Jesus when He began His ministry saying "Isn't this the son of Joseph. How does he say "I come down from heaven?"" No, Jesus didn't come out of sin, but they did think he was just a normal man. So when you change your life, don't be shocked when the people who know what you came from doubt you. The best thing you can do is represent Christ well, pray for them and do NOT let the enemy convince you that you are who you used to be. God can change anyone and He does it all the time. He also can use them after they have come to Him to reach others. Continue to walk the narrow path and know that, like Jesus, you may be ridiculed for it, made fun of and doubted. But that is what makes it such a narrow path. Not everyone will choose to walk it. Ask God to help you stay strong, pray, love and continue to let God show you the purpose He has for your life.

Pray, Love, Forgive

The words in this title are not "suggestions" from Jesus. It is the very thing that makes us a follower of Jesus. If you want a relationship with someone, a real one, you must talk, and talk often: PRAY. Jesus also said we are to love the way He loves. Not the way we feel like it, the way He did it: LOVE. And then there is the toughest one for most, we must forgive. Not because someone deserves it, not because they said sorry, but because He calls us to do it. Yes, forgive those who persecute you. Jesus gave us the ultimate example when He said "Father forgive them for they know not what they do" and He said it while they were still doing it: FORGIVE.
If you spend time with Him and PRAY, He will change you heart so you can LOVE more and that will enable you to be able to FORGIVE

He chases us

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. Psalm 139:7-10
I thank God that no matter what I am going through, He is there. He is constantly chasing us and trying to remind us that He is there. In my highs and my lows, He is there. If you don't know that then I invite you to think about that. In your sin, in your doubt, in your troubles and in your fear, He is waiting on you to respond to His presence. He LOVES you, has forgiveness, grace and mercy waiting with your name on it.

The Choice is Yours

The choice is yours:
Recently I had a friend who knows what I am going through ask me if things took a turn for the better. Very confused by the question, my response was "no, why?". And he said because your posts of Facebook have been good, so I assumed things were good. That is the moment I realized the "choices" I am making in the midst of a raging storm in my life may be pointing people to God, not away from Him. I too have friends on Facebook that I know have gone through huge storms...like the loss of a husband, and another, the loss of a daughter.(without their permission I don't want to mention names) and I see some of the amazing posts they write or forward. See, the choice is ours. We can have a bad attitude toward life and give the enemy a victory over us that he does not deserve, or we can realize and choose to see that even when something bad happens, our God is good! I choose to FIND the good, no matter how bad the situation. I have not always been this way, but looking back I know that God began to prepare me for this about 8 months before my 'storm' hit. And the biggest difference in me was I LET Him prepare me. (He will if you let Him) At the time I did not know He was preparing me for a storm, but He did. I thank Him daily for breaking me, for showing me the sin in my life and teaching me to be disgusted by it. He opened my eyes, which opened my heart, which changed my mind. Are things good right now, no. Is God good right now, YES! And I will CHOOSE to praise Him in the storm.
Philippians 4:8 teaches us what to put our focus on...and says "if anything is worthy of praise, think on such things". Well my God is worthy of praise no matter what is going on....and praise He will get from me.
Thank you God for the good in my life. Romans 12:21 says "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good". Through Christ this I CAN and WILL do!

Love the People, not the World

One of the most Christ like things we can do is to learn how to love the people in the world, and not the things in it. As Christians we are called to love...but satan likes to take the 'things' of this world and try to get us to love them instead. In your own strength temptation will be a tough daily struggle, but if you take time to put yourself in front of God each day and fill yourself with His word, then the temptations of this world become less and less attractive. In 1 John 2:15-17 John warns us that there are things in this world that do not come from the father - lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life. And he is very clear in saying that if these things are in you, then the father is not in you. Meaning, there isn't room for both and you are deceived if you think there is. God never meant for us to get hung up on the temporary 'day to day' worldly desires...He always wanted us to see that the true reward is found when we are Christ like in this life, so we can live forever with Him in the next.

