November 20, 2011

Who Are You

Who are you? That’s a familiar question.  However, there are very few more important questions that, “Who are you.”

Our identity will determine so much about our life.  Our identity will determine how we feel about ourselves and how we feel about others. Where then, do we get our identity? We gain the vast majority of our identity from whoever raises us.  There is going to be someone in your life that has a major influence in your life.  Those are the people that you were around in the first few years of your life.  For those of you that are Christians it is important to know who you are in Jesus too.  However, there are people, Christian, non-Christian, or whichever faith you follow that have no idea who they are or they have a miserable mental picture of their identity.  I sit in church a couple times a week and see people that don’t know who they are, their life is a train wreck.  The truly sad part is that so many of them look at others; believing that they have it all together.  Let me tell you, those that look like they have it all together rarely have a clue.  Those that do have it all together; well, you should have seen them yesterday or wait tomorrow.  We all have to go through stuff, but that is part of shaping our identity.  If you don’t really know who you are or have a miserable picture of who you are; just stand strong. Together we will walk this out and get the proper picture of who we are.  It is something that you have to do, but we all are in this together.  

November 19, 2011

Shake It Off

In our life, we will always have forces opposing us to try to keep us from becoming all God’s created us to be. And many times, the adversities and unfair situations are set up by the enemy to try to discourage us and deceive us into giving up on our dreams. Today, you may feel like you’re at an empty place in life. Not much is going your way. You’ve been through difficulties and setbacks. But I believe God wants to restore you. He wants to encourage you, and pour out His spirit upon you. He wants to do a new thing in and through you. It doesn’t matter what’s happened in your past, God has something new for your future. I always say, when one dream dies, dream another dream.

Remember, God has placed so much inside of you. You have gifts, talents and abilities that no one else has. You may have had more than your share of unfair things happen. But it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish that matters. It’s time to shake off the past and shake off that discouragement. Let faith arise in your heart and keep your dreams alive!

November 18, 2011

Dream a Dream

As children, we have dreams for the future, dreams of being ball players and actresses, super heroes and firemen. But most of the time, they end up just being wishful thinking. As we get older, we grow out of them. It’s good to play and have dreams as children, but when we grow up, we have to know the difference between a God-given dream and a wish.  Beyond our wishes though, we all have dreams placed inside of us by the Creator of the universe. In fact, the Latin word for “desire” means “from the Father.” One way to tell if a dream is really from God is that the desire won’t go away. You may have had it for years, but you still can’t let it go. In fact, you may have tried to let it go, but it won’t let go of you. I encourage you to search your heart and allow those God-given dreams to surface. He placed those desires inside of you for a purpose, and He’s going to use them to direct you into the destiny He has in store for you!

November 17, 2011

Vision

Do you need some freshness in your life today? You may simply need to stir up what God has placed on the inside of you. Stir up those gifts, stir up those dreams, stir up those talents inside. Start stretching yourself. You were created to be a dreamer and pursue the desires God has placed in your heart.

If you don’t have a dream or vision for your life, you’re not really going to reach your fullest potential. Maybe at one time you had a dream, but you went through some disappointments or setbacks. Things didn’t turn out the way you planned. But here’s a key: when one dream dies, dream another dream. Just because it didn’t work out the way you had it planned doesn’t mean that God doesn’t have another plan. You cannot allow one disappointment or even a series of disappointments to convince you that your dream is over. It’s time to dig in your heels and hold on to the promises in your heart. Stir up those God-given dreams today and watch Him pour out His favor and blessing upon you and fulfill every desire in your heart!

November 16, 2011

The Pain

We all are going to experience pain in life.  Either the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.  I have experienced the pain of regret far too often; I am desire the pain of discipline over the pain of regret.

When we do what our flesh desires to do we will experience the pain of regret due to our actions.  When we endure the pain of discipline; we will experience the joy of success for it.  Either way our life is going to have pain in it.  It is your decision whether it is the short pain of discipline or the longer pain of regret.  There is a great reward for those that have discipline in their life.  When we want to do what is easy and what everyone else is doing; but we instead do what is right.  That is discipline.  It takes discipline in our spirit, soul and body to get the reward of success. The peace that comes from knowing that we did the right thing and no matter what it looks like it is going to be okay.  The rest that comes at night when you know you had discipline during the day and did what was right, not what was easy.  There is pain with discipline but you will receive peace, joy and happiness from doing what is right.  Do the right things regardless of the cost because the payoff is far more than anything it will cost you.  I applaud you today! I know you will do what is right.

November 15, 2011

Stretch It Out

I want to remind you that you are full of incredible potential. When God created you, He deposited seeds of greatness inside of you. He’s given you your own dreams and desires. You have something to offer that no one else has. But too often, we allow adversities, disappointments and setbacks to push these things down, until one day, we find that we’re not pressing forward anymore. We’re not stretching; we’re not believing to rise any higher.

When adversity comes, it’s easy to think, “Why is this happening to me?” The answer is because the enemy knows what’s on the inside of you. He’s going to do everything he can to keep that seed from taking root. But, he will only be successful if you let him. He can’t stop you unless you quit. During the difficult times, remember that the gifts and callings God has placed within you are still there. Don’t become stagnate in pursuing your dreams. It’s time to get your fire back! It’s time to press forward. It’s time to dig deep inside and take hold of the marvelous destiny God has prepared for you!

November 14, 2011

Numbness

I see the numbness in people’s faces, only to be out done with the pain they are feeling.  I see the confusion, the frustration, the doubt, the hurt, the fear in their face and body language.  

We try to look like we got it all together. We smile and say all the right things.  Are you thinking that I am talking about you? Well, I am; only if I am.  Take courage today that your situation is only going to last as long as you let it.  Make today the today you come out of that place.  You have a wonderful destiny ahead of you; so we have to stand up, head up, and face our situation knowing you are coming out.  You have what it takes to come through your situation like a champion.  Allow the truth to be known; you are valuable, useful, worthwhile and needed.  You do have the goods.  You do have what is needed inside you right now to walk out your destiny.  Don’t let the mess you have to go through in your life stop you today.  Get your game on today!

November 13, 2011

Compassion

Compassion. That’s the one thing people need more than anything else in this world. They need someone to reach out to them with the compassion of God.
Compassion is a deep yearning that responds to the needs of people. It’s much deeper than sympathy. Sympathy can just sit around feeling sorry for people. Compassion has to do something for them. Compassion is what motivates God, and Jesus’ life on earth was a picture of that compassion in action. His whole ministry was driven by it. It was compassion that caused Him to multiply the loaves and fishes, heal the sick, cast out demons and raise the dead. It was compassion that compelled Him to go to the Cross. And it’s that same compassion that He now longs to pour out through you. 

November 12, 2011

He is Bigger

No matter what weakness you think you may have, no matter what inadequacies or setbacks you’ve encountered, God wants to give you His divine strength. He wants to make up the difference and put you further ahead than you ever thought possible.

One time in the Old Testament, God simply multiplied the sound of four men’s footsteps and caused them to sound like a mighty army. When their enemies heard them, they took off running. There were thousands of enemy troops running for their lives, scared to death, thinking they were being attacked by a massive army when in fact, it was just four people! What happened? God made up the difference.

God can make you seem bigger than you really are. He can make you look more powerful. He knows how to multiply your influence, your strength, your talent and your income. Don’t just look at what you have in your hand; look at what Almighty God can do with it! You don’t have to figure it all out. All you have to do is put your trust in Him and let Him work because when you do, He will lead you and guide you into victory all the days of your life!

November 11, 2011

Critics

In life, we’re always going to have critics. We’ll always have difficult people who try to upset us and steal our peace and joy. But, you don’t have to respond to every critic. You can decide to take the high road and let God fight your battles for you.

Sometimes, no matter what you say or do, there are people who aren’t going to accept you. They just don’t want to be at peace with you. In fact, when Jesus sent out His disciples to certain homes, He told them to always speak peace over those homes. And then He said, in effect, “If they don’t receive the peace that you’re offering, then it will come back to you.” That tells me, if you will do your best to be at peace with people, even if they won’t take your peace, the good news is that peace will just come back to you. You’ll not only get your peace, but you’ll get their share as well! That’s double for your trouble! When you do the right thing no matter what is happening, God sees it and rewards it. So choose peace today and walk in the blessing He has for you!