Do You Have Trespassers In Your LIfe?

Do you have any TRESPASSERS in your life?  I'm referring to the schemes that the enemy plots against you in the form of FEAR, REJECTION, INSECURITY, RESENTMENT, BITTERNESS and UNFORGIVENESS.

If so, they have NO RIGHT to be there!

Let me explain it this way.  Each of us have have a CIRCLE of PROTECTION around us.  However, when we allow the enemy's attacks to take root in our life, that circle breaks and a gap is formed that can leave us open for ongoing attacks and unresolved issues.

For a moment - look at UNFORGIVENESS.  Years ago, I read Jim Bakker's book, "I Was Wrong."  His "tell all" book was every bit informational as well as inspiring.  One of the things he really zeroed in on was FORGIVENESS.  Jim was quoted as saying, "God has forgiven me for so much; but He has also let me know that I'll never get out of here until I forgive every person that ever hurt me."

Think about that!  

Whether it's something you did or something that was done to you... 

The only way out of the PRISON of RESENTMENT is through the DOOR of FORGIVENESS!

Look at what Jesus said, "If you have anything against someone, forgive - only then will your heavenly Father be inclined to wipe your slate clean" (Mark 11:25 TM).

When you're hurt by something that someone has done to you or someone you love...it can bring a lot of emotions to the surface.  Anger is one of those emotions.  Is it wrong to FEEL that way? NO.  

The Bible teaches us to "be angry and sin not." (Ephesians 4:25 KJV)  It's not wrong to BE angry...it's just wrong to be angry and then sin because of that anger.

If you feel like sinning because of how you feel then here's how you deal with it:

Before you can CHANGE your feelings,

OWN them and then CONFRONT them!

Believe me, this will be a PROCESS!  The last thing you'll need while you're processing through this is some of "Job's Comforters" to come along and tell you that you have "no faith" or that you're "acting immaturely."

Jesus said, "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted." (Matthew 5:4).  Not only is it healthy to express your emotions in the right way, it's self-destructive not to.  When you try to "stuff" them, they just drop from our conscious into your sub-conscious, and what you refuse to deal with then begins to deal with you.

If you don't deal with those emotions, eventually they will begin to BREAK OUT in other areas of your life in things like workaholism, over-eating, substance abuse and other forms of compulsive behavior.

I love this passage - (Psalms 84:5-7 TLB) "Happy are those who are strong in the Lord, who want above all else to follow your steps.  When they walk through the valley of weeping, it will become a place of...blessing and refreshment...they will grow constantly in strength."

I LOVE THIS!  You've got to WALK THROUGH THE PLACE OF WEEPING TO GET TO THE PLACE OF BLESSING!  There is no other way.

More to come...

Line Your Words Up With God's Words

I grew up in a great church!  The "old time" saints, I remember, were some of the most loving, caring, committed Christians I knew.  These folks were the REAL DEAL!  They were constantly loving, giving, helping and serving.

Their GIVING affected my LIVING.

However, along the way, I've encountered some who can focus like a laser beam on - what's WRONG rather than what's RIGHT.

I mean, a thousand good things can pass them by without comment, but when a problem arises, they come to life.  They are "experts" in such subjects as - why things are not the way they should be, why nothing ever changes, why nobody cares, and why things are not as good as they used to be.

People have a way of using their words to STING others.  I heard a story about a lady who once wrote to a newspaper editor and complained, "Your paper is not as good as it used to be!"  He wrote back and said, "It never has been."

Words are POWERFUL things; they either BUILD you up or TEAR you down.  They literally create a CEILING above which your faith cannot rise.  That's why it's so important to line YOUR WORDS with GOD'S WORDS.

To walk in VICTORY you must begin to say what God says, regardless of the situation in which you find yourself.  To say anything different is to put yourself in disagreement with Him.  When you do that, you "pull the plug" on your POTENTIAL, and short-circuit the very power that works on your behalf!

You are what God says you are!

If others disagree, SO WHAT!  When you've got God's opinion, what difference does anybody else's make?

Once you find God's opinion of you, you'll find a solid and enduring foundation of self-worth.  You'll find that in His WORD!  When you do, BUILD your life around it and FILL your conversation with it.  