How we should look

What we are called to do....what we are supposed to look like.
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:12-17

Pray and Believe

Do you pray small and hope or do you pray big and believe? I have come to realize that the only limits that can be put on God is through our own faith. I have written before that God IS a limitless God, but it is our own faith that can put limits on Him. If you are praying the will of God and praying out of pure faith, I don't believe there is anything that God can't do. Let us not be a people who pray for a few days and then if we don't get results we give up on God. Pray without ceasing, pray the will of God, pray with a pure heart, settle all unforgiveness in your heart, humble yourself before God, pray with thanksgiving and go boldly before the throne. He invites us to do these things and yet most of the time we still pause for a quick prayer, ask for a couple of days and then give up if we don't see results. We love to refer to John 15:7 about "asking for whatever you wish and it will be done", but do we read the entire chapter. The entire chapter talks about being connected to Jesus and being a "vine that produces fruit". Remaining in Jesus and Jesus remaining in us. It is when we are this close to Jesus, living a life that He has called us to live, that our prayers are the most powerful and effective! I am still a work in progress, but it is my desire to live a life that pleases God so much that when I go to Him in prayer it literally puts a smile on His face. And once I have thanked Him and recognized His greatness, He is eager to hear the desires of my heart that are within His Will.

More

Today's devotion was to good to not pass along....
Obedience is not an easy way to live. Disobedience pre-dates us all the way back to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. When we are obedient we must give up power and control to someone else and follow their will rather than our own. Obedience involves trust, and surrender. Jesus Christ was the only person in our world that was completely obedient to God. "Though he was God's Son, he learned trusting-obedience by what he suffered, just as we do." (Hebrews 5:8 MSG)
Trusting God and being obedient to His will move us into his glorious presence where we can feel safe surrendering our lives to Him. Is this where you are today? If not, what do you need in order to surrender to God?
More faith? More focus? Or maybe, just more of Him and less of you.

Trials

Trials will come and go. Some are in our control and some are not. Welcome to life. But I promise God can teach us through each and every one of them.
God is not necessarily bringing the trail on us, but He will sometimes 'allow' the trial to see what we have learned. Will we do what is right in the trial, what His word has taught us, what we know our Father would want us to do? We WILL be tempted, we will be hurt by others, we will be affected by our own bad decisions or the decisions of others around us...again, that is life. But in those moments it is so important for us to go back to our roots, the Word of God, and let Him correct and direct us. This is not the time for resentment, blame, fear or running. It is the time to go to our Heavenly Daddy and say "please help me so I don't do this thing wrong". Don't get angry at God when a trial comes your way. Instead, ask Him what He wants you to learn, how does He want you to grow and how might someone else grow by witnessing you in the midst of your trial? We don't know His plans, but I can PROMISE you He has plans, and if you are in His will, they are always good.(see Romans 8:28)
And just so you understand my heart....I write this post in the midst of the toughest trial of my life. So these are not just words to me.
For more on trials please read James 1.

Distractions

Imagine watching a foot race. The gun goes off, the runners take off and everyone is headed for the finish line. Now imagine 1 or 2 of the runners see something off in the distance and just run right off the track after that thing that got their attention. Wouldn't we be in shock. Wouldn't some people go after them to see what they are doing and try to stop them. 
My friend this is what we watch people do in the church so often and it breaks my heart. We are all headed in the same direction, chasing after God, and then we watch a brother or sister in Christ see something that catches their attention and they veer off track. Please, if someone you know, or someone you are close to, has let "something else" besides Christ capture their attention, be that one friend who will go after them. I know our human instinct is to judge, but instead, love them intently through Christ and gently try to get them back on track. You never know, but that may be one of the missions God had for you in this life...to steer your brother or sister back to Him before it was too late.
"Let all that you do be done in love." 1 Corinthians 16:14

The Void

Deep down there is an amazing spiritual lesson in how quickly you can forget what hunger feels like once a fast is over. 
Food temporarily causes us to forget the feeling of hunger, like sin can cause us to temporarily forget the feeling of "void" in our heart when we stray from God. But food can only satisfy you for so long and you WILL be hungry again. Sin also can only satisfy the void of God in your life for so long....because you WILL be hungry for God again some day. 
Don't be fooled by the temporary satisfactions of this world. Nothing can take the place of the fullness of God in your life once you have experienced it.

