Power of The Realms of Possibility

Key Scripture:  “God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!”  Ephesians 3:20, The Message

Power Point:

There are so many things in our lives that seem “beyond the realm of possibility” aren’t there?  We've thought about putting God in compartments in our lives. Actually we really only have two compartments on a regular basis don't we-things that are possible with Him and things that are not.

Sometimes I feel as though I have been inside a huge divine “sifter”, like the one I use to sift confectioners sugar to get the lumps out. During those times I feel as though I’m being sifted to death but when its finally over and the lumps of unbelief have been caught in the sifter I can see how much better I look without all those lumps and I blend in a lot better to God's plans for me.  

If you take a good hard look at your belief system, it may look completely different at church on Sunday than it looks at home when there is no one else to see. What you “believe” is what you think on and act on a regular basis.  I remember Peter Lord saying, “ You practice daily what you believe.  All the rest is just religious talk.”

Ouch.

So, let’s take a look at some common “lumps” of unbelief.   What is beyond the “realm of possibility for you?

-Healing? Possible or impossible?

-Financial provision? Possible or impossible.

-God being good to you all the time?  Possible or impossible?

-What about that prodigal child? Is his/her restoration possible or impossible?

-What about miracles happening in your life? Is that a possibility or an impossibility?

-What about a future filled with good plans and good things? Possible or impossible?

What is beyond the realm of possibility in your life?

Beloved, you must believe in the promises of God for you and His partnership with you. When you do that every single thing in your life is subject to change for the better. That’s all part of the good plans and the good future He has for you. I was talking to Him about this recently as I was coming through a “sifting time” where God was showing me my own areas of impossibilities.  He said to me, “Suzanne, I want you to begin to see your future with my goodness in it.” Well, I thought I had and then I realized He was “dead on”. Any time I begin to worry about anything in my future, I really am not believing that He has good plans for me and that He will provide for me miraculously in every situation in my life, forever and ever. Amen!

How about you?  Can you envision your future- you know, the part between “now” and “heaven”- with God’s goodness in your life every single day? Can you imagine abundance, and joy, and peace, and health, provision and transformation? Is there a compartment in your mind filled with all the things that you think are impossible? Are there realms beyond the possibilities of God’s power? Are you ready to allow God to sift out the lumps of unbelief and show you where you have declared Him to be powerless to change things?

Is your “impossible” compartment bigger than your “possibility" compartment? Is it time for a change?

Power Point:

You don’t want to just “talk” a faith filled life, you want to live it don’t you? 

Power of Leaping To Conclusions

Key Scripture:  "Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults-unless of course, you wan the same treatment."  Matthew 7:1, The Message

Power Point:

I’m learning in my vast age with my vast accumulation of wisdom that I’m not always right. It's a shock.

I have always been a “fixer”. I guess because I’m analytical my brain is continually searching for answers to the questions I have. That’s okay as long as it is for my own best interests. I get into trouble when I try to “fix” everyone else.

Have you ever found yourself looking at someone else’s situation and feel that you know all the motives, all the reasons, and of course, all the answers? Me too. Holy Spirit keeps reminding me that I am not Him.  He reminds me repeatedly that He is the only one qualified to be Him. Darn.

At any rate, what I am learning is that it is “My job to love them, pray for them, and give wise counsel (from Him if asked. “ (Do I need to repeat that?) The other thing I have learned is that because  I don’t know all the circumstances, I can draw wrong conclusions and then I get into the sticky area of judging or criticizing. The main reason Jesus was so successful was that He never spoke a word without hearing it from Father first, nor did He do anything without seeing it in His Spirit first.

Don’t you think that’s a good plan?  Before we go out taking big leaps into conclusions that are not sound, maybe we should spend more time with the real Holy Spirit and get His take on things. If we do that, we release heaven to earth and not earth to earth. Can you hear the huge sigh of relief from heaven?

So today, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to point people to the wisdom of Holy Spirit, and then pray for their ability to hear and to see what their Heavenly Father so longs to show them. Then you are to sit back and be very thankful that the real Holy Spirit is on the job. It will keep you from leaping to conclusions that won’t help anyone.

