Tag Archives: inspiration

Mighty Man of Valor

Posted on November 4, 2011 by | 2 Comments

Judges 6:12 “And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, “The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!”

How many times have you received a prophetic word from the Lord, are filled with excitement and hope, and yet the years go by and nothing happens?  I know how it is, I have been there, and many of you as well.

It’s said that all we need is a word from God to get going, but is that true? We hesitate, we wait, the word grows stale and moldy.  Maybe your mind begins getting filled with excuses such as: I’m too old, I don’t have enough money, I have no ministerial credentials. Maybe your gender is an excuse, or you feel insecure. Whatever the excuse , those are lies from the enemy.

If the Lord has given you a word, that means He trust you and feels confident that you can carry out His work.  But are you willing, do you make yourself available?  Do you have that desire, passion and drive to fulfill your calling?

When the Lord called Gideon a mighty man of valor, he did not see himself that way. He felt insecure,  he was in fact  hiding from Midianites when the Angel showed up.

So what happened? 

  • Gideon knew he had favor - we have favor with God
  • Gideon offered a sacrifice  – God offered Jesus as our sacrifice
  • Gideon obeyed his first assignment - through the Spirit we can obey

After Gideon tore down the altar of Baal, it was then the Spirit of the Lord fell upon him, not before!

Often times we have it backwards.  We wait for the Spirit to move upon our lives first for us to move and act, when in fact God is waiting for our obedience so that He can pour more of His Spirit on our lives and empower us to do more.

My encouragement to you this day, rise up you mighty man or woman of valor.  God has a purpose for your life, and he is waiting for you to fulfill your calling.

May you be richly blessed this day.

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Posted in Christianity, Devotionals, inspiration, Jesus, Religion

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Pulling Weeds

Posted on August 29, 2011 by | 3 Comments

John 14:17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

When I would volunteer to pull weeds in the garden, my husband would get that worried look on his face,  would then ask me if there was something else I would rather do.  That was Fernando’s  gentle way of telling me not to pull weeds, because I would always pull the new plants coming in.  I did not know the difference between a new plant and a weed.

Today that is a different story.  I have since learned to distinguish between a weed and new plant, most of the time.  And if I am unsure, I then ask.

I have found that it’s pretty much the same in the spiritual realm.   When one is learning to walk in his or her new found faith, there will be times where you will discard a plant, thinking it’s a weed.  It does take time and practice to tell the difference between the two.

I had to continue working in the garden pulling weeds so that I could familiarize myself with the new plants coming in, and pull the weeds around it so that the new plant can grow properly and receive plenty of sun.

It’s the same in the spiritual realm.  When you are learning to walk in your new found faith, there will be things that you will not know if they are true or false, and it may take some time and practice until you are able to tell the difference between the two.

Praise God we have Pastors and church family to help guide us, but most of all we have something greater than those two, the Holy Spirit.

The word says that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, and once we accept Christ into our lives the Holy Spirit then resides within us.   While we may not know all the answers, the Holy Spirit will give us what is called that gut feel, our yes and no answer.

The Lord has equipped us with everything we need:  The Holy Spirit, the word and our church family to encourage us and guide us along the way.   In no time, we will be able to distinguish what is real and what is false.

May you be richly blessed this day

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Posted in Christianity, Devotionals, gifts of the spirit, inspiration, Jesus, Religion

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Know the Fruit

Posted on August 23, 2011 by | 3 Comments

Luke 6:43 “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.

While on our summer trip to California, my sister mentioned that she wanted me to cook a plantain. Plantains are from the banana family, sweet and a common staple here in Costa Rica.

I found the plantain in the grocery store and  fried it the same way as I do in  butter.  Once it was cooked, we could not wait to eat it. We took one bite and  quickly realized that  it did not taste the same and both of us were disappointed.

A Pastor was invited over to dinner from one of his faithful church members of several years. The husband asked the pastor to bless the meal, and their three year old was sitting in his high chair.  After the blessing of the meal,  the child asked what he just did. It was obvious that the family never prayed before a meal, but yet wanted to appear the part of strong Christians on the outside.

We will come across people who profess the know Christ, profess to know his word, and say all the right “buzz words” in the Christian lingo, but it all boils down to their fruit.

The word says that you will know them by their fruit, and even though the outside appearance will be the same, you will notice how they really are once you taste what they are serving.

How do you know if they are bearing the right fruit? The word tell us how.

Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

What do we do when we see poor quality of fruit in a believer?  In my personal opinion, I would like to challenge and encourage the person to step out in faith and surrender those areas of weaknesses to the Lord.  In our weakness He is made strong.

We can encourage them and point out the good qualities of their Christian life instead of condemning them.  An encouraging word goes a long way and does more good.  A condemning word can only cause more damage to the person. It’s best to leave that area to the Lord.

Let’s flow out of grace, love and mercy, and show them our fruit in encouraging others.

May you be richly blessed this day.

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Blessing of the Lord

Posted on August 13, 2011 by | 9 Comments

Proverbs 10:22 The blessing of the LORD makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it.

In reading my daily Proverb, I came across this verse as I have done so many times before.

As I read this over several times, I began seeing this verse differently.  I had always  associated this Proverb with financial blessings.  I then began  asking myself,  in what way has the Lord made me rich?

I came up with so many answers, some of which I would like to share with you here.

The Lord has made me rich by:

  • Blessing me with a good home
  • Celebrating 29 years of marriage
  • I have never missed a meal
  • A wonderful son whom we are very proud of (doctors had told me I would never become pregnant)
  • Good health
  • A roof over my head
  • Shoes and clothing
  • The Lord is fulfilling my desire to serve Him in ministry

While some things on this list may seem trivial, we must not despise the small things.  On my mission trips to Nicaragua, I see very the very poor,  some living in terrible conditions,  yet hungry for more of the Lord! 

To me, the greatest blessing is having Jesus in my heart and life.  Jesus, who cleansed us from all unrighteousness, taking our sin upon His shoulders and paying the price to ransom us from the evil one.

How has the Lord blessed you?  If you sit and meditate, I am sure you can come up with a pretty long list, just as I did.

May you be richly blessed this day.

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Posted in Christianity, Devotionals, inspiration, Jesus, Ministry, salvation

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Judging Revelation

Posted on July 19, 2011 by | 3 Comments

Acts 10:13-16  And a voice came to him, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat. But Peter said, “Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.”  And a voice came to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed you must not call common.”This was done three times.  And the object was taken up into heaven again.

A common question was asked to a pastor  I know well and respect, but I did not agree with his answer.

“What do you think about those that are dying, I have heard that there are either angels waiting to escort him or her to heaven, or there are demons, ready to take the person to hell. ”  The pastor replied, “There is no biblical basis regarding  angels or demons being present when a person is dying,  so that notion must be discarded.”

The verse above states that Peter was on a rooftop praying, and he fell into a trance.  While in the trance, the Lord gives him a vision and tells him to kill and eat animals that were unclean.  Peter knew that he was not to eat anything unclean, and resisted the voice that came to him. But the voice came again, and the third time Peter realized it was the Lord speaking to him.

This  vision caused Peter to realize that God was showing him something new.  It was written that Jews were not to eat  unclean animals, but yet God just spoke to him not once, but three times!   This caused a new mindset in Peter.  It was shortly afterwards that Peter was used of the Lord to open the gospel to the Gentiles where they received the  baptism of the Holy Spirit.

We can receive a revelation  and not find any reference to it in the Bible, such as seeing  angles ready to escort a body to Heaven.

We hear  that the Lord will not contradict scripture, but yet what do we do when we “see “ or experience something that is not in scripture?

We put it to the test. 1  Thessalonians 5:21 Test all things; hold fast what is good.

In Jesus own words, He says in John 15:26   ”But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.”

We have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us,  and he will testify of the truth, that truth being Jesus.

The revelation you received, will it draw people closer to Jesus, or away from the Lord?  Is it exalting you or Jesus?  All revelation is to exalt the Lord, not man.

Proverbs  11:14  Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.
If you are not sure about the revelation you received, share it with your pastor and with others that you know and trust.

True revelation will produce liberty and not bondage see Romans 8:15

True revelation will produce life, not death.

The word or revelation received should never turn you away from the obedience of God.  See Duet 13:1-5

True revelation should build up the people of God,  encourage and comfort.

Finally, Jesus walked in love.  We are to walk in love and humility, exalting the gift giver and not the gift.  May the church continue to grow in intimacy with the gift giver.

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Posted in Articles, Christianity, Devotionals, gifts of the spirit, inspiration, Jesus, Religion, revelation

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Guard your mind

Posted on May 27, 2011 by | 6 Comments

Guard you Mind

Matthew 22:37 Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord  your God will all your heart, with all your soul,  and with all you mind.’

The greatest commandment  given to us by Jesus is to  love the Lord our God with all our mind.   If you are like me, at times that can be a difficult task.  With so many things going on, many times my mind is on my to -do list, and  not on Christ. 

Satan loves to attack the mind because it is closely related to our  heart,  and to the mouth!   If satan controls your mind, he can control your body, your actions and if left unchallenged, your spirit.  

If we don’t guard our mind, many things can happen such as;

  • Tormenting thoughts.  If  there is unforgiveness, bitterness and anger towards someone,  your thoughts are constantly on that person and how much they have wronged or hurt you.  Letting go of  the problem and giving it over to Jesus is the best and only  remedy. 
  • Satan causes wrong attitudes and desires towards others.
  • Depression-  being downcast, sad, discouraged or in a low spirit.  Depression can lead to suicidal thoughts or actual suicide.
  • Rebellion- which is willful disobedience against Gods’ authority.  Rebellion includes self-will, stubbornness, and disobedience. 
  • Confusion- indecision, confusion and frustration in your mind.

The greatest area of spiritual warfare is the mind!   Here we have a warning in scripture of what can happen to our mind:

Romans 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;

The solution
Let the Holy Spirit search your mind.  Ask God to reveal any wrong attitudes, motives and thinking.  As the Holy Spirit reveals to you, ask for forgiveness for wrong thought patterns. 

Claim a sound mind, and continue to read the scriptures to fill your mind with the word of God as you surrender your will to Him.

Philippians  4:7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus

Cast down those wrong thoughts, and take them captive to the obedience of Christ.  This requires discipline, but it can be achieved!

Of course we have the Holy Spirit, our helper, whom will guide us in all truth and with His help, we are sure to gain victory.

May you be richly blessed this day.

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Be Still

Posted on May 23, 2011 by | 4 Comments

Psalm 46 10:  Be still and know that I am God.

Be still and know that I am God, for it is in the stillness of your heart that I will reveal myself to you and show myself strong and mighty.

In the stillness  I speak to you.  Listen to my still small voice, where this voice, my voice will tell you great and mighty things which you do not know..

Be still and know that I AM God.

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Posted in Christianity, Devotionals, inspiration, Jesus, Prophecy, Prophetic

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