Tag: jesus

TRTO Encouragement Campaign: Day 14

Dear God’s Beloved One,
 
There was a pastor and his wife that liked to have dinner parties. Their congregation was small but they extended invitations to one family at a time to lend their undivided attention to each person. The pastor’s wife would spend almost an entire day preparing to receive guests. She was careful not to overlook any details. She used her best china, silver serving utensils and crystal glasses. When guests would arrive they would find a dinner table befitting royalty with its elegant table settings and delightful foods. God has spared nothing in the preparation of His love letter to you and I. It is a lot like the dinner table filled with delicious foods. Everyday that you wake up is an invitation from God to feast at His table. He has gone to great lengths to prepare meals for His beloved children to dine upon. So what are you waiting for? Accept His invitation and feast upon the word of God.
 
Lovingly, 
 
 Sha
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The Art of a God Given Vision

Dear God’s Beloved One,

“Where there is no vision [no redemptive revelation of God], the people perish; but he who keeps the law [of God, which includes that of man] -blessed (happy, fortunate, and enviable) is he.

Proverbs 29:18 AMP

Where are you in life? Are you where you want to be? Which vision are you following? Are you following God’s vision for your life?

These are the questions that I have asked myself time and time again in previous self evaluations .I found that either I didn’t have a vision and I was doing my own thing; I was following the vision I had for my own life and end up working harder not smarter; or I was following someone else’s vision and I was just not happy. In attempting to follow God’s vision for my life, I found that I had a peace and increasing desire to achieve what God had laid out for me. In His vision it challenges some of the things that I thought I knew about myself.

When God gives a vision to his people, it could cause us to become overwhelmed with excitement or we dismiss it and turn it down .However, it is given so that we won’t perish. Often He is challenging your way of doing things, the way you think about Him, the way you respond to Him, and the way you think about yourself. He gives the vision to you because He knows you can handle it .He knows you can accomplish it. However in order to accomplish it you have to be willing to do things out of the ordinary. You have to be willing to receive, do, and believe what He says it will take to achieve it.

Below are a few questions that I would love for you to read and answer honestly. After reading meditate on the scripture and ask God what His vision is for your life.

Love,

L

Personal Questionnaire

If you would like to use this for others, a printable version is located under the Life Foundations page as “The Art of a God Given Vision”

  • Do I know what God’s vision is for my life?
  • Have I written it down on paper and in my heart?(Habakkuk2:2)
  • Do I believe I can accomplish the vision with God’s help?(Philippians 4:13)
  • Have I counted the cost of the vision?( Luke 14 :25-30)
  • Do I know what it would take for me to achieve the vision?
  • Am I willing to do what it takes to achieve the vision?
  • Am I willing to change the way I think?
  • Am I willing to abide by different standards?
  • What actions am I taking to accomplish the vision?(James 2:20)
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Five Ways To Know Your Relationship with Jesus is in the “Uh-Oh” Zone

The 5

Dear Beloved One,

I want to share five  signs that will alert you to tighten up on  your  Jesus . Take  note that these things are  not   the  “Hey I  slipped one day” type  things. These are  things  that you have notice have  become  more   and  more prevalent in your daily walk. It is my prayer that you  would have a most  enjoyable , insightful , freeing  relationship with  Him. I  hope this helps you  become  closer  with Jesus.

Love,

L

1. You stop reading the Bible. 

The Holy Bible  is the way that  God the Father  communicates with you. If not  read, you are  missing out on  crucial  dialogue from the  Father .Yes the  Lord  also speaks in  other  ways   but, you  have to realize that  the  enemy also  speaks  to you . 2nd Corinthians 11:14  says” But I am not surprised!Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”  In order to recognize the  difference, you have to be familiar  with the  Lord’s voice. It’s like  when  someone   calls you from an unknown  or blocked number and tries to  disguise their  voice  to sound like  your  friend , dad , mother  etc.  You know that it’s not them  because  there are certain characteristic about their voice that   you   recognize.  There is a certain  pitch , a certain  action , a  certain  sigh, that  you  have  grown to notice  about the other person. . The way  you learned those characteristics is  through constant communication. How To Reconnect: Well  I’ve been here before .   There is no doubt that our lives are  busy .  “Who has the  time?”  many  say .As a starting point,   take  10 minutes  and  say a prayer and  read a verse. Take that  verse with you all day( meditate).

2. Your speech begins to change

What’s  been coming  out of  your mouth lately? Have  you  noticed an increase in  curse words? Has your  speech   turned to  negative  speech? We know  that  one of  the most  dangerous  things on  our  body is  the  tongue.James  3:6  says ” The  tongue also is a fire,a world of  evil among  the  parts of  the body . It  corrupts the  whole person, sets  the  whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself  set on fire by  hell”(NLT).  With  this description of  the  tongue, we  have  to be  careful of  how  and  what  we  use it  for. The tongue  helps to   shape your life.How  to keep my tongue in line : Yep been here also ( I  wouldn’t write this stuff if I  haven’t lived it! )! This  may  take a little more  work .  When I  was little my teachers  would always  say ” Think  before  you speak!” . This  is  true  for this  delimma . When you pause  for a  few  seconds  before  you speak,  it allows your  mind to  process  the  words  that  you are  going to  formulate  to  come  out  of  your  mouth .  Its  like saying ” Get ready. You’re getting  ready to create  something !”.  What  you  create  with  those  words has  your  name on it . If  you curse , then believe that it  has a sticker  that  says ” MADE IN JOE’S MIND”  on it .

