Finish What You Start

Don't allow laziness to keep you in the wilderness for forty years to make an 11-day trip like the children of Israel. Many Christians do exactly what Terah did in Genesis 11:31 - AMPC -
And Terah took Abram his son, Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife, and they went forth together to go from Ur of the Chaldees into the land of
Canaan; but when they came to Haran, they settled there.  

They people start out for one place (a goal, a relationship) and settle somewhere else along the way.

They get tired or weary, feet start hurting or take too many water breaks. They would like to finish their course, but they really don’t want all the responsibility that comes along with it.

Don't settle for things beneath your potential.

I encourage you to be the KINGDOM WOMAN AND THE KINGDOM MAN who is not afraid of responsibility. In meeting resistance you will build your strength. If you only do what is easy, you will always remain weak.

We Were Created For More

It’s at the end of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus is preaching and gives the best teaching ever. Then he gives us the agenda for every one of our lives. Matthew 6:33 says, "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness."

 

If we want a great life you have to keep Matthew 6:33 at the forefront of our minds. The truth is, we are naturally selfish. Therefore, we have to be controlled by it (seeking the kingdom) – BE THIRSTY and HUNGER AFTER IT.

For those of us in Christ, he is saying, “We have to care more about His Kingdom than ours."

Whoever invented the ice cream sundae, what did they start out with? They didn’t start with whipped cream and said, "what we can put under the whipped cream?" Of course they didn’t start with the cherries and said, "what can we put under it?" They started out with the ice cream and added to it.

Marriage isn’t the ice cream of life – as wonderful as it is in design and in living – it's the whipped cream. God is not worried about you falling out of love. God is worried about you falling out of repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 says, The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 

When we connect our faith with our worship. Marriage and any other relationship looks different.

Here is what God is saying, "Your spouse is just not your wife, she’s my daughter. I expect you to treat her accordingly. Your spouse is not just your husband, he’s my son. I expect you to treat him accordingly." 1 John 3:1 says, "See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God."

God looks at your wife and you’re your husband the same way that you look at your kids. Every parents feels like you can mess with them just don’t mess with my kids.

When you get married, our Heavenly Father, becomes our Heavenly Father-in-law. Don’t look at your marriage by how you feel about it. But how does my Heavenly Father-in-law feel about your marriage. 

If God were to look at you today, how would He feel about way you treat his son or his daughter? Do we bring him tremendous joy or great grief?

Be strong. Be focused. Remember this, " I may not know what's up ahead. But, I know Jesus is with me before and when I get there."

Making Wise Decisions

Life is about choices. There’s a saying, “You can choose your actions, but not your consequences.” 

The story, found in the 14th chapter of Judges, portrays one of the most popular characters in the Old Testament. Samson, is listed in the 11th chapter in the Hall of Faith, with the heroes and sheroes of the faith. When you read his story, you will discover that Samson was a man of faith, but wasn't always a faithful man. Someone asked the question, "Why is it hard for people to forgive?"
That answer can be found in this story, because it deals with the freewill of humanity and the sovereignty of God. Everyone chooses to do whatever they desire — obey God's will or not obey God's will.

Samson is only drawn and attracted to her based on what he sees with his eyes. You should never make decisions solely on what you see. In Genesis chapter 3, Eve decided to eat the fruit of the forbidden tree when she saw that it was good. All of us have an eye gate. Your eye gate should be the filter that protects your eyes from telling your mind the wrong things. When you don’t bring your eyes into subjection to your faith, your sight will partner with your mind and have you forgetting things you already know.

As the story unravels, you will discover that Samson compromises his commitment to God. In Judges 13, he was born under the Nazirite vow. There were three things every Nazirite vowed not to do:

1. Drink strong wine. 

2. Eat or touch anything unclean (or dead things).

3. Cut your hair.

Lust was his weakness and he did not know how to guard it. Unguarded weaknesses can cause you to make decisions and go for things that you know aren’t healthy for you. God will always have somebody or something to be a warning before you cross that line. See Donald Duck's Better Self. 

My mentor, Dr. David L. Lane, said, "Make sure you have a mentor for the various areas in your life." That’s why we need people in your circle who are holier than us, who have more faith, more wisdom, and discernment and maturity than we possess.

What do you do when God is in it and it doesn’t work out? Keep in mind, some times things don’t work out when God is in it, because human freewill gets is involved. Things don’t work out because God’s plan still includes us. We always have the right to refuse the plan of God and/or our decisions don’t always line up with His plan.

But, here's the good news, the story is not over! God is not done with us yet and our story does not end with the fallout of our choices.

God is not done with you yet! I hear Job in Job 23:10 "When God is done with me I shall come forth as pure gold."

The Cycle Of Nothingness

Sometimes God leaves us in a vicious cycle of nothingness. However, the cycle of nothingness is necessary. You can't run on until you run out!!

Sometimes you aren't ready to go on until you run out.

God says, "I have to let your options and resources run out. If you were going to turn to me. You would have turned to me in the beginning."  Walk with Jeroboam through 2 Kings 1-3.

You have to stay connected to someone or people who are connected to the Lord (Jehoshaphat was such a person) In 2 Kings 3:14-15 (The Message) Elisha said, “As God-of-the-Angel-Armies lives, and before whom I stand ready to serve, if it weren’t for the respect I have for Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I wouldn’t give you the time of day. But considering—bring me a minstrel.” (When a minstrel played, the power of God came on Elisha.

Be careful not to get so submerged in your negativity that you can't think straight.

Making The Choice To Start

The dream has been given to you. Now you must make touch decisions to fulfill the dream. A goal without a plan is a dream.

God's ideas are futile, if man doesn't act upon them with faith. Jesus says, 
“If (conditional) you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you" (John 14:15). 
God has promises, but He wants us to go through the process. 

Oftentimes, we want the promises of God and want to skip the process.

On August 3, 1857, Frederick Douglass delivered a "West India Emancipation" speech with these words, "If there is no struggle, there is no progress."

You have to change your language from I can't to I will.

I will succeed. I will live. I will change. I will talk. I will walk. I will run. I will win, because the battle has already been fought and the victory is already mine.

You have to change your language from I can't to I will.

I will start that business. I will graduate. I will be able to do whatever I set my mind to, 
because God enables me to keep moving once I make the tough decision to start.

Pray to God for it. Praise God through it. Thank God for helping you do it.

Dream but don't stop there. God wants to bring out, what He placed in you - EXCELLENCE.

START NOW.

Storm Warning

Sirens blared in Texas and Oklahoma on Saturday night as a system of storms barreled through the region. Many people found a place area in their homes (the hallway, the room without windows, a place where we felt secure) as we watched the newscast, listened to the weather report and overheard the tornado siren in our cities. Questioned circled as many of you prayed. "How long will it last?" "Will it hit my home?" "God where are you?"

Many prayed, "Lord, keep my family safe and protect my neighbors and those in the storm's path."

When you sense danger, prayer is the only weapon powerful enough to get God's attention.

Jesus is the answer to storms in our life. Keep in mind, He creates the storm. He listens to us through the storm. He meets us by stepping into the storm. He shepherds us through the storm.

In Romans 8:34 the bible declares that Jesus is "and now he is on God’s right side, appealing to God for us." 

Invite Jesus to meet us in the midst of the storm.

Prayers go out to those killed, wounded and displaced in North Texas.

The Pursuit of Learning Something New

It has been said, "If you catch a fish for a man he will eat for a day, but if you teach him how to fish he will eat for a lifetime."

Galileo said, "You cannot teach a man anything. You can only help him discover it himself."

Good writing cannot be taught, it can only be learned. There are two things vital to the teacher-student relationship. The teacher has to know their subject/topic and the student has to be willing to learn. If one of these elements is missing, all efforts are in vain.

Everyone has innate propensities and are not mere blank slates. No one can fill up another individual with whatever knowledge he/she feels that are lacking. The right circumstances, a butterfly will soon emerge and fly off on its "own."

Proverbs 4:5-6 says, "Get wisdom; develop good judgment. Don’t forget my words or turn away from them^. Don’t turn your back on wisdom, for she will protect you. Love her, and she will guard you."