"Every good gift and every perfect (free, large, full)gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of all (that gives) light, in (the shining of) Whom there can be no variation (rising or setting) or shadow cast by His turning (as in an eclipse)".
~ James 1:17 (Amplified)
What is it that you can do without putting out much effort? Some people sew well. Some people speak well, some sing, some teach and so on. Whatever your effortless capability may be it's all because God put it in you. It is called your gift. God gifts us all according to how He sees fit. Everyone has something that they do exceptionally well. This thing will forever be a part of who we are as individuals. It cannot be confiscated nor can it be quenched. God not only can't take away but won't take away our gift, so it should be obvious that it is impossible for a mere mortal take away our gift. Gods gifts and calling are without repentance, Rom. 11:29. The gift(s) He gives us are irrevocable.
Sometimes the mistake of focusing on a gift that isn't ours can be reckless. It can cause a hindrance to the development of our true gift(s). If we make that mistake we risk suffocating the very thing that we are anointed to do on this earth. There will never be one person with every gift. We shouldn't aim to possess all gifts. All we have to do is maximize the actual gift(s) God has given us. If it's one gift, just the one gift may seem small in our eyes but when that one gift is coupled with the anointing of God He will do wonders with it. He will and can do more with the one gift than we can do with all the ones that we desire to have. There's a saying, "stay in your lane". We should focus and cultivate the gift(s) God has given each of us, regardless of the social status that it holds. When we do this the anointing that rests on our lives will catapult the effectiveness of our gift. With this understanding there is no need to seek out things that will waste time and/or effort.
I encourage you to embrace what God has given you. Some people are gifted in more than one area. Though that may be the case always maximize what God has given you, whether it be one or five gifts. Let's not want to be a one hit wonder, for there is no such person, with Jesus as the exception. If God can take a small seed, put it in the ground and bring up a harvest from that one seed, why wouldn't he be able to have your gift make room for you as His word says, Prov. 18:16? Here's a nugget, we all have a gift therefore there is room for each and every one of us on this earth. Miriam-Webster defines the word anoint as to officially or formally choose one to do or to be something. You're anointed for this! Whatever it is. Give it over to God and let Him bring the increase. Trust Him.
~ Royalbutterfli
Let's pray...
Father in Heaven, help us to be more like you in everything we do. Help us to surrender our gifts to you so that the anointing can flow freely through us. We will use the gift(s) you have endowed us with to Your glory. Give us the desire to maximize what you have put in our hands to work with as oppose to us finding things to put in our own hands to work with. You can do exceeding and abundantly above all we ask or think. Have your way in us. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
When God Speaks, It's Truth.
"He is the Holy Spirit who leads into all truth..."
~ John 14:17
Ok. So I never post twice in a week let alone in a day but, I guess there's a first time for everything.
I'm so glad that God speaks. He has many avenues in which He speaks. The most important part of Him speaking is not only are we listening to Him but are we hearing him? The bible states in Romans 10:17 that "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God". The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines hearing as to perceive and apprehend by the ear, to gain knowledge of, to gain information and to receive communication. I love that because when I merge the bible verse in Romans with the definition Webster gives I come to a conclusion that God is communicating with us through His word, both written and Holy Spirit breathed. He wants us to grasp what He is saying as knowledge so that we will take His word and respond to it. He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit of the Lord says to the called out ones.
What I love about the Holy Spirit is that He guides us into all truth. There's no need to look to the left nor to the right. When He speaks it's all we need but it's so wonderful how He gives us confirmations anyway. He doesn't give them because He's uncertain of what He said but because of the frailty of our faith. What He says will and always be the way and the life. Jesus talks about the Holy Spirit He would be sending after His resurrection. Well, in this portion of scripture in John 16:13-17 Jesus says to His disciples "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me". There we have it. What more do we need when the Spirit of the living God speaks to us? Let God be true and every man a liar Rom. 3:4.
We can never go wrong when we are led by the Holy Spirit. That's why it's so important that we stay close in relationship with God so that we can get direction, insight and understanding. We are no longer slaves but friends of God. John 15:15 says "...for I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known to you". This is so awesome because this is Jesus speaking and letting us know that we can rest assured in His word to us when we remain in Him and Him in us.
I encourage you today. If you are trying to hear from God become His friend. He is always speaking. If you have heard from God, what did you hear and what is your response to what you heard? Obedience is a conversation in itself but the ultimate goal after hearing from God is responding to what we hear. Deut. 29:29 "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do...". What a privilege it is to have the Almighty wise God speak to us.
~Royalbutterfli
Let's pray...
Father in Heaven help us to be lead by your ever gentle Holy Spirit. Give us ears that we may hear what you are saying to us. Then help us to obey and respond to the revelation that you have counted us worthy to be a part of. We are honored to have you speak to us and we humbly receive what You have to say. Be glorified forever in our lives. In Jesus name. Amen.
~ John 14:17
Ok. So I never post twice in a week let alone in a day but, I guess there's a first time for everything.
I'm so glad that God speaks. He has many avenues in which He speaks. The most important part of Him speaking is not only are we listening to Him but are we hearing him? The bible states in Romans 10:17 that "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God". The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines hearing as to perceive and apprehend by the ear, to gain knowledge of, to gain information and to receive communication. I love that because when I merge the bible verse in Romans with the definition Webster gives I come to a conclusion that God is communicating with us through His word, both written and Holy Spirit breathed. He wants us to grasp what He is saying as knowledge so that we will take His word and respond to it. He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit of the Lord says to the called out ones.
What I love about the Holy Spirit is that He guides us into all truth. There's no need to look to the left nor to the right. When He speaks it's all we need but it's so wonderful how He gives us confirmations anyway. He doesn't give them because He's uncertain of what He said but because of the frailty of our faith. What He says will and always be the way and the life. Jesus talks about the Holy Spirit He would be sending after His resurrection. Well, in this portion of scripture in John 16:13-17 Jesus says to His disciples "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me". There we have it. What more do we need when the Spirit of the living God speaks to us? Let God be true and every man a liar Rom. 3:4.
We can never go wrong when we are led by the Holy Spirit. That's why it's so important that we stay close in relationship with God so that we can get direction, insight and understanding. We are no longer slaves but friends of God. John 15:15 says "...for I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known to you". This is so awesome because this is Jesus speaking and letting us know that we can rest assured in His word to us when we remain in Him and Him in us.
I encourage you today. If you are trying to hear from God become His friend. He is always speaking. If you have heard from God, what did you hear and what is your response to what you heard? Obedience is a conversation in itself but the ultimate goal after hearing from God is responding to what we hear. Deut. 29:29 "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do...". What a privilege it is to have the Almighty wise God speak to us.
~Royalbutterfli
Let's pray...
Father in Heaven help us to be lead by your ever gentle Holy Spirit. Give us ears that we may hear what you are saying to us. Then help us to obey and respond to the revelation that you have counted us worthy to be a part of. We are honored to have you speak to us and we humbly receive what You have to say. Be glorified forever in our lives. In Jesus name. Amen.
This Joy That I Have...
"Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let Your saints shout for joy."
~ Psalms 132:9 (KJV)
Being upright has many benefits. Though the benefits of a holy lifestyle shouldn't be the primary focus, it is inevitable that the benefits will start rolling in once we get in line with Gods ways and commands. When we live Gods way on this earth we experience the fruits of His Spirit which in turn usually leads to all the earthly things we desire. This thought reminds me of Matthew 6:33 where the author says to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things will be added unto you". All these things can mean anything that we desire or need but I would like to focus on the fruits of the Spirit that we obtain when we live right.
In Gal 5:22 love is the primary fruit of the Spirit mentioned that Christians should seek to possess most. Joy comes second in this portion of scripture. I want to focus on the fruit of joy in particular. Joy helps us tremendously in our spiritual walk with God. Usually when life throws us a curve ball joy is always there to catch it. When we are filled with joy it will always be the underlying factor of our present state which will cause us to laugh when we feel like crying. It will have us encourage someone else when we are not feeling encouraged for ourselves. Joy gives us the fuel we need to go forward in this journey we call life, throughout every season. Joy helps us to soar as eagles. We soar right over certain circumstances that would otherwise have us defeated. The bible tells us in one of the golden Psalms by David that "Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure". With the knowledge of that verse we should take heart. Let us anchor ourselves in joy for it will keep us safe and secure and smiling.
Now, joy is indeed a fruit that is altogether wonderful but in order for us to have this joy, and it work in us to the fullest, our lives must be right before God. Psalms 32:11 tells us to "Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart". Our hearts will be glad and we can shout without inhibitions when our lives are not only right but upright before God. He is the source of our joy and He is the center of our joy. So, it only makes sense that in order to have this joy in full we need to please Him by making Him smile. Here's a nugget, when He smiles, we smile.
Be encouraged and know that the joy that you have will strengthen you in the hard times and add beauty in the good times.
~ Royalbutterfli
Let's pray...
Heavenly Father you have given us many things but today thank you for the joy that you give us in turn for our lives. Thank you that you give us beauty for ashes, strength for fear, gladness for mourning and peace for despair. Please allow your joy to penetrate all the areas of our lives that need it. Where we're sad give us joy, where we're unsure give us joy, and Lord even when we are in a good place give us more joy. Thank you that you love us and will continue to provide for us according to your riches in glory. In Jesus name. Amen.
~ Psalms 132:9 (KJV)
Being upright has many benefits. Though the benefits of a holy lifestyle shouldn't be the primary focus, it is inevitable that the benefits will start rolling in once we get in line with Gods ways and commands. When we live Gods way on this earth we experience the fruits of His Spirit which in turn usually leads to all the earthly things we desire. This thought reminds me of Matthew 6:33 where the author says to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things will be added unto you". All these things can mean anything that we desire or need but I would like to focus on the fruits of the Spirit that we obtain when we live right.
In Gal 5:22 love is the primary fruit of the Spirit mentioned that Christians should seek to possess most. Joy comes second in this portion of scripture. I want to focus on the fruit of joy in particular. Joy helps us tremendously in our spiritual walk with God. Usually when life throws us a curve ball joy is always there to catch it. When we are filled with joy it will always be the underlying factor of our present state which will cause us to laugh when we feel like crying. It will have us encourage someone else when we are not feeling encouraged for ourselves. Joy gives us the fuel we need to go forward in this journey we call life, throughout every season. Joy helps us to soar as eagles. We soar right over certain circumstances that would otherwise have us defeated. The bible tells us in one of the golden Psalms by David that "Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure". With the knowledge of that verse we should take heart. Let us anchor ourselves in joy for it will keep us safe and secure and smiling.
Now, joy is indeed a fruit that is altogether wonderful but in order for us to have this joy, and it work in us to the fullest, our lives must be right before God. Psalms 32:11 tells us to "Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart". Our hearts will be glad and we can shout without inhibitions when our lives are not only right but upright before God. He is the source of our joy and He is the center of our joy. So, it only makes sense that in order to have this joy in full we need to please Him by making Him smile. Here's a nugget, when He smiles, we smile.
Be encouraged and know that the joy that you have will strengthen you in the hard times and add beauty in the good times.
~ Royalbutterfli
Let's pray...
Heavenly Father you have given us many things but today thank you for the joy that you give us in turn for our lives. Thank you that you give us beauty for ashes, strength for fear, gladness for mourning and peace for despair. Please allow your joy to penetrate all the areas of our lives that need it. Where we're sad give us joy, where we're unsure give us joy, and Lord even when we are in a good place give us more joy. Thank you that you love us and will continue to provide for us according to your riches in glory. In Jesus name. Amen.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
A Sincere Heart Leads To Holiness
Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord? Who may enter your presence on your holy hill?
Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking the truth from sincere hearts. Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors or speak evil of their friends. Those who despise flagrant sinners, and honor the faithful followers of the Lord, and keep their promises even when it hurts. Those who lend money without charging interest, and who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent. Such people will stand firm forever.<
br />
~ Psalms 15 (NLT)
Living for God can be challenging. When making the decision to follow Christ one has to be against a lot of what the secular world is for. Ones lifestyle, morals, and thought processes must begin to change. This can happen willingly, unwillingly, purposely and/or supernaturally. When this change occurs it is called becoming holy.
The bible passage above clearly lets us know what holiness entails but the definition in the KVJ dictionary online is helpful to know also. It says to be holy is when ones heart is conformed in some degree to the image of God, and his life is regulated by the divine precepts (the bible). It is to be properly, whole, entire or perfect, in a moral sense. Hence, pure in heart, temper or dispositions; free from sin and sinful affections; consecrated or set apart to a sacred use, or to the service or worship of God. I know it seems a bit overwhelming and like being holy is far fetched. Don't down play your capability so quickly. Simply put, Holiness comes when we follow His ways. I talk about that later in this post but first the bible says that we can do all things through Christ that gives us the strength (Phil. 4:13). We know that from scripture and if we live with the Lord we will find that out through experiences with Him. His word is true. Most importantly living holy comes from a love relationship with the Lord.
Living for God is so much easier and enjoyable when we fall in love with Him. He always makes it worth our while. It's just like in a man/woman, parent/child, etc. relationship. When you love someone you are more likely to have that persons best interest in mind. With God it is the same but way more intense. Not only will He love us back, He will show us the ropes on how to walk upright before Him. What does that mean? Well, mistakes will happen but as we dust ourselves off, have Him cleanse us with His blood and we continue with Him we will be able to stand firm upon His love. He will direct us into true holiness through the channel of our individual sincere love for Him. With this, less occurrences of sin will be manifested.
God expresses to us in Prov. 23:26 "O my son, give me your heart. May your eyes take delight in following my ways." Isn't that awesome how personal God is with His children? Also He lets us know that when we take delight in Him our heart truly belongs to Him. One beautiful thing about this is that it's cyclical. When our hearts belong to Him, in turn, His ways we will follow. Another beautiful thing is that we don't have to worry about not being loved back by God because the initiative and reciprocity of His love through Christ (Jn. 3:16) assures us of that. He loves us so much that He poured out His love on our hearts through His Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5).
Living holy is possible. It's not so far out there and unattainable? God is a God that will always create a way of escape for us when compromise presents itself. Will it be easy? At times, yes, because of the power that works in us as we abide in Him and He in us. Will it be difficult? At times, yes, but that is when we must lean on Him and let His love purify the way we think, what we do and what we say.
Fall in love with God. He is sure to take you by the hand and make you look more like Him every day. Holy.
~Royalbutterfli
Let's Pray...
Father in Jesus name, let your love flood our hearts that holiness will flow out of us. Let our lives be a testament to you. We want you to be glorified in our lives. Uphold us with your willing spirit that we will obey quickly and freely. Thank you for progress and that you are completing the work that you have started in each of us. In Jesus name. Amen.
Living for God can be challenging. When making the decision to follow Christ one has to be against a lot of what the secular world is for. Ones lifestyle, morals, and thought processes must begin to change. This can happen willingly, unwillingly, purposely and/or supernaturally. When this change occurs it is called becoming holy.
The bible passage above clearly lets us know what holiness entails but the definition in the KVJ dictionary online is helpful to know also. It says to be holy is when ones heart is conformed in some degree to the image of God, and his life is regulated by the divine precepts (the bible). It is to be properly, whole, entire or perfect, in a moral sense. Hence, pure in heart, temper or dispositions; free from sin and sinful affections; consecrated or set apart to a sacred use, or to the service or worship of God. I know it seems a bit overwhelming and like being holy is far fetched. Don't down play your capability so quickly. Simply put, Holiness comes when we follow His ways. I talk about that later in this post but first the bible says that we can do all things through Christ that gives us the strength (Phil. 4:13). We know that from scripture and if we live with the Lord we will find that out through experiences with Him. His word is true. Most importantly living holy comes from a love relationship with the Lord.
Living for God is so much easier and enjoyable when we fall in love with Him. He always makes it worth our while. It's just like in a man/woman, parent/child, etc. relationship. When you love someone you are more likely to have that persons best interest in mind. With God it is the same but way more intense. Not only will He love us back, He will show us the ropes on how to walk upright before Him. What does that mean? Well, mistakes will happen but as we dust ourselves off, have Him cleanse us with His blood and we continue with Him we will be able to stand firm upon His love. He will direct us into true holiness through the channel of our individual sincere love for Him. With this, less occurrences of sin will be manifested.
God expresses to us in Prov. 23:26 "O my son, give me your heart. May your eyes take delight in following my ways." Isn't that awesome how personal God is with His children? Also He lets us know that when we take delight in Him our heart truly belongs to Him. One beautiful thing about this is that it's cyclical. When our hearts belong to Him, in turn, His ways we will follow. Another beautiful thing is that we don't have to worry about not being loved back by God because the initiative and reciprocity of His love through Christ (Jn. 3:16) assures us of that. He loves us so much that He poured out His love on our hearts through His Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5).
Living holy is possible. It's not so far out there and unattainable? God is a God that will always create a way of escape for us when compromise presents itself. Will it be easy? At times, yes, because of the power that works in us as we abide in Him and He in us. Will it be difficult? At times, yes, but that is when we must lean on Him and let His love purify the way we think, what we do and what we say.
Fall in love with God. He is sure to take you by the hand and make you look more like Him every day. Holy.
~Royalbutterfli
Let's Pray...
Father in Jesus name, let your love flood our hearts that holiness will flow out of us. Let our lives be a testament to you. We want you to be glorified in our lives. Uphold us with your willing spirit that we will obey quickly and freely. Thank you for progress and that you are completing the work that you have started in each of us. In Jesus name. Amen.
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