3.You began to compromise your new life in face of the old life

Is it easy  for you  to slip back into the  old  you?  Often  times people fall  back into their  old  life and  compromise the  new  life that they were delivered from  because of the lack of  relationships with  people of their  new life(  hope that makes sense).  You  have to make a  decision  was  the old life  worth keeping. Many times we look back and  remember  how  much  fun  we had  in  our  old  days  of  sin . We  remember the people  who just swept  us off our feet  and  how  great it  was. But  let me  caution  you , too much  memory lane  will  have  you sitting on  the  side of the  road  with  four  flat tires ( Lord knows I lived it !). You  walked away  from that life  for a  reason. More than likely it was  because it was not  for you. How to stand strong:You guessed it! I’ve been here also .  The  great thing about  God ( Father, Son , Holy Spirit )  is that  He  loves you through all of  your  mistakes .So  if  you have back-slid then  get up  and  get back on track  and  forward slide!( this is  so  corny  but  what  can I  say ). Try  to  find a  circle of influence who has  your  best  Spirit  interest at  heart.  You  don’t have to  forsake people in your past, but  until  you know  that you know that you know  that  you are strong  enough  with the help of Jesus Christ  to  be in the same  room  with the person , stay  away. Pray for them and  yourself in the meantime. The Prayer for them should be ” Lord  help my  friend  see the   benefits and  great  joy of having a relationship  with  you . The prayer  for  yourself  should be  Lord help me to  be  strong in the midst of  temptation. For  you  say  that  you  will  provide a way of  escape in   those times . When you give  that  escape, give me the strength and  power to  take it ”

4. You stop praying

When was the last time  you  prayed ?   1 Thessalonians 5:17 instructs believers to  never stop praying. Prayer is very  important in  your  relationship with Jesus . It’s  your  way  of communicating  your  problems, thoughts, and  desires to  God. It also  keeps you covered .  One misconception about prayer is that you have to make it long and drawn out . Not  so . A prayer can be as simple as saying ” Thank you Father  for waking me up  this morning , In Jesus Name  Amen.”.  As long as  you  said it with a sincere heart you  are good. How to Keep Jesus on the Main Line:I’ve been here.  Prayer is a  respectful dialogue  with  God  , YOUR FATHER.  you  should  be able to  go to Him with everything . To get  back on track , start  with the Lord’s prayer  which can be found in  Matthew 6:9-14. Once  you  have  finished saying the Lord’s Prayer  continue talking to God  about  what on  your mind . End  your Prayer  with  “In Jesus name”( some  say this is like a stamp to get it to heaven ) .  He’s waiting to talk to you

5. Your Faith is close to non-existent

Have you had a problem with  taking God at his  Word? Have  you  forfiet a blessing because  you  did not  understand  how  God’s method  was going to work? The Bible describes faith as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” . In order to have faith you have to have trust and know that God will supply all needs.  The two go together like tennis shoes and laces!   In order to build your trust and faith in God,   we have to let go of our  issues and hang ups and let Him handle them. Allow God to show you that He can be trusted.  This means we have to be able to  take  God at  His word. When we worry we don’t allow our faith to be activated. It says to God “Thanks but no thanks. I am going to keep this issue” How to build up faith muscles:   I have been here and still in training. The bible says that faith comes by hearing that is, hearing the Good News about Jesus Christ.  As a start listen to biblical based teachings on faith .  In your  mind  recall  situations that you know  God has worked in  your  favor . Remembering these moments will  remind  you of God’s faithfulness to  you.

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Be Extraordinary

 Dear Beloved One,

   I  was  sitting and  thinking about life and how people ( like myself) get stuck in a routine and  life itself  becomes  ordinary .  We live that routine to the fullest and dare someone or something to change that routine .But Jesus did not live that way. He lived an extraordinary life and all in an extraordinary 33 1/2 years. In  the second part of  John 10:10 Jesus says “ I  have  come that  they  may  have  life  and they may  have it more abundantly “( NKJV).Sound great  right? Well why aren’t more of us (including me) living it?   I thought about this question because when you say it, it seemed so simple. It seemed like “hey you take a couple of trips buy a couple of toys and called it a day” type of thing.  But  when you actually take time to  process the  question  and  analyze it, you  realize that there is a  life that  comes  between those  trips and buys.   And that life  may not be  so  extraordinary .I  finally  came  to the conclusion that I  had to check   what I  call  extraordinary  and  if  it  lined up with  the  Bible .

 I have to admit that what was extraordinary to me may have been a little out of line with the bible. It  included the trips and the expensive buys along with   the  upscale  job ( with  the power  title to match ),  the pay( can  anyone  say  six figures!), and  the  “you better  not sit on my couch  or  waste  anything on my floor” house.  Can you see anything missing? Well what I called living didn’t include anything spiritual and it was most certainly selfish. Now  before I  move on , I know  you are saying  what’s  wrong  with the  trips and if I can “ afford it” buys .  Nothing actually. I believe they have their place, but as a believer our extraordinary life includes Jesus Christ and service.   Jesus traveled and while traveling   rendered service. He  wasn’t  too proud or too  snooty  to get  with the people  that  weren’t  like Him . He made an impact on people live that changed them forever for the better.

Extraordinary calls for extra work and more time than we are willing or can’t give up. It’s giving more of yourself than you are comfortable with for the betterment of others.  That type of stuff takes time.  I  understand that  but  Jesus  took the  time  to make sure we  would be  impacted  by His life  for  the  better , all by  giving His . As followers I believe we can do the same.  Impact someone else’s life for the better

 

Love,

L

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