Power Of Real Faith

Key Scripture: "And now to the God who is able to do, exceedingly abundantly beyond all that you ask or even think."  Ephesians 3:20

"We walk by faith, not by sight."  2 Corinthians 5:17

Power Point:

Are you praying what you SEE?

     We have so many wonderful promises from Him that we only see in our spiritual hearts for the moment.  If you remember, Abraham had  been promised a son. Many years passed and there was no child for he and Sarah.  If we were able to be a fly on the wall in his prayer time, his prayers may have sounded a bit like this:

"Well, Father, it's been ten years now since You first promised me that I would be a father to many nations. So far, I only have one child and I don't know if You've noticed, but I am getting older and Sarah, well, there doesn't appear to be a lot of life left in those old bones. She's sad and that makes me sad. She's sorry that she laughed.  Did you know that people are laughing at me behind my back?  Are you aware that this is hard?  Did I hear you incorrectly?  Have You changed Your mind? Did I do something wrong?"

     Oh. Sorry. That actually sounds more like one of MY prayers than one of Abraham's prayers.

     Scripture says that "Abraham believed God".  He didn't waiver. I'm pretty sure that means that he didn't come running in to God's presence saying all the things that HE saw and none of what GOD saw and said.  Abraham is the Father of the Faith because when he prayed, he believed God. God heard faith from his lips.

     Remember when Abraham challenged God on Sodom and Gomorrah? Even Lot, (who left a "lot" to be desired in terms of righteousness), was saved by the audacity of Abraham's prayers.

     Abraham didn't consider his own body. He didn't get out of the shower in the morning, look at himself in the mirror and say, "OH NO!"  He didn't fix his eyes on himself, on the impossibilities that were patently obvious. He fixed His eyes on the One who was able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that he could think to ask.

     When Abraham died, the fruit of the sons of the nations was still unseen. He didn't SEE those sons in the natural but I'm pretty sure that as Isaac sat by his deathbed, they chatted about the all the sons to come. That is what faith does. It does not walk by what it does not see and it does not pray according to what it sees.

     Faith grabs hold of what God sees, and what God has promised.  It SEES the end from the beginning.  Faith may not see the next step on the path but it knows that step is there.

Faith trusts that God will put His foot down so that you can walk in His footsteps.

Faith doesn't pray problems. It doesn't fix its thoughts there. It captures the thoughts of God and holds them firmly in place. Captivated hearts are fixed and set in stone so that what GOD thinks is what fills the mind and heart.

Faith says that there is a problem but that God has promises. Faith sets its heart on the promises and the character of the One Who has promised.

Faith asks for God's wisdom.  
Faith expects answers. 
Faith doesn't take the easy way out by talking about what is going on in the natural. Faith talks about the goodness of God and the exceedingly abundant answers on the way.

Faith declares what God declares.  
Faith believes what God believes.

Faith sees what God sees.

Power Thought:

There is an exceedingly abundant answer in your future. Do you see what God sees there?

Copyright © 2014, Suzanne Roberts, Unpublished Work

Power Of Sweetness

 Key Scripture: “It is the kindness of God that causes us to think differently.” Romans 2:5

"wood, hay and stubble..." 1 Corinthians 3:12

Power Point:

     I’ve been so privileged to build some things for the Lord.  There have been some really good things. I was quite impressed!  Then one day, as I was leading a group of women into what I thought was a glorious understanding of the goodness of God, I discovered that I was hitting them over the head with my astounding revelations of His goodness. They were not receptive.  Why?  Because I hadn't laid the foundation in my own life for His kindness. I had skipped the part where I was supposed to be kind, be good, and be sweet. What I was doing was simply, wood, hay, and stubble.

There was division and frustration and finally one day I sat down and told the Lord that He simply needed to do something with them. They just weren't "getting it"! Quietly, as He is prone to do, (when I finally shut up), He spoke to my heart and said, “Suzanne, are you showing them what I’m really like or what you’re really like without My goodness? Ouch.  “Are you demonstrating my patient love, kindness and gentleness? Or are you trying to force it down their throats without applying it to your own heart first.” Busted. I was, in effect, saying, "Do what I say, not what I do!" I knew what I had read.  It made sense to my head but I hadn’t changed direction in my own heart.  Pride always blames someone else, doesn’t it?  God had been patient.  Now I could see that I needed to step back from that place of leadership until I learned what servant leadership was. I needed to cultivate an intimacy with Him that would cause others to want to be more like Him. From that place of intimacy, there should come a kindness, a bold kindness, a bolder gentleness and an even bolder patience.

       How much time do we spend pressing into that intimate place of His goodness?  We often run in for a quick charge of His power or a quick dose of patience and we don’t even smell the roses of His sweet aroma of His presence.

In addition to power, wouldn’t it be lovely to experience a double dose of His sweetness and kindness?  In addition to patience, wouldn’t a spoonful of His sweetness help the medicine go down? Isn't that what causes us to think differently?

     In America we are very devoted to power aren’t we? We’re obsessed with accomplishments and star-studded success.  I wonder if perhaps God doesn’t view much of that as wood, hay and stubble.  I wonder if He would be more impressed with the spirit of a man that has learned to live as a carrier of His nature; the love, the joy, the peace, the patience, kindness and gentleness. Our lives are to be living proof of the genuineness of His character and the sweet aroma of His presence.  We’re supposed to look different than the world. We’re supposed to BE different from the world. That’s how the words that we speak and the actions that we take are supposed to bring heaven to earth. We might bring words of correction but they are to be words flavored with the sweetness of God so that people will want to lick the spoon when we offer them holy medicine.