Power Thought:

Taking a leap of faith for someone is better than leaping to conclusions don’t you think?

Power of Depression

Key Scripture:  “He shall be like a (stripped, destitute) bush in the desert and he will not see good when it comes.”  Jeremiah 17:6

Power Point:

One day Julie, my prayer partner and I were asked to pray for a lady who was suffering extreme depression. She could not see good anywhere in her life. She was hopeless and powerless. The interesting thing was that as I looked at her life she was actually in the middle of a glorious oasis of spiritual life. It was happening all around her but she wasn’t allowing herself to see it. Her focus was on her problems and that focus caused her to turn away from God plans for her.

It reminded me of Jeremiah 17:6. It says we are truly “cursed” if we trust only in ourselves or other people to help us; when we make “what we can see” the source of our strength. When we do that we are moving out of the supernatural into the natural.  

Goodness will pass right by us and we will not see it."

That is the perfect illustration of this woman’s life. She was in a beehive of spiritual growth and activity yet she was choosing to shut herself off from it. That happens every time we forget what God promises us and we “depart” from Him in our hearts. When we forget that the glorious power of His words are sent out to save us, to deliver us and to make us whole, we are putting ourselves in “desert” territory and we will NOT see goodness when it comes.  I don’t know about you but I don’t want to miss one ounce of His goodness for my life. I have too many issues that need the kindness and goodness of God, don’t you? I guess that means that if I don’t want to live in a desert in the middle of an oasis, I need to start “re-thinking things”. I need to remind myself that God’s goodness is always around me and always coming toward me. It’s always running behind me to overtake me. It’s always shielding me, rescuing me, making my life an example of the power of His love for me.

The thing is, Beloved, the Lord says, “I search the heart and I test the mind in order to give to every person “according to his ways, according to the fruit of His actions.” (Suzanne version)  He’s already given us the promises hasn’t He? Then it’s our job to believe them, take them and incorporate them into our hearts so that they can bear good, good fruit. He’s done His job. Now it’s our turn to put into action what He has done.
We do that by believing Him and receiving His promises.

One of Satan’s favorite tactics is to make us so depressed that we can’t see God’s goodness. What an awful way to live! What would happen if, instead of allowing him to “press you down, you began to “press on”?  How about acting in the exact opposite spirit that has led you into that dark, destitute place? How about being determined to remember that God loves you and is there to help you. He will show up for you and He will rescue you and make you safe and sound. In Psalms 27:13 it says, “I would have given up if I hadn’t believed I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”

Don’t give up, Beloved. Believe. And you will see.

Power Thought:

Flowering Bush In The Desesrt

If we are firmly convinced that God is always and only good, we’ll always see His goodness- no matter what. When we believe it, we will see it. When we don’t, we won’t. Our choice.

Power of Your Stance

Power of Your Stance

Rooted and grounded

Key Scripture: “ Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground.”  Ephesians 6:14, NLV

Power Point:

Our wonderful heavenly Father, the giver of very good gifts, has given us the power and the authority and the tools to be sure that we can stand. That means that whatever the enemy throws at you, you have the divine connection and partnership, the faith, the promises, the wisdom, the power and the authority as His child to stand against whatever enemy comes to steal your land and your dreams, to destroy your family or your hopes, and to stand firm because you know that God is good, that He will never leave you to fight your battles on your own.

I heard someone ask the other day, “What is your stance in your circumstances?” It’s a great question isn’t it? If we are rooted and grounded in the love that God has for us we will know beyond a shadow of a doubt that He will not let us be ashamed of our hope in Him. How could a perfectly loving God leave us defenseless? He never intended that we be left to our own devices and just plod along day after day, miserable and alone. He has given us everything we could ever need to “prosper and have good success” and get the victory whenever we need it.