Holy

Listened to a great message by Robert Morris on my drive to work today.
God's Word calls us to be holy...and by holy it does not mean sinless and perfect. Only Jesus could be that. But He calls us to be holy, meaning to be "set apart". As Christians we should be set apart from the rest of the world. (see Leviticus 20:26) I know there was a time when my heart, my thoughts, my life didn't look much different than the rest of the world, even though I called myself a Christian. And sadly, my spiritual life reflected that. My closeness to God was directly affected by how much I was willing to make myself set apart. What the mind dwells on the heart reflects. If our thoughts are of worldly things then our lives typically look "wordly". Thoughts of envy, selfishness, lust, bitterness and unforgivenss are never going to help you draw near to God, be guided by the Holy Spirit or be set apart. Diving into God's Word and asking God to search your heart is a great way way to start to be set apart. When we allow God to renew our hearts He can transform out thoughts and set us apart. It is then that our thoughts will move from such temporal things of this world, to the eternal things that God would like us to fix our eyes on.

Fear....freedom from it.

Fear is not an emotion God wishes us to live in. 2 Timothy 1:7 says "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." Yes, we all experience fear, but it is a choice we have to make to not live in it. If you are faced with a trial or a situation that is causing you to fear, then give it over to God and claim what Paul wrote. You can live under the power and peace of God's love and have a sound mind through any situation. When we get down to the real root of our fear it usually comes from not being within the will of God. When we choose to walk in God's will we claim His power over our fear. Psalm 34:4 says "I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears." If you find yourself living in a place of fear, seek The Lord and His will and direction for your life. In Proverbs 29:25 He tells us "The fear of man lays a snare(trap), but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe." Ask for His will for your life and trust Him to carry it out. He promises that is a place you will be safe! I obviously don't know what you may be facing, but He does... and He would love to walk with you through whatever it is.

Peace, Hope, Joy

Peace, Hope, Joy: All of these things can come to you at any point in your life when your focus is on God. God wants us to have peace, hope and joy in our life. However, when we put our focus on the things going on around us, the things the world has to offer us, or we put our faith in people, we often feel disappointment, sorrow or hopelessness. None of which are feelings God wishes for us to have. There is a difference between experiencing these feelings and staying in or living in these feelings. If you have found yourself stuck in this place ask God to deliver you from it. Once you learn to abide in Him, trust Him to provide your needs and then rest in His promises, finding Peace, Hope and Joy will come to you.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Romans 15:13

God's Will

God has a very detailed and individual plan/will on every person's life. But being the amazing God that He is, He will not force Himself on us. It takes our desire for God's will on and in our lives for Him to be able to fully release His gifts and blessings over our lives. He wants to bless us...He wants to gift us...but He wants to us to use those gifts and blessings to glorify Him. One of the biggest ways we can glorify Him is to submit fully to Him, trust that His ways are better than our ways, let our lives reflect that and us our gifts and talents that HE gave us to lead others to Him.

3 'P's of Prayer

There are 3 things God desires from us. Persistence, Patience and Perseverance. If you are not seeing a breakthrough is something you are praying for, don't give up and be sure to apply these 3 things. 
Tony Kemp gave a great teaching on this and how it is so true at Rock Jackson last night. And when what you are "seeing" isn't lining up with what you are praying for remember this...The "fact" (or the thing you can see) isn't the evidence, the TRUTH is the evidence. The "facts" can change but the truth is always the same! Don't get so focused on what you can see that you forget the TRUTH of God's word. His Word is true, He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He asks us to walk by the Faith we have in Him, not the things we see around us!

