Give the Fight to God

    Have you ever had a time when you were going through something difficult? Just something bad happened. Like something that could change the course of your life. That's what happened to me one summer right before I went on vacation.

   This was my first vacation where I wasn't volunteering in years. I was going to South Carolina with my boyfriend to stay at his parents’ house. Honestly, I wasn't that nervous about that fact. But it could have also been due to the fact that I was preoccupied with this problem. We went there and I enjoyed my free time, but the problem was still in the back of my mind. I knew I'd have to face it when I went home.

   Sunday rolled around and we went to church. The pastor said he felt the spirit telling him that someone was there who needed to let something go in order to continue in their purpose for God. Now, I don't like going forward in front of people. Yes, I've preached before but that's different. This is going up and asking for help. I don't like bothering people or being perceived as weak. 

   I felt led to go forward but my brain was fighting my spirit. Eventually my spirit won, and I went up. I bowed at the alter and just poured out my spirit to God. A lady, who was one of their prayer partners, laid her hand on me and asked me what was going on. I filled her in on some of the problem. She prayed over me. She prayed that I would give the fight over to God. I hadn't even told her all the story and she prayed specifics about what was going on. After, I felt peace. The problem was still there but by letting someone in on it when God called me to, I had peace for the first time in a while. 

   So, when problems come up do you follow the leading of the spirit? Are you giving the fights in your life to God?

https://youtu.be/_6R-RqxkYMU

Power at Easter

    What do you think of when you hear the word power? Maybe you think of having something charge like a phone. You may think of someone or something strong like a lion. You may think of politics or money. But is that true power?

   God is the most powerful being ever. He showed his power through miracles. He showed his power through events like creation and plagues. But when it came to how God saved us at first it didn't seem that powerful.

   Looking at the Old Testament we see wonders like parting the red sea, the sun staying still, and walls falling. Jesus came as a baby. That doesn't seem to show that much power, does it? Sure, it was a virgin birth but that isn't that much of a show of power. It is more of a miracle. Amazing yes, but how many people knew that Mary was a virgin? 

   Then Jesus lived a normal life till he was 30. That's when he started performing miracles and teaching but again that didn't seem like much of a show of power. Then he died. 3 days later he rose again. That's powerful.

   But here's the thing, sometimes I think what we think of as powerful is something big, amazing, awe-inspiring, etc. What if power can be in little things? What if power is shown in little moments? Think about Jesus. He is the most powerful person ever alive. He showed his power through miracles both big and small. He touched people with small actions. He showed his love in small things too.

Power can be shown in sacrifice and surrender. We have true power when we give up things. Sounds counterintuitive, doesn't it? Jesus was able to do the greatest thing ever because he surrendered to the Father's will. He chose to sacrifice himself to show true power. 

   How do we get and show power then? You may or may not be able to perform miracles. You may not be able to use a lot of money to do great acts for others. But you can show power by giving yourself to God. You can show power by choosing to sacrifice for others each day, by showing love to others. Power can be shown in the small everyday acts we do.

   So, do you realize that power can be shown in little acts? How can you show power and love to others today?

https://youtu.be/cDYowE8B_q8

You Never Let Go

    One day I was at worship and a song was playing. It was a song I hadn't heard before, but the tune sounded familiar. For some reason the lyrics kept changing in my mind. I didn't know why my brain kept trying to find different lyrics for the song. I tried to focus on the actual song lyrics, but it wouldn't let me be. The problem was I couldn't find the actual words to the song in my brain. It was just a tune.

   I sat down and cleared my mind. It took a bit for the spirit to rest and clear my mind. When it did, I was able to find the words. The song lyrics were "through the calm and through the storm." I knew they were to a different song, but I couldn't figure out the rest of the lyrics for some reason. Finally, after sitting and listening to the spirit for a while I heard, "oh no you never let go."

   It was like a lightbulb went off. I had found the title to the song. The funny thing was I had just gone through an illness, and it took a lot out of me physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. And I was about to go into a work week where I knew I would face some new challenges. It felt like God was telling me that I needed to just stop and listen. You never know what you will hear when you do that. He was reminding me that I need to remember that he is always with me. Even when I'm at my lowest, he is still with me. He never lets go.

   So, have you been listening to the spirit? What do you feel when you do listen to the spirit? How can you grow in God today?

https://youtu.be/ca_oXqNoa0g

We Are Stewards

    In the movie trilogy The Lord of the Rings there is one character who seems to be not very good at his job and a little crazy. Denethor the 2 was the steward of Gondor. His job was to look after the kingdom of Gondor because there was no king. Now, if you've seen the movies, you know that Aragorn, a character in the fellowship, is the rightful king of Gondor. He just isn’t quite ready to take the throne.

   Denethor the 2 had two sons. He favored the one over the other. He ate food while the people in his charge were under siege. He sent his second son, whom he treaded like a slave in some ways, out to face an impossible task. He refused to call for aid for someone to come help his kingdom. When his son came back injured, he didn’t have a doctor help him. He just assumed he was dead. Then, as the orcs entered his kingdom, he attempted to burn himself and his son alive.

   Denethor the 2 was a very selfish man. He wasn’t using the resources he was given to help his people. Perhaps it was because he knew his reign as steward was coming to an end. Whatever the reason, he wasn’t doing his job.

   Now that I've told you all about Denethor's shortcomings you may be tempted to judge him. Before you do that, check yourself. You are a steward as well. Maybe not to a kingdom, but you are a steward, nonetheless. 1 Peter 4:10 says, "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms."

   God gives us gifts. In fact, he’s given us everything we own. Because he gave it to us, we don’t own it. We are borrowing it. God gave it to us to steward for the time we are here on earth. We can’t take it with us when we die. We only have it while we are here. Thus, we must treat what we have been given with respect. We must treat it as a gift.

   So, how are you doing with stewarding what God has given you? How can you view everything you own as Gods and remember that daily?

https://youtu.be/UxkivkftpCQ

Penetrating

   One day I was at church during worship. In the past, I had not opened myself up to the Spirit's leading. It could have been because I was worried about how others perceived me or because I was concerned about the things of this world. That day I left all the distractions behind. I opened to the worship.

   Now, I know we are all different and worship in different ways. That's good because that's how God created us, different. Some people dance, others cry out, others just meditate on the words, and much more. But there's one thing we should all have in common during worship. We should allow the word to penetrate us.

   I don't know how you worship or if you've felt the spirit during that time. I hope you have. When I let myself go during worship I feel the words. I feel his words in my heart and my mind. He speaks to us when we listen.

   The Bible doesn't say that the word is dead. It says it is alive and active. It penetrates us. It doesn't just bash into us like a shield. It has a point. And we need to open ourselves to that point. That can be scary.

If you are like me, you like word pictures. Basically, I picture myself on a battlefield blocking things. But here comes something that you need to stop blocking. Oh yes, some things you need to block, namely sin. But this is something God sends to you. And you need to choose to stop blocking. You need to let it hit your chest and go to your heart. But when it hits you, it doesn't hurt. It feels good. You feel peace.

   So, are you allowing God's word to penetrate you? If not, how can you allow it to penetrate you each day?

https://youtu.be/k9NWBwqTQI4