Whether you're STRUGGLING or SOARING,
STAND on the Word of God!

I challenge you to read the following words and NOT get excited:

• Romans 8:31-39 (MSG) "So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us...by sending His own Son, is there anything else he wouldn't gladly and freely do for us?"
• Romans 8:33-34 (MSG) "And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God's chosen? Who would dare to even point a finger? The one who died for us - who was raised to life for us! - is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us."
• Romans 8:35-39 (MSG) "Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ's love for us?  There's no way!  Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not back-stabbing ... not even the worst sins listed in scripture ... none of this phases us because Jesus loves us."
• Romans 8:31-19 (TM) "I'm absolutely convinced that nothing - nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable, absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love."

If you really knew how God felt about you...you wouldn't be so critical of yourself or so conscious of the opinions of others!

God made up His mind about you BEFORE
you made up your mind about Him!

Stop running from place to place, looking for love and security.  Just open your heart; God's speaking to you today in the very circumstances you're trying to escape.  He's the one you need when life has wounded you and you've fallen from your nesting place like a bird.  Only His hand can catch your falling soul, cast it to the wind, and give you the strength to fly again.

Check this Scripture out...Isaiah 57:8 (NAS) "I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him."

The problem is, we've never been loved by anyone the way God loves us, so we've nothing to compare it to.  Some fo us have never been secure in the love of our natural parents, so we haven't learned how to relate to our Heavenly Father.  

Go back to His Word and see what He has to say about you.  The Bible is a living LOVE LETTER; it's a statement of intent from God who wants nothing but THE BEST for you!

Nothing you've done has changed His mind about you, and nothing ever will.  His love remains - it's unconditional.  David said, "Your faithful love, Oh, Lord, endures forever." (Psalms 138:8 NLT).  It has no CUTOFF point!

You are an OVERCOMER...because your BUILD your life on the Word of God and practice it's principles in all your affairs!

Today, line your words up with God's Words!

ivalue

What do people value the most?  Most people would say family, faith, friends, pets and even possessions.  Of course what matters the most to us varies considerably from person to person between age groups.

Several months ago, our daughter, Kaitlyn, called us and said she had just been in an accident.  One of the first questions we asked her was "are you ok?"  Fortunately, it was just a fender bender and she was fine.  Obviously, what valued the most to Beverly and I was not the car...because it's just a bucket of bolts and some metal.  What mattered the most was our daughters health and safety...she's more valuable than any bucket of bolts.

Our values give birth to our motivations.  

Our motivations are revealed by our actions.

What did Jesus value the most?

• Matthew 6:19-21 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moths and rust destroy, where thieves break in and steal.  But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

Whatever you value the most is what you will follow after or try to achieve.  If family means the most to you...you'll focus the most on your family.  If work means the most to you...you'll focus most on your work.  If entertainment means the most to you...you'll focus the most on entertainment. etc.

What we value most determines the decisions we make.

• What you treasure will determine where you heart will be.
• Where your heart is will determine the decisions you make in life.
• If we value the wrong things, we will often make wrong decisions. 

Have you ever made a dumb decision based on emotions?

• Perhaps you went in debt for something you should have saved up for.
• Perhaps you rushed into a relationship without knowing a person well enough.
• Perhaps you let other people's influence cause you to agree to the wrong thing.
• Perhaps you purchased something that was trendy rather than timeless.

How often do we let our treasure determine our decisions and choices in life?  Almost always.

As a Christian, my values line up with what Jesus values.  Of course, I had a set of values before I met Christ...but all that changed when I was given a new nature.

What does Jesus value?

• Matthew 25:35-36 "For I was an hungered and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me."

Obviously what Jesus said mattered the most to Him was...

• Feeding the hungry.
• Giving water to the thirsty.
• Providing shelter to strangers.
• Clothing the naked.
• Visiting the sick.
• Visiting those in prison.

Look at Luke 4:18-19 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord."

• Preaching the Gospel to the poor.
• Healing broken hearts.
• Preaching deliverance.
• Restoring eyesight to the blind.
• Liberating them that are bruised.
• Preaching about the Lord's return.

This is what JESUS VALUES.  This is what He did.  This is what the Church must do.  If we're not doing these things...then perhaps we do not value what Jesus values.