POWER OF THE THRONE

Key Scripture: "Therefore we may come boldly to the Throne of Grace that we may receive mercy and grace to help in time of need."  Hebrews 4:16

Power Point:

     When I first became a Christian I had the mistaken idea that only a few people could come before the Throne of Grace.  I knew I was going to heaven but I wasn't quite sure about anything else.  Weren't my daily mistakes too big for God?  I thought that Grace was for a select few-You know, the good ones, the Perfect ones, the well-prepared ones. Imagine my surprise when as time went by I really began to understand how vast the grace of God is. God never sneers at the losers, or turns His back on the down and outers 

    The Word for Grace is "charis", and it mean merciful kindness. In Romans 2:5 it says that God changes us by His kindness.  I guess that means that Grace, His kindness, changes the way we think, and then changes the way we act.

    Grace is the greatest gift that God has to offer us. It means that out of a thousand people that stand before Him, He never limits Himself to being available to one or two.  It means that out of a world gone wrong, His grace is still available to every single person.  Yes, even them.

     It's an amazing thought that no matter what I do or say, or how I mess up my life, I am still a target for God's grace.  I am reading a WONDERFUL book by Max Lucado entitled "Grace Happens Here."  You would LOVE it!!

This is a quote:

"When you love the unloving you get a glimpse of what God does for you.  When you keep the porch light on for the prodigal child, when you do what is right even though you have been done wrong, when you love the weak and the sick, you do what God does every single moment."

     We sometimes forget that as we receive Grace, we are to EXTEND Grace.  If God doesn't eliminate anyone from Grace, I don't thing it pleases Him when we do that either.  As I'm learning to be Grace-full, I'm discovering that sometimes that means I simply need to shut up and be kind. (That can be difficult, because I KNOW so much, and I think people should hear it!)

In fact, when I go back to the definition of what grace really is, it's merciful kindness; it's compassion with a hug! Aren't we blessed to have the Spirit of Grace in living color right inside us.  We can just reach inside our hearts and pull out the grace He is so famous for. In fact, we get to make HIM famous for His Kindness every single day, through our own acts of gracious kindness.

    Today YOU get to be kinder than you've ever been.  YOU get to be more patient than you knew you could be. YOU get to show compassion to someone who needs a hug. YOU get to make God's goodness and grace famous.

Power Thought:

"God dispenses His goodness not with an eyedropper but a fire hydrant.  Your heart is a Dixie cup and His grace is the Mediterranean Sea." Max Lucado

Copyright (c)2014, Suzanne Roberts, Unpublished Work

Power Of The Thief

KEY SCRIPTURE:  "The thief only comes to rob you of every bit of peace, every bit of joy, and  every bit of hope that you have."  John 10:10  (Suzanne Version)

Power Point:

God is not the thief.  He  never comes into your life to steal your peace or your joy; your loved ones or your provision. He's the GOOD guy, remember?

God is not the thief. He is not the author of confusion or the creator of strife, offenses and division.  He does not come to set spouse against spouse, child against parent, sister against brother or friend against friend.  God is all about unity and peace.  He's the GOOD guy, remember?

God is not the thief.  He doesn't sneak around in darkness thinking of ways to destroy you.  God is the one who has done everything possible to insure your well-being.  He's the GOOD guy, remember?

    You may be saying to yourself, but I don't think about God like that?  Really?  When was the last time you worried? When was the last time you were anxious?  When was the last time you feared the future? Gotcha!!

    If we really believe that God is GOOD all the time, (really, really, really believe) then we would never allow the thought that He will somehow be unfaithful to us to enter our minds.  If we believe, really believe, that He is kind, then we will never entertain the thought that He will somehow be less than kind or caring to us.

The thief robs us of our dreams.

God delights in seeing our dreams come true.

The thief robs us of peace in relationships.

God promises to lead us in unity.

The thief robs us of our future.

God restores our future, our destiny, and our hopes.

The thief robs us of our health.

God is our Healer.

     Perhaps you were a little unclear about who is the GOOD GUY and who is the BAD GUY.

I hope this helps clarify that for you.  When something robs you of your dreams, your peace, your hope, and your health, that is NOT a good thing.  You can fight against that-and God will fight for you and with you.

God is the Leader of the Angel armies.

God is a VIP-a VERY IMPORTANT PROTECTOR

God is the God who does the impossible every single day.  If you look at the word "impossible", you might see God saying "I M POSSIBLE!"