It all begins with our “stance” in our circumstances doesn’t it? If you are overwhelmed and overrun by what is happening in your life you won’t take a stand against it. If you believe deep down that God doesn’t care about “this” and won’t lift a finger to help you, you’ll never stand.  My friend Julie shared a story recently about her young son who was a strong willed child when he was small.  It was a very hard place for her. One night at church the pastor gave the illustration in his sermon that if you had a strong willed child it was your fault. He said that God had given you that child because He wanted to work some of the flaws out of you. Imagine how that landed in the middle of her circumstance! How could she ever stand against that lie that God had caused the very thing she was struggling with the most.  Fortunately she now knows that God would NEVER do any thing like that.  But if she had not grown in her knowing of her heavenly Father, she could still be standing UNDER the circumstances, and way out of the realm of possibilities.

Ever been there? Are you there now? Then could I make a suggestion?  Instead of looking around you, look UP! Look up all the wonderful things God has told us about Himself. Look up the words that Jesus said about His Father. Look up the passages on the life of Jesus and how he came to defeat the devil. Look up what God considers good and not evil. You will realize that He’s always on your side.

Beloved, the only way around that mountain blocking your path is to find out who God is and who He wants to be for you there. When you really know that, you’ll be ready to stand firmly until the battle is over.

And beloved it’s all over but the shouting!

Power Thought:

What stance are you taking in the midst of your circumstances?

Power of Mending Fences

Key Scripture:  “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all men.”  Romans 12:18

Power Point:

Spring is always a good time to look around your home or your property and repair the things that have broken down over the last year. Springtime brings a freshness that helps us to want to do a little “cleaning up” doesn’t it? That’s always a good thing to do in the natural but it’s also a good thing to do in the spiritual. Are there some fences that you need to mend with people in your life so that you will not walk into this new season with “old” things that have been broken down and are keeping you from a fresh start?

It’s always a good idea to survey the “land” of our lives and make sure that all the fences are repaired and strong. Are there some wounds and some disappointments, which have torn down your protection against the enemy? If you’ve allowed offenses or unforgiveness or bitterness into your life, then you are giving the enemy a wide opening to trespass on your property and set up camp. From that place he can “poach” your land. In other words he can begin to do what he does best, steal, kill and destroy. That’s what poachers do best. They march onto land that is not theirs and refuse to leave until you make them.

If you have a relationship that has broken down, Holy Spirit would love to help you mend that fence. He’s the best there is at bringing unity and love and peace back into any part of our lives.  In fact, He wrote the book on it.  He says that, “as far as it depends on us, we are to pursue “Peace” with all men.  All? All! When we do that, we become “peacemakers” and we honor our Father in heaven by being His ambassadors here on the earth. When we “act in the opposite spirit” of what our flesh is suggesting, then we are acting according to the “power’ that would like to work in us.  There’s absolutely no reason to restrict the power of Holy Spirit to bring peace with “all” men is there?

Would today be a good time to survey your land, kick out the poachers, and re-establish His peace? Do you remember the old saying, “If Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy?” Well, today this Mama is choosing to be happy, and to be peaceful with “all” men. How about you?

Power Thought:

“Blessed-enjoying enviable happiness, spiritually prosperous (that is with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the makers and maintainers of peace, for they shall be called the sons of God.” Matthew 5:18, Amplified Bible.

Power of Connecting The Dots

Key Scripture:  You must go on growing in me and I will grow in you. …It is the man who shares my life and whose life I share who proves fruitful.”  John 15, Phillips

Power Point:

If you look at what Jesus says about those who abide in Him, He says that they connect the dots in every area of their lives. Abiders are learners. They keep growing in their knowing. There’s no stunted growth. Even the worst of situations is a fertile field They are fruitful because they are connected to Him and growing in their knowledge of Him. They continue to produce fruit because they are "receivers". They receive His life and His wisdom, and His power and His word comes alive not just in their minds but in their hearts.  

I was listening to someone the other day with a serious issue in her life. Her mind was wrapped around that “tissue issue”. It was all she could think about. The interesting thing is that at some point she “switched gears” and began talking about God’s provision in another area. Unfortunately she never connected the two. As she talked about her problem, she was talking from her soul- her mind, will and emotions. She was connected at that point only to what her mind knew. Later when she was talking about God’s provision she was talking from her spirit.

