Power Of Recharging

Key Scripture:  "Therefore, I ask that you do not lose heart...” Ephesians 2:13

Power Point:

     It doesn't matter how strong a Christian you are, tests and challenges can wear you down can't they?  The repeated blows, the constant battles, can make us think about sitting down and giving up.

     My friend David recently bought one of the new electric cars. It's a great car unless he forgets to re-charge it! As pretty as it is, and as nicely as it rides, if it's not re-charged, it's not going to do what a car should do.  He has to know the location of every charging station so that if his battery is low, he can take an hour or so to re-charge it.

     It's interesting to think that my faith can be electric.  It can conduct confidence, hope, peace, and courage through my heart.  It can SHOCK me into change and to action.  Sometimes, when I've not taken the time to recharge it, I end up with no power. 

     Just as our hearts can get out of rhythm and have to be shocked back into working properly, so our faith needs a recharging from time to time. Circumstances, and people, and doom and gloom prognosticators constantly attack the heartbeat of our faith.  If you've found yourself out of harmony with the heartbeat of heaven recently, then it’s definitely time to recharge.

     STOP right where you are.  The only way to stir up the gifts, the anointing, and the hope that is in you comes from His Words to you.  My words won't help you as much as His words will Beloved.  You need the affirmation and the Love that come from Him personally.  Christ lives in our heart, by faith, He lives and moves and guides and directs our lives as we release our confident assurance in His goodness and His power.  In tough times, we need to know that GOD IS FOR US!  He's on our side!  Is it time for you to "have a moment" or a few moments with Him?  Is it time for the water of the Word to cleanse away all the doubt and fear and panic, and simple fatigue? 

     As I understand it, electricity has to be grounded to work properly.  When we are grounded in the love of God, nothing can stop His abundant power from working in us. If you've been shocked by something unexpected in your life, shock your faith back into the steady rhythm of God's power by re-charging it with His promises. Remind yourself of His character and His nature and His determination to fight for your good.  He promises to reward your faith. Let me say that again!  "He promises to reward your faith!!!!!!"  Remember that! 

    One thing I love to do is to simply sit quietly with Him and ask Him who He wants to be for me in this current attack on my faith.  Then I ask Him who He wants me to be.  THEN, I ask Him to just love me.  I have to consciously dedicate time and thought to do that, but when I do, my faith is electrified.  There is nothing like the presence of His Love and His joy to start the steady rhythm of faith purring along again.

     When my faith is recharged, my life is recharged.  My thoughts are recharged. My dreams and hopes are recharged.   Beloved, until we live in the continual electric charge of heaven, we need charging stations.  Where is yours?

Power Thought:

    Is it time to recharge your heart back into to the rhythm of faith?

Copyright © 2015, Suzanne Roberts, Unpublished Work

Power Of Pressure

Key Scripture:  "In Him, we live and move and have our being."  Acts 17:28

Power Point:

I was reading about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane recently.   I don't know about you, but I've had a few "Gethsemane's" of my own.  The Holy Spirit revealed a very "gentle" revelation to me.

In Luke 28, Jesus had just had His final supper with his disciples. As they walked toward Gethsemane, Jesus cautions them, "Keep praying for strength to be spared from the severe test of your faith which is about to come." Then He left them behind and went to begin His own prayer time. This is the part that I love about Jesus.  The Son of God, the Son of Man, wasn't sure that what lay ahead of Him was God's will.  He prayed, "Father, if You are willing...” If?  When I think back over all the prayers that Jesus prayed, "I don't remember an "if".   

      Here is the key. Jesus continued, dreading what was before Him, but totally submitted to His Father. "But no matter what, Your will must be Mine."  And that's the difference isn't it? Jesus was not asking to be spared. He knew His Father so well and trusted Him so much that even the horrors that lay ahead of Him did not pull Him out of the place of faith and trust.  The Enemy had no place in Him.  His Father had His entire devotion and earnest trust. Every emotion in Him was electric, but He was not going to quit. He was just there for His final instructions. He remembered how much He was loved by His Father and how important that which lay ahead of Him was to the completion of His mission on earth.  That knowledge turned His sorrow into joy. He wasn't spared and the angels came to give Him strength.