      Figure out who the Good Guy is and get on His side. What do you really believe?

Power Thought:
" I like Jesus, I mean I think He was a good guy."  Dennis Leary

  

Power Of Choosing Joy

                                       Powering Up Your Joy

                                          Joy is always an option. 

It doesn't matter if things are hard or people are difficult. As God's beloved children, we always have the choice to choose Him, and choose joy.  We just have to reach inside our  hearts and let Him flow His joy like a river.   Joy is knowing God is with you. Joy is understanding that He is with you to bless you, to encourage you, and to show up on your behalf. Joy is carrying His presence to whomever He sends to you. 

                                    In His presence is fullness of joy.

                                       Choose Him.  Choose Joy.





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

Power Of The Spirit Power

Key Scripture: "But the fruit of the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its various expressions."  Galatians 5:22, TPT

Power Point:

     What I understand is that I can't be loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, and gentle without the Power of the Holy Spirit. I know that because I've tried!  Many times.  I can be all those things in short spurts but not for the long haul.

I am as patient as I want to be for the most part.

I can be as patient as HE wants me to be when I let Him fill me, and lead me.

        

     It always surprises me at how we, as Christians, get the wrong impression that becoming like Jesus is hard work, when, in fact, the Spirit of God IN us, is perfectly ready, willing, and able to BE what we need Him to be in us and to Do what He's promised to do. The thing is, we just don't always want to let Him do that.

     When my grandchildren were here last week, we talked about the Holy Spirit and how He is IN us.  I gave each of them a brightly colored bag with their name on it.  Inside I had printed off the fruit of the Spirit in individual cards. We talked about how sometimes we grit our teeth and try to work up "joy", or "peace", or even "love". In fact, we have all those things in us right now, and all we have to do is reach inside and pull them out. It's just as easy as pulling those cards out of the bag.

     We recognise policemen by the uniform that they wear.  We recognize Doctors by their white coats. As Christians shouldn't we be recognized by the fruit of the Spirit that flows out of us by His power?  Shouldn't our actions be filled with the fruit of the Spirit?  Shouldn't our words be flowing with His fruit?  When people spend time with us, shouldn't our demeanor reflect His demeanor.     Okay. I admit that there is a hard part. Winning the battle over our flesh can be a real challenge can't it? There is an ongoing, all-out war to make those nasty little thoughts and unkind words that are fighting to come out of our mouths yield to kindness, and gentleness and self-control.

     And yet.  When we yield to Him, He empowers us to do what we need to do, and to say what we need to say.  We offer Him our flesh and He exchanges it for Life as He knows it and has it. I believe that's called "transformation". 

      Beloved, we were never meant to live the Christian life on our own. Those battles were meant to be fought in the Power of the Spirit. Is it time that you stopped trying to be holy without the Holy Spirit? Is it time to yield to His fulness in you and let it come out in full force?

     You bet it is.

Power Thought:

The greatest privilege that we have is to abide in Him and then see Him reveal His true nature through us.

Copyright (c) 2014, Suzanne Roberts, Unpublished 

Power Of A GOOD Job

Key Scripture:  "Being confident of this, that He who began a Good Work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."  Philippians 1:6

Power Point:

     I have the best job in the world.  The benefits are amazing and the joy is unbelievable. I never have to worry about retirement and I always have something and someone to look forward to. I always have Good News to share with people.

I LOVE MY JOB BECAUSE:

I get to sustain the weary.

I get to encourage the weak.

I get to partner with Holy Spirit and move in His flow.

I get to share the anointing.

I get to live in God's heart and take pieces of it to others.

I get to LOVE unconditionally.

I get to be Grace-FULL!

I get to KNOW Him.

I get to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and spread His peace.

I get to bring His peace into chaos.

I get to overcome evil with His Goodness.

I get to be compassionate, kind, loving and gracious.

I get to bring wholeness into brokenness.

I get to repair, rebuild and restore.

I get to fly with Him on the heights of the earth..

i get to see things from HIS perspective and bring Heaven's perspective to earth.

I get to move mountains.

I get to give what I have to bless others, with the same generosity that God gives to me, "pressed down, shaken together  and running over."

I get to be like JESUS!

I get to comfort the sad.

I get to encourage dreaming.

I get to offer hope.

I get to be living proof of the Goodness of God.  So do you!

Don't you just LOVE your job?

Power Thought:

 "Whatever you do, do it for the glory of God."

Copyright © 2014, Suzanne Roberts, Unpublished Work.