FORGIVE ALREADY

As I was reading in the book of Job this morning I noticed something very interesting...After Job had lost all of his children, sheep, camels, oxen, and donkeys, not to mention being struck with oozing sores from head to toe. The Lord came to the three friends who had been judging Job with a critical attitude, and making assumptions of why he was being attacked. The Lord told them to take a burnt ...offering to Job for their sin. The God said, "Job will pray for you," and The Lord said I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your sin. WOW!!!!!! Shortly after this conversation the three friends, did bring an offering to Job and he prayed for them. The Lord accepted Job's prayer. The word of The Lord said in Job 42:12, " After Job had prayed for his friends, The Lord made him prosperous again and gave him twice the amount he had before." Come on now, this is awesome!!! The way I understand it; The Lord blessed Job after his willingness to forgive. I wonder how many of our blessings are stored up in a storehouse because of our unwillingness to forgive. What your unwilling to let go of, has caused you to hang onto lack.
Forgiveness =Freedom. Why would stay behind bars if you have the key to get out????

Something to think about

 

Many times we try to teach someone from where we are at, but a good teacher will always teach from where the student left off, from where the student is at. For example; when I teach/ share my testimony to a room full of hurting, unforgiving people, I start my teaching with where I was at on my own journey of Un forgiveness and abuse, then I take them to where I want t...o bring them, which is straight to the heart of God. Many abused people have left off where the abuse left off. This is where we find the student many times in a fetal position. As I share the living parable of my life and how God brought me through I embrace where they're at on their journey.
I gently introduce the scripture
Mark 11:25, "And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone,forgive him so that your father in Heaven, may forgive you your sins."Jesus taught that way, the parables he taught with, I believe were taken from the observation of the people in that moment, right where they were at. We must begin our teaching where the student has left off to truly make an impact.

Get your feet wet

                                                                

Did you know...The Jordan river was mentioned nearly 200 times in the Bible? Elijah crossed the East side of the Jordan to hide from King Ahab. David, also found protection by crossing the Jordan when his son Absalom was scheming against him. Elijah touched the Jordan with his cloak and it parted so did Elisha. The first time the Jordan was ever mentioned was in Genesis 13:10-11 when Abraham an...d Lot parted ways. Jacob was renamed Israel at the banks of the Jordan. John the Baptist conducted most of his ministry right there at the Jordan. Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan and started His ministry. The Jordan represents a place of trusting God and taking the first step. We all have a Jordan River in our lives. Something that is trying to hold us back from our inheritance, our calling, our promise land. The Lord told Joshua to tell the priest to carry the ark of the covenant to the banks of the Jordan, stick one foot in and the river would part. The priest took a step of faith and the river mounted up in a heap. The Jordan represents the last barrier between wilderness living, and promise land living. The question we all have to ask ourselves today is.....Are we willing to take the first step and get our feet wet?????? Okay I'm talking to many today this is a word straight from Heaven to you. How long are you going to allow a barrier keep you from the promise. The barrier, known as, ( The Jordan River) could be unbelief, disobedience, rebellion, un-forgiveness, a complacent spirit, self pity, and the list can go on an on. Come on, Get your feet wet.......

BUT, as for me....

Micah 7:7, " But as for me, I will look to the Lord;  I will wait for The Lord of my salvation; my God will hear me."

It's interesting to me that the first six verses  Micah is complaining about all that is wrong and then in verse seven he has an epiphany, he says, "As for me, I will look to The Lord."    Micah was referring to the corrupt  unfaithful leaders before him when he said, "As for me."  Micah is  comparing  himself to the watchmen of verse four when he said, " I will look."  The word "look" is the same Hebrew verb  as watchmen, it means I will wait, my God will hear me.

So many times we get stuck in complaining about the leaders, the unjust, the useless mundane every day grind of life and we loose sight of  keeping our eyes on Jesus..Micah said, the godly has vanished from the earth, there is no upright among us, they all lie in wait for blood, and each hunts each other with nets, their hands do what is evil, and they do it well, they yell out the evil desires of their souls, they hate their neighbor, and have no confidence in their friends, all the family members have turned against each other, BUT for me, I will look to The Lord; I will wait for The Lord of my salvation because I know he hears me.  Can you say this, with that amount  of  confidence today ?  Who are you looking at?  Who are you talking to ?  Micah was saying everything is falling down around me and Lord it would be easy for me to lose my focus BUT I refuse to think of you that small.  I refuse to allow the circumstance around me to determine who You are in my life.  I will not be pushed around by impatience, or dragged through the mire of doubt and unbelief, No!!! I will feast my eyes upon my Lord and rejoice in knowing the fruit of patience I devour freely because I know my Lord has not been deafened by the noise of this world.    Although Micah started out with a cry of morning he ended  up with confidence in His God.  He said, " Rejoice not over me my enemy, when I fall, I shall rise; When I sit in darkness The Lord will be a light to me."  Somebody needs to shout today because the victory is yours, your failures has become your tuition for your success which was once said by a fellow author, Walter Brunel ....Choices are for the living
Keep your eyes on The Lord, and have confidence in the fact God does not have a hearing aid..

The Lord Will Provide

Where there is a Ram there is a way......

Genesis 22:13-14, " And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram caught in the thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering instead of his son.  So Abraham called this place, The Lord will provide.  And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided."

  In this day and age with all the uncertainty that surrounds us from our job security, to our homes, gas prices, and bank accounts, it must be settled in our soul that God will provide a ram for us in the thicket.  You know as I re-read this amazing story of obedience and faith my senses were awakened.  When God asked Abraham to sacrifice as a burnt offering his only son whom he loved, the one Sarah and him had waited for Abraham did not answer with words but with action...Abraham did not say a word, not a peep, he just went.  How often do I hear through my travels or right here where I reside people saying, God told me to do.......but I told God.......How different would your life look if God told you to do something and without a word you headed in that direction???  You know Abraham had to walk 50 miles to get to the mountain God placed before him.  Abraham had to bring the wood, the fire , the knife, and his son( the sacrifice)... Abraham could have brought his son but not the wood or the fire but not the knife, or  the wood, knife, and fire, but not Isaac but Abraham did not miss a beat he obeyed every detail, and left no room for excuses.  Obedience to God moved Abraham up the mountain with each step he took he was counting the sacrifice.  Once Abraham was there, he was ready to follow through with God's request....But here it is folks, found in Genesis 22:11-13 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham! " And he said "Here I am"  He said, "do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know you fear God, seeing that you have not withheld your son, your only son from me."And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked and behold, behind him was a ram. Sometimes what we need the most is behind us...it is the very thing that you thought would destroy you that made it possible for you to scale the mountain which lay before you....Choices are for the living....

2012 Womens Conference.wmv

After this.....

Genesis 15:1, " After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: Do not be afraid, Abram.  I am your shield, your very great reward."

As soon as I read this one scripture I immediately started thinking....After what???? So, I reread the scriptures before this one....After God promises Abram a nation, after God told Abram to picked up his whole family and move at the age of seventy-five without even knowing where he was moving to.  After, Abram built God several altars as a reminder of God's promises.  After, Abram allowed his nephew Lot to have his choice of  land.  After, God told Abram to lift up his eyes and look to the north, south, east, and west an gave Abram all the land he could see. After, Abram rescues his nephew Lot form the choices he made in the land he chose.  After, Abram gave Melchizedek, a tenth of everything.  After, all of this a word came from the Lord, do not be afraid, Abram.  I am your shield, your very great reward.

Wow!!! The Lord called him by his name, as if he was a friend, he told Abram do not be afraid, I am your shield your great reward...Do you hear God talking to you???  If it has grown silent, maybe there has not been many "After This", moments in your life....Maybe, God is waiting for you to do the last thing He said before He gives you something else...Don't get me wrong Abram was not perfect remember he lied about his wife to Pharaoh and said she was his sister so they would not kill him right before God said, After this and he went on to make many, many more mistakes. But, I believe in my heart Abram's heart was right, his actions did not always reflect it, but his heart was right...Abram would hear God's voice and obey. I know God is speaking, or has spoken to each and every reader today the question is...Are you obeying???? I am???
I want to challenge you to go back to the last thing God told you to do, and check and see if you did it... God has promises just for you for such a time as this...Don't be afraid. God is your shield He is your great reward... Choices are for the living...