Beloved unless we learn to connect our spirits to our souls, God can't keep growing in us. We have compartments where we let Him stay, sort of like the old “Pigeon hole” desks where you had tiny compartments for your mail or your bills. We do that to God don’t we? We have compartments that we put Him into and we never mix them up. God’s okay to handle the bills but certainly not my health. Or vice versa.  Or God can do this but He won’t do that!

I know I’ve been guilty of “compartmentalizing” God in my own life. (I am so grateful that He is patient with me!)  The one thing I do on a regular basis is to connect what I hear in my mind to what I hear in my spirit. To do that I have to have  “abiding truths” that are my foundation. Some of my truths are that God is good to me all the time so I will see His goodness in my particular situation.  Another truth that I base my faith on is that I will not be ashamed of my hope in Him.

Can you connect the dots? If I take my issue that is threatening to submerge my soul, and I connect it to my spirit man which believes God is good and will help me, then I have successfully allowed God to merge the two and there are no compartments where He can or cannot work anymore.

What compartment do you have God in today? Where are you absolutely sure He will show up and where are you pretty sure that He won't? You may be someone who has wonderful times of worship in the morning but you don’t connect those words you spoke to the rest of your day. Beloved, I think its time that we break down those compartments in our lives so that God has total access to every part don’t you? I think as those “walls of separation” come down and God is allowed to grow in us and take up more space we will come to the point where our spirits and our souls are so connected that we can ask Him for anything and honor Him by receiving it.

Get out your tools and tear down those compartments. Let God loose in your life. You will be amazed to see what happens next.

Power Thought:

Having God fill all things in our lives is a whole lot better than letting Him fill just a few. Don’t you agree?

Power of Places to GO!

Key Scripture:  “So Abraham departed as the Lord had spoken to him…and Abram was seventy five years old.”  Genesis 12:4

Power Point:

In the early years of our marriage Denny and I moved seven times. It wasn’t easy but it wasn’t hard.  It was always a “step up” and it was fun to begin a new adventure at the ripe old age of 21 or so.  As I look at Abraham and the fact that he was seventy -five years old, I find it pretty intimidating to do what he did at that age. He left everyone and everything. In fact, I would find it very hard all these years later to pick up, pack up, and leave lifelong friends and my church, and-well, you know. The Lord called Abraham out of the place where he had lived his whole life. Since he was 75 I’m sure he had a lot of possessions already. I’m sure his father had some father-son talks with him about whether he was doing the right thing. In fact, Abraham was leaving an earthly inheritance. He was giving up everything for a Godly inheritance.  God had said, “Come on son. We’ve got places to go and things to do and you can’t do them here”. (Yes, that’s the Suzanne version).  Don’t you think that He gives us that same call in our own lives?  If we do that He will bless us, far beyond what is logical or natural. Abraham’s blessing began the moment he said, “yes” to God didn’t it?  He made a few mistakes along the way but the blessing was still working in his life.  God blessed him even though he took Lot with him. He blessed him even though he used Sarai to save his own life. He blessed him even when he messed up the pathway to the Promise and chose Hagar to bear his first child. God still blessed. It's just who He is.

The thing is, Beloved, God will always ask us to leave what is comfortable, and logical, and “knowable” to move totally with Him into the places that seem “strange” or unbelievable, or completely foreign to our limited imaginations. He wants us to get out of the “old” ways of thinking. If we stay where we are-well the truth is-we won’t. Someone will always have a logical reason why God would not work the way He’s promised to work. There will always be someone who will try to convince you that God couldn’t possibly have meant “that.” We have to go to where we can only hear Him.

God tells us that IF we change our thinking and IF we make His word the final word, then the blessings of heaven can flow for us. He says that IF we stop listening to all the “noise” around us, we’ll hear His clear, wise, instructions that will bring heaven to earth.

It’s a good thought isn’t it? And actually, He asks us to do that all the time. In fact, as soon as we think we’ve “got it made”, He makes sure that we get on “shaky ground” again. Each time that happens, we grow in faith and we grow in how we can depend upon His faithfulness. That leads us to be able to take even greater “leaps’ in the future.

So, pack your bags, and grab your hat. It’s time to move. Now!

Power Point:

God’s got places to go and people to see and lives to change. Are you coming? Is it moving day?

Power of Restricting the Resurrection

Key Scripture: “And you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.”

Acts 2:8

Power Point:

We’ve been busy, busy, busy thinking about Easter, planning for Easter and all the wonderful celebrations that happen around that time of year. But now it’s the week after Resurrection Sunday and I’m wondering how powerfully is the power of the Resurrection flowing in your life today?

As Christians we believe that the Resurrection is the highlight of our year. Why? Because it means that Jesus defeated the enemy for us, when we couldn’t do it for ourselves. It means that God’s power trumps Satan’s power in our lives forever. It means we’re forgiven but it also means that because He won that battle once and for all, we have His Spirit living in us forever. That means “Power” with a capital “P”!  It means we have the ability to receive all that Jesus died to give us.  Or not.  It means that there is no room for impossibilities in our lives anymore, because with God, all things are possible.  It means that because of the Resurrection we can live protected, in abundance and free of our past so we can get in line with God’s plans for a glorious future.

Resurrection is a very good thing. Wouldn’t you agree? The word means bringing something to life that’s been dead. It means revitalizing and bringing back the original plan. Have you ever thought about the real picture of Good Friday when Jesus breathed His last? The graves were opened and the formerly dead walked right up to the cross and said, “Thank You Jesus!” I remember the soldier standing at the foot of the cross whose comment was “Surely, this was the Son of God!”  Why did he say that? Was it because he saw the formerly dead making their way through the streets of town? Was it the earthquake or the temple veil being torn from top to bottom.

You see Beloved, when we really look at the Resurrection-it’s a pattern in Jesus’ life isn’t it. He always brought life out of death. The ultimate sacrifice of His own life for us is still doing that today. Are you in a “grave” place right now? Have you forgotten that with Jesus a resurrection is always there for you?  Did you forget for a moment that “with God all things are possible?”

Will you take the limits off of the Resurrection power of God for your life today? Will you let Him go beyond the natural to the supernatural, from your limited imagination to beyond all that you ask or think?

It’s time we stopped putting restrictions on the Resurrection don’t you think? It’s time we let the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead have total access to our lives.

It really is time Beloved. Give Him the freedom to be God. In you and for you. Hallelujah!

Power Thought:

Is there a "grave” place in your life where you’ve buried the power of God? Is it time for a resurrection?

Power of Restrictions

Key Scripture:  “Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we as of think, according to the power that work in us." Ephesians 3:20

Power Point:

I was listening to John Paul Jackson on television the other day and he said something that really caught my attention. The whole program had been about the power of God in our lives and why we don’t see more of it. He said that he begins each day with a simple prayer, “Lord, loose all my restrictions.”  If you really think about that, we certainly do “restrict” God don’t we? To restrict something is to limit it, or confine it to certain boundaries. Is it possible that you've told God that certain areas of your life are "off limits" to Him?

Many years ago, my friend Julie, had a miraculous healing in her back. We were both very “young’ in the things of the Spirit and healing was something nobody talked about in our little corner of the world. When she told people what had happened their reactions were very odd. They gave her funny looks or said, “Oh, that’s nice.” and went on with their conversations as though nothing had happened. It was uncomfortable for them to think about the supernatural in the here and now.

I remember when I first really began to understand the role of Holy Spirit in the believer’s life and I began to question why we didn’t see more of His activity today. I wasn't seeing the Acts of the Apostles in the acts of believers around me. The more I searched the more He showed me that He was still on the job. He had never stopped working, but the church had put its own restrictions on Him so His power couldn’t work. (Remember Nazareth?)

We tend to put restrictions on other people too don’t we? We keep them in the place where we believe they should be, either good or bad, and we don’t let them change or grow from where they started out.

We restrict ourselves as well. We hold on to our failures  or our sense of unworthiness and refuse to let God out of the box. We are so afraid of risking more failure aren't we?