Get where David got

When we read about David in the bible we might think about things like the boy that slayed a giant, or his great accomplishments in battle, or that he was responsible for bringing the ark back to Jerusalem....However, do we think about David being a man that struggled with sin just like you and me? Do we see him as a man that had to come to a place of brokenness and humble himself before The Lord and confess his sins? The word says David was a man after God's own heart.....but it does not say he was a superhero. To get where David got to in his relationship with God he had to be broken and humbled. And he had to stay that way.
I think we often think that it isn't possible to get to the place with God that David got to. Excuses like, "that was then and this is now." Well I disagree! I want to be at the place David was with God. I want to stay broken and humble before The Lord and pray that He can look down on me with favor. I want to be able to invite Him to look deep in my heart and see that I am chasing after His desires. I want to hear Him say someday that I overcame the mistakes of my past (like David) and spent the rest of my days trying to "be a David" in today's world. It is possible for all of us.....but it must be a desire before it can be a reality.

Hard Times

I have met many people who are going through something hard right now, or have recently gone through something. I think it is pretty safe to say that on any given day we all know someone, if not ourselves, who are going through something. Romans 12:12 says "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." 
God knew this world would throw difficult things at us, but thankfully He gives us instructions all throughout His word on how to handle life when it gets difficult. Romans 12 is full of great Godly advice to help you find joy in the midst of the storm. And ironically most of it goes against what the world world would say to do. Like, "bless those who persecute you".
For anyone going through a storm, take it to God in prayer and ask Him to shed His supernatural wisdom, joy and peace on you while you walk through it. He may not "rescue" you from the storm because of what He wants to teach you in the storm, but He will walk with you in it and that makes ALL the difference.

Fighting Back

I'm so tired of watching the enemy attack marriages and families. I have made a vow to God to stand in the gap in prayer for so many marriages. I refuse to stand by and watch marriage after marriage get ripped apart by the enemies plans. Please join me in standing up for marriages and pray for HEALING, LOVE, GRACE, MERCY, FORGIVENESS and PEACE. This IS God's will for marriages and I will not sit by silent watching the enemy win this battle any longer. I am declaring war on the enemy for his attacks on the sacred bond that God creates through marriage. If you look up Matthew 19:6 you would see these words in RED letters... Jesus said "What God has joined together, let NO ONE separate." Not man, not the enemy...no one!
Jesus, I pray for Your supernatural healing power over the marriages that are under attack. It is clear that the enemy is threatened by the convenient of marriage, so may Your love and grace be shown to each other by married couples everywhere, and send the enemy running. Let every restored, renewed and resurrected marriage become a living, breathing testimony for you! In Jesus name, Amen.

Remember the answers during "The Test"

Heard a great message last night at Freedom House. Great words spoken with passion and wisdom by Tony Kemp. 
If you are in the middle of a test and you think God is being quiet, ask yourself how often the teacher talked to you during a test in school. The answers were all given to you before the test. It is during the test that you have to apply the answers. 
Really makes you think about how much you are "prepping" your life for a test someday by daily walking close to God, praying and keeping yourself in His word.
We never know what test may be coming our way, but we all have the same opportunity to be ready for it when it gets here. God is always calling us to be near to Him...everyday. It is not His desire for us to wait until something bad hits and then run to Him. But how gracious He is to be there when we do run to Him. Like the loving father He is!
If you are in need of deliverance, healing or just a great word from God I would highly recommend coming out to Freedom House tonight for Tony's last night there.

Pray and wait

Pray, and patiently wait for answers. Don't give God the answers you need while you are praying. One of the most important lines of the Lord's prayer...."Your will be done". Even if it's hard, even if you don't understand it, are you really willing to pray "Your will be done"? Remember, His will may not be your will. 
BTW, "patiently" does not mean "to wait"...it actually means "what you do, or how you act, while you wait".