     It takes more than a quick trip to the Secret Place to let heaven invade your life.

Power Thought:

If we spent more time in His presence, absorbing, and abiding, we would never be able to get enough of sweetness of His nature.

Copyright (c) 2014, Suzanne Roberts, Unpublished Work.

Power Of Stolen Identity

Key Scripture: "I pray that He will give light to the eyes of your hearts so that you will understand the hope to which He has called you, what rich glories there are in the inheritance He has promised his people, and how surpassingly great is His power working in us who trust Him."  Ephesians 1:18, The Complete Jewish Bible.

Power Point:

     On Friday, my friend Julie's Facebook account was hacked.  The funny thing is we were sitting together in her car when I got an email from Facebook that she wanted to be my FRIEND.  Hah!  That’s pretty funny since we've been ”friends” for years. As I looked into the info from her, I noticed that the information was mostly incorrect.  As the day progressed, people who thought the message was from her responded and ended up in some sort of a money scam. ICK!  Anyway, as we were talking about all this, she made the comment that someone had stolen her identity. Then I realized that that was exactly what had happened.  They used HER name, and HER friendships to gain an advantage they didn't deserve, based on her reputation.

     Then I realized that the woman who sent out the "Power UP!" under HER name had done the same thing. She had tried to steal MY identity.  She took my name and my heart and my relationship with Holy Spirit, and tried to pretend they were hers, which of course, they weren't.

     Sometimes we allow other people to steal our identities don't we?  We allow them to convince us that we aren't really what God says we are. We're too this or that to be loved by Him.

     Sometimes we steal our own identities don't we?  We refuse to believe that we are who HE says we are.

    I realized that the most effective tool of the enemy is to steal God's identity.  Satan has done everything he could since his fall from heaven to convince us that God is not Who He says He is and He will not do what He said He would do!  He works overtime trying to convince us that who we are IN CHRIST, is not as good as who we could be with him.

Is he trying to steal your identity today?

Is he telling you his favorite lies that will steal your power, your authority and your hope in God?

Is he telling you that you're not worthy of God's blessings?

Are you listening?

  
Here are some Truths to plant in your heart:

God SO loves you.  He calls you “Beloved”.

God sent Jesus to HELP you be free from the lies and walk in the GRACE and TRUTH of His own Holy Spirit.

He has chosen you to have all power and authority, through HIS victory, and HIS name to tread on all the power of the enemy.

He has chosen you to be anointed to bring heaven to earth.

He has chosen you to inherit the RICHES of His kingdom.

He has chosen you to live in confidence of His goodness.

He has chosen you to really, really LIVE!

You've been chosen by Him to be an overcomer.

He has chosen you to be protected by angels.
He has chosen you to have heavenly provision and heavenly deliverance.

He has chosen you to be transformed into a new creation. to be a world changer. Jesus was a world changer and you are becoming more like Him every day.

You've been filled with the wisdom and purposes of God for your life.  Stay connected to THAT!

Don't let Satan steal your identity anymore. Know who you are and know what you have in Jesus.  Jesus never let the devil steal His identity.  For heaven's sake don't let him steal yours!

What you believe about yourself and your God determines who you will become.

Power Thought:

“Your beliefs become your thoughts,

Your thoughts become your words,

Your words become your actions,

Your actions become your habits,

Your habits become your values,

Your values become your destiny.”

Mahatma Gandhi.

Copyright ©2014, Suzanne Roberts, Unpublished Work.

Power of HELP!

Key Scripture: "And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”  John 14:13,14

Power Point:

     As I’ve mentioned before, my wonderful grandson, JD, has been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. It has been difficult to stabilize his blood sugars, which means that he feels badly most of the time. As I was praying for him last week, I heard the phrase, “Jesus is helping me!”  JD is eleven. Although he is a great “pray-er”, sometimes in the thick of the battle, we need to simplify things don’t we?  Sometimes the only word I can utter is “HELP!”  What I am encouraging JD to do is to ask Jesus to HELP! When he begins to feel the imbalance of the blood sugar, I’m asking him to say, “Jesus is helping me!”   When I am thinking about him, I say to Jesus, “Thank You Jesus for helping him.” 

     What if you did that in the middle of your situation today? What if you began to thank Jesus for His help wherever it’s needed?  What if you began to think about why Jesus came?  I think it was to HELP!

He came to turn sorrows into joy.  Are you sorrowful? He can HELP with that.

Are you sick in body or mind? He came to HELP with that.

Are your finances in bad shape? He can HELP with that!

Are you emotions in disarray?  He can HELP with that!

Is there a relationship that needs healing? Guess what!  He can HELP with that!

     In fact, there is nothing that Jesus can’t, and doesn’t want to do for you.

He understands how weak we are by ourselves-that’s why He came to HELP.  He doesn’t condemn us for needing help; He simply reminds us where to go to get it.

“Let us therefore, (because Jesus sympathizes with us), come boldly to His throne of Grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

     The term, “Come boldly”, means come without reservation, without holding back. To come with honest expressions and full and open speech. You ask.  He helps.

     As you read this Power UP! today, and any day, I hope you will take a moment to say, “Thank You Jesus, for helping JD!” His Gami would greatly appreciate it!

Power Thought:

Ben, David, JD

God is our refuge and strength. He is a very present help in time of need.

“Thank You Jesus for helping me!”

If you'd like to send JD a note of encouragement, just make a comment and I'll be sure that he gets it. Thank you for HELPING us.

Copyright © 2014, Suzanne Roberts Unpublished Work.