Here’s the “nitty gritty" about restrictions;

Restricting yourself to your past never allows you to move toward your future.

Restricting God to the limits of your imagination keeps you powerless.

Restricting yourself to the limits of what you can see prevents miracles.

Restricting others to your negative opinion of them never allows them to grow.

Restricting heaven to heaven never lets it touch the earth around you.

When we come into the kingdom of God, we come into freedom. That’s the will of God for us. That’s what Jesus died to give us. Could you ask Him today to show you where you’ve been restricting His power in you and for you? What is "off limits" for Him in your life? Then  ask Him to “Loose all the restrictions so that His life can expand and explode in you”?

And for yourself and those around you, “Lord, please show me where I’ve placed unreasonable restrictions on myself and the people in my life.  I want freedom from my limits for them and for me. I refuse to be limited to my limited imagination.”

That really would bring heaven to earth wouldn’t it?

Power Thought:

When we limit God, we limit all that heaven has to offer us.
We have to STOP that!

Power of The Joy That Was Set Before Him

   

He is risen, indeed!

                              May the Lamb receive the reward of His sufferings. 
                              That would be an abundant life for you and for me.

                       For the JOY that was set before Him, He endured the cross. 

  That would be a personal relationship with you and with me that leads to heaven on
                      He has come to set you free and make all things new.
                                              
                                                Happy Easter Beloved!
                                      

Power of Our "Sweet Spot"

Key Scripture:  “Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that's where the action is. See things from His perspective.”  Colossians 3:2, The Message

Power Point:

So many of us live our lives reacting to what is going on around us don’t we? We run here, there and everywhere, living our lives in chaos because we’ve never learned to stay in our “spot”. Beloved, we have to learn to get into the place where we know we will find Truth, Joy and Peace and from that place we can live our lives.

We cannot continually live in reaction to all the chaos around us, but we can be like Jesus, who was filled with peace from His place in the Spirit. He could release God's peace into any atmosphere and it became calm too. He didn’t release “Jesus the carpenter’s son peace”. He released “Jesus the Son of God peace". Did you know that we can do that too?  We are God’s children just as much as Jesus is. The difference is that He understood that truth and was committed to the idea that He could bring heaven to earth wherever He went. He never doubted that. He simply got into the “spot” where He could hear His father’s voice in His spirit and then He responded to the difficulties in front of Him with a cheerful “Be Still!” And they did.

Disease was stopped dead in its tracks. The dead were returned to life. Relationships were restored and the wind stopped blowing that little boat off course.

Where is your peace today?  Have you been in that spot with God that transforms your fleshly reactions to Godly responses that bring heaven to earth? Have you spent “secret place” time with Him? Not just five minutes of “Hi God! I’m in a hurry and I need help with this.” -but time spent pushing into the Truth that only He can tell you, and solutions that only He can give you when you quiet yourself enough to listen to what He has to say.

Caleb Cooper on his spot

Recently during a ministry time my partner and I had two people with different but identical problems. . They were in a bad “spot” and they intended to stay there. That “spot” was rehearsing, and nursing and cursing the bad places in their lives which of course negated any kind of faith-in-action for God to reward. They were walking in unforgiveness, anger, unworthiness and just plain unbelief. Their problems were bigger than God’s promises.

Sadly, until they move off that spot, there wont be a change. Until they find their  “sweet spot” with their Heavenly Father, the Father of Lies will continue to steal, kill and destroy.

My daughter as a dog trainer, teaches owners how to get their dogs to “stay in their spot”. It’s a good thing to know, especially when someone comes to the door. When you open it, if the dogs are obedient they will stay in their spot and not run outside and possibly be hurt. Beloved, God has a “spot” for us as well. And we have to learn to find it and “stay” in it. It’s our “safe” place. From that “spot” we can see things going on around us but not participate in them. From our “spot” we can learn to listen before we speak, "stay" where we are “safe” and speak peace to the chaos.

Are you in your “sweet spot” or just a "spot"? 

Power Thought:

God always has a “sweet spot” just for you. He's waiting to release the sweetness of His peace and the joy of His presence to you. Won't you join Him?