Help Heal

There is a very true saying out there that says "hurt people, hurt people". People who have been hurt often react in that way. Not because they are mean and want to hurt others, but because they tend to do what was done to them. However, when a hurt person allows Jesus to help them with the pain, a new saying can become very true...."healed people, help other hurting people". Isaiah 53:5 talks about how Jesus took our pain so we could be healed and live a healed life full of peace. If you are someone who has been healed and found that peace, then wouldn't it be a beautiful thing if you could help someone else find that same healing and peace. Introduce them to the source of your healing...Jesus. He changes wrecked lives every day. If you hold the answer that can change someone else's life, share it with them. It really is what we are called to do.

Be ready

I hurt watching people I care so much about not think about the long term affects of their actions. There was a day that I shamefully lived without thinking about what meeting God someday would really be like. I by no means "have it all figured out", but I do live in manner that if I meet God tomorrow, I will be ready. Not a minute past the one you just lived is promised to you. And each of us will stand before God and give an account for our time here on earth and what we did with it. (2 Corinthians 5:10) If that doesn't shake the ground you stand on, I don't know what will. Not only does God want to forgive you and love you, He also has plans to use you to fulfill the will He has for your life. Imagine standing before Him with a smile on your face someday...not regret. I love all my family and friends to much not write this post.

Speak IT

The stone that David killed Goliath with was just the "object" of David's faith. David spoke the words into existence before the stone ever hit Goliath. He said "I come against you in the name of the Lord...This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down". If what you fight for is within God's will, then speak God's promises into existence and believe that God will be faithful! (1 Samuel 17)

I will praise You

I will praise you, on this day
Praise your name, with words I say.
I will praise you, with my life
Praise you through, the peace and strife.
I will never, stop the praise
Since you never, hold back your grace.
Please let my life, bring you glory
And my redemption, tell your story.
Let others see, how only you
Can take a mess, and make it new.

Not Defeated

I write with a heavy heart today. I know the enemy wants me to feel defeated, but I know my God goes before me and nothing the enemy ever does catches God off guard. 
Psalms 32:7-11 talks about hiding in God, being surrounded with songs of deliverance, He will instruct the way I should go with His loving eye on me, trusting in the Lord and rejoicing in the Lord! 
Hebrews 13:8 says Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.
These are the scriptures I will hold onto as I lean on God for everything. I know that is exactly what He would want me to do...give it to Him, trust Him and rejoice in Him!

Unconditional Love

Unconditional love....do we understand the term? Or better yet, how about unconditional forgiveness. That one can really stretch you. Jesus does both for us and expects us to do both towards each other. He does not love us only when we deserve it and thank God He does not forgive us only when we deserve it. It is in the moments where we love someone and expect nothing in return that we are probably the closest to Jesus that we will ever be. 1 John 4:8 says..."Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love." And Matthew 6:14-15 says "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." Both of those verses speak some pretty blunt and bold words. Help us love and forgive like Jesus so we can then serve like Jesus. The world would be such a better place if we can get our hearts lined up like Jesus' heart!

Follow your "GPS"

God is like a GPS, He has a plan to get you somewhere. If you choose to make rights when He says lefts or lefts when He says rights, then He will have to take you the long way around to get you back on the right road. But just like a GPS, He won't leave you stranded just because you didn't listen the first time. The trip is always easier when you follow the plans of the one who knows best. A good GPS can see the traffic ahead and help you deal with it.....Our good God sees what's ahead for us too. He will help you deal with it and keep you moving in the right direction if you let Him!

What IF

A life of "what ifs"...Proverbs 3:5 says "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding." Every time I think back to a "what if" time in my life....what if I did that better, what if I did that right, what if I didn't do that at all....those are the times I was not "trusting the Lord with all my heart", those are the direct times I was "leaning on my own understanding". I say this through many tough lessons in my life....the bible is full of wise instructions for a reason. God knew when we trust our ways better than His ways we cannot see what will come down the road for us later, like He does. That is why he warns us not to make decisions based on what we see, understand or think, but instead, through prayer and guidance from the Holy Spirit. A lot of the time when we FULLY trust Him, it goes against ours or the world's "logic"...and turns out beautiful! Just like He knew it would! Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope".

Find the JOY

Then enemy is always at work. Even in the small things. He wants to rob us of the joy God wants us to live in. I woke up this morning and prayed that God would bring joy into my day. I walked out to my car only to find that it has been broken into in the middle of the night and about $200-$300 worth of stuff has been stolen. As I drove to work I thought to myself..."it's just stuff"...I am not going to let this rob my joy today. I have a choice, I can let it rob my joy or I can refuse to let it. I refuse to! The enemy wants to use anything to wreck our day...no matter how small or big. However, it is our choice to let him. No thanks, I would rather smile through this just to show him he didn't get me today. Thank you God for all the other stuff you have still blessed me with!

Run it out

We often hear life referred to as a race. I like the analogy that it is more like a marathon. It takes endurance, it may not be easy, it will be worth it when it is done right and the ultimate reward will be in the end. 
There was a time when I ran each day as if that day was the entire race. Not pleasing to God, not good for me or those around me and there was no peace in that. 
God, give us the wisdom and the strength to run this marathon for you......and not the daily race for ourselves.

Choices

Choices....As I walk through this life I realize more and more that the choices we make can do so much to our lives and the lives of those around us. We make wise and unwise choices, good and bad choices, loving and not so loving choices. And all of them are our own choices. This isn't something I get right all the time, but it is something I am striving at more and more. I have found that the only good, wise and loving choices I can make are the ones I run through prayer first. I want to be the person who chooses to love someone because I should, not because they love me back. I make a wise choice because I hear God's voice, not because I trust my own wisdom. I choose good over evil because I am chasing the desires of God's heart, not my own corrupt heart. This is a daily work in progress for me. But what I am the most grateful for is on days I get it wrong, I know God's grace covers me. Then His mercy allows me another day to try to do it right. I pray I can show that same grace and mercy to others that He shows to me. Thank you for not giving up on me God. Thank you for not giving up on any of us! Romans 8:7, Proverbs 16:16, 1 John 2:28, 1 Corinthians 15:10, Luke 6:36

Be Careful

Can't take credit for these words, but they are to good to not pass along...
Think about the things you allow into your life! If you looked out the peep hole of your front door and saw 2 thieves that wanted to break into your home, would you unlock the door, crack it open and walk away? NO! But we do this with the enemy far to often. Do not "crack a door to your life" to things the enemy wants to destroy your life with. I don't think we give John 10:10 nearly enough thought. "The thief comes to kill, steal and destroy..". That is not a light hearted verse. It is a bold, blunt warning to us that the enemy has a plan, and here it is! Destroy you....And the more people he can take down with you, he will. It is never to late to SLAM shut doors that you have opened because the rest of that verse says this..."I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full". Again, straight and to the point. If you want life and the fullness of life, it only comes from one place....if you want death and destruction to things in your life, well that comes from one place too. Be wise...satan is attacking family's enough as it is, don't do something to give him an open door.

Thank Him

When our hearts are heavy I think we should go against our flesh and praise God the most. So today, I just want to say thank you to God for everything I have ever taken for granted. My heart may be heavy, but I am still so blessed and I must never forget that. We all are really....but the world loves to blind us from seeing, talking about or giving credit for all that we have. Ephesians 5:20

Daily Struggles

Struggling with Sin, Life In The Spirit, The Future Glory, Nothing Can Separate Us From God's Love...Romans 7 & 8
For those who say the bible does not still apply to today's times (and I hear people say that all the time), please read Romans 7 & 8. If those words don't jump off the page as the daily struggles of life, then I don't know what else does. Life is about choosing to do what is right in the eyes of God, for the right reason....even though our human side desires other things. It was a struggle then, it is a struggle now. Knowing the answer is the most important part....it doesn't have to be such a struggle.
My heart is very heavy today for someone very close to me. Please say a prayer. Thank you.

Awaken

Have you ever been able to relate to Paul in the bible? On your own journey, not realizing how bad of a journey that was until God "knocked you off your horse". I'm so glad He loves us enough to put us in our place sometimes! My favorite part of the story is that when Saul (Paul) hit the ground he heard a voice and he answered the voice saying "Who are you, lord?" It is important to know when you get "knocked off your horse" if it is God or the world doing it. A good indicator is where were you headed when you got taken down? Think about it.... (see Acts 9)

Peace

Peace, how do people going through hardships actually find peace in the midst of it? Seems backwards, life brings you trouble, and you find peace. Please don't get me wrong, the struggle is still there, the pain is still there, and yes, fear still creeps in. The difference is, do I want to try to handle it all on my own, or do I want to realize that I serve a God who cares enough about me that He wants to help me by bringing me peace. For me, the peace comes in the prayer. I have found the more time I spend with Him in prayer, the more peace He provides to me no matter my circumstances. And when I feel struggle, pain or fear start to creep up again, I step away and pray. I speak directly to those things and use the name of Jesus to put them in their place. Because I have learned that if I don't use the power Jesus provides me with to do this, then they(pain/fear/circumstances) will put me in a place God does not want me to be in. It's not "magic", it is just faith, trust and my own personal experience with God. It is impossible to enjoy the peace, joy and power of the Holy Spirit if "life" has it's grips on you. (Romans 15:13). Yes, it is a conscious choice...just like all the free will that God so graciously gives us. What is trust and love without free will?....he gives us that choice. (Galatians 5:16-17) I've seen how I handle it without Him and I've seen how I handle it with Him. That is all the proof I need.

Surrender

One of the hardest things for us to do is surrender...submit...wave the white flag. It is the place in life where God can do the most with us, but it is one of the hardest places for us to allow ourselves to get to. It is a very freeing feeling, but the exact opposite of what the world would like for you to believe. It is not about knowing all the answers for tomorrow, it is just about trusting that I don't have to. When I submit to God's will for my life I am saving myself from so many more mistakes, heartaches and unwanted problems. I am putting myself at a place where He can actually use me the way I was designed to be used...by Him. It doesn't mean life will be problem free now, but it does mean that I can pray and trust Him with each problem I encounter. I don't have to tackle them on my own anymore. Romans 12:2, James 4:10, Jeremiah 10:23, 1 Peter 5:6-10, James 1:22

Praise Him with a heavy heart

When our hearts are heavy I think we should go against our flesh and praise God the most. So today, I just want to say thank you to God for everything I have ever taken for granted. My heart may be heavy, but I am still so blessed and I must never forget that. We all are really....but the world loves to blind us from seeing, talking about or giving credit for all that we have. Ephesians 5:20

Healing Families

With my nephew getting married this weekend it has made me think a lot about love and family. And my thoughts are this....outside of what Jesus has to offer us, there is nothing better than love and family. When something interrupts either of those those things, love or family, or both...the heart has a hard time bouncing back. Kind of makes you think that God may have known EXACTLY what He was doing in the garden when He designed the first family. He knew the joy that love and family would bring us. However, He also knew the heartache it can cause us when satan attacks a family. That is why only He can offer the healing power it takes to fix families and mend hearts. It is in those times it is most important to place ALL our faith, hope and trust in Jesus.

Family

Family......love yours like there's no tomorrow. Forgive each other as if it never happened. Seek forgiveness if you have hurt one another. Hug each other often as you can. Cherish those God has given you. Help each other through the hard times. Praise each other through the good times. Pray for one another at ALL times. Then wake up tomorrow and do it all over again!! Death, destruction and pain are all around us, but it is never until it strikes us that we realize we could have done all of these things a little better, a little more often and with a LOT more love! NEVER forget that satan seeks to devour someone in your family at all times. Love and protect what God has blessed you with!

Love

Love. What is love? Is love a feeling? Is it an emotion? Is it an act? Is it a choice? 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 describes all the things love is and is not. It is God's 'template' for what love should look like. All throughout the bible love is explained and all throughout the bible it is told to us how important love is. God is love, we are to love, love heals, love covers all wrongs.....the greatestof these is LOVE. It is not just a feeling, it is not just an emotion, it is not just an act....and it should not be a choice. It is what we are called to do. It is the single most important thing we can do to look like and act like Jesus. Love is Christ and Christ is love. If that doesn't define it enough then no words in our English language are going to do it justice. Love fixes, love mends and love forgives. Love IS!
1 Corinthians 16:14, John 13:34-35, 1 John 4:8, Colossians 3:14, 1 Peter 4:8, Proverbs 10:12, Ephesians 4:2, 1 Corinthians 13:13....and our greatest example John 3:16.

Do you hear Him?

Prayer should not just be a time for us to make our requests to God. Yes He cares about the desires we have that advance His will in our lives, but do you ever take time to just be silent in your prayer time to let Him reveal Himself to you? If we are not careful we can make prayer like ordering at a drive thru. You don't make your request at the drive thru speaker and then just drive away. You have to pull up to the window and see how much the things you are requesting will cost you. God hears your prayers and wants to help you, but He may also need to show you how much the things you are requesting will 'cost you'. He is ALWAYS trying to grow us, not leave us where we are. (See Jeremiah 33:3)

We are FREE!

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!. (Galatians 5:22-23)
When these become your "personality in Christ" the law no longer matters because the heart no longer desires to go "against the law". That is when Galatians 5:1 really becomes true...For freedom Christ has set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law. 
Do we realize what we have been freed from? So many people think being a Christian is about obeying rules. It has always been a heart issue and it will always be a heart issue.

Fear Not!

The spirit of fear is something satan loves to oppress us with. When we live in a place of fear it can cause to act in two different ways. It can cause us to want to control the situation, or run from it. Neither of these places give God a chance to work. And that is where satan wants us to live. He wants us to be at a place in our minds and lives where we remove God and try to do it on our own. Fear is a false prophet that says "I know your future and you should be worried about it"....that is NOT true. God knows your future and when you trust Him with it, there is nothing to worry about. If you know of an area in your life that you are living in fear, and typically we all have one, lay it at the feet of Jesus, trust Him and do not let fear rule over you any more. Do not live in fear of the unknowns, instead live in confidence that God has your future and trust Him. He loves us to much to watch us live in fear, He is just waiting for you to ask Him for help.
2 Timothy 1:7, Proverbs 29:25, Psalm 34:4, 1 John 4:18

He's got it covered!

To many times we let our past mistakes keep us from being all God has called us to be. Why? Is it because we truly don't believe in forgiveness? Is it because we don't feel worthy? Is it a little bit of both? I think of Paul...if God could change and use Paul, who couldn't He use? When Paul said "To live is Christ, to die is gain" he knew from the moment his life was changed by Jesus that he had to spend the rest of his life living as Christ would live. He didn't question if he was worthy, he just knew the rest of his days should be spent living out whatever God called him to do. And in the midst of doing that, if he should have to give up his life, then that was a win too because he would just be rewarded with heaven. What an amazing attitude toward doing the work God has called you to do. No matter your past, once you are changed by the encounter you have with Jesus, you ARE usable by Him. Don't buy into the lies of the enemy that tells you that you can't! Philippians 1:21, Isaiah 6:8