     Beloved, it's okay to clarify whether what you are going through needs to be handled with aggressive warfare or active resistance.  Do you need a sword or a shield? That place can be confusing can't it?  We've prayed for a deeper, more intimate knowledge of Him and when the tests come, we are simply being s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d closer to His heart. Through the test, we grow in patience, and wisdom, and understanding of Who He wants to be for us. Remember, the test will always come to plant the word so deeply that Satan can't steal it.

     Graham Cooke, one of my favorite Bible teachers says that "If you are in Christ, then all your circumstances are in Christ too!" It's a wonderful truth to remember when the bottom falls out of your life and you can't seem to get your footing.  If your circumstances are IN CHRIST, then there's nothing to worry about, right? If your future is in Christ, then He will bring you to a flourishing, carefully thought out finish.  If you are in Christ, then stay there.  Take time to listen to what He wants to tell you and then wait for further instructions.

You may want to pray for rescue but He's working on your endurance.

You may want to pray for more authority, but He's working on your patience.

You may want to run and hide, but He keeps shoving you right in to the middle of the battlefield.

    In the garden, Jesus simply waited on God until He had His marching orders. He said, 
"Yes" to God. His spirit was definitely willing.  If you're spending a little time in your own personal Gethsemane, remember that it was a place filled with olive trees.  The oil that was created to come out of them would have to be pressed with such force that the olive was crushed and was unrecognizable.  Just like Jesus.

     Today, the oil that flows from His Spirit to us is full of the fruit of His victory over His soul that night.  He loves to anoint us with the same anointing that took Him through, and brought Him out in such glorious joyful victory.
    Wherever you are, He understands.

Power Thought:

"As the Author and Finisher of our faith, God has not only given you the grace to start, but He's also given you the grace to finish." Joel Osteen

Copyright © 2015, Suzanne Roberts, Unpublished Work.

Power Of What You Write

Key Scripture: "For here is the covenant I will establish:  I will embed my laws within their thoughts and fasten them unto their hearts.  I will be their loyal God and they will be my loyal people."  Hebrews 8:10, TPT                                                  

Power Point:

     Every morning, I open my IPAD and begin to Journal.  Each day I click on "Create New Document".  A blank page appears and I can begin to create what will document my day.  Every day we have the privilege of beginning with a blank page and creating our thoughts and our plans to bring life or death.

     Scripture is very clear that we are to guard our hearts.  In other words, we pick up our pens and write on our hearts the words that we want to see fulfilled there, not only for today but for all our tomorrows.  It says in Psalms that our Tongue is the pen of a ready writer. What I write, I read and what I write I speak.  Sometimes what I write, others will read what I have written.  What do I want others to "read" in the pages of my life?

     Actually people "read" us every day don't they?  They can tell whether our spirits are at peace or in chaos.  They can tell whether we are sad or happy.  They can tell whether our faith is genuine and our hope solid.  People are reading what you've written on your heart whether you want them to or not. 

So what will you will you create today?

     It's always our choice Beloved.  The darkest places of our lives do not have to create darkness in our hearts.  We can choose to believe God.  We can choose to write His words over every available space in our hearts so that when other thoughts or words are thrown at us, they can't find a place to land. We can document over and over God's faithfulness, and goodness, and kindness so that even though there's a momentary "twinge", our hearts automatically choose to settle down in the promises and character of our God.

We can wash out the darkness with the Water of the Word.  We can enjoy the benefits of being rooted and grounded in the Perfect Love that God has for us.

If you're going through a "dark night of the soul", ask the Lord who He wants to be for you in this situation. And then, ask Him what thought He wants you to write on the tablet of your heart.

Think on these things. Imagine yourself with a butterfly net, catching every thought that comes into your head and letting only the "butterfly" thoughts, the life-changing thoughts, stay. Guard your heart.

     With your tongue, speak out what God has written. Your ears need to hear it. Write it down so that you can read it and run, as it says in Micah. Delete the thoughts that constrict and damage your heart. Transform every thought into one that brings God closer.

     Create life. Create hope. What a great opportunity to see what your God can do with His own words written, engraved, and deeply rooted on your heart.

Power Thought:

A Tree Deeply Rooted

When you read tomorrow, what you wrote today, will your heart overflow with a GOOD theme?

"My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King'

My tongue is the pen of a ready writer." Psalm 45:1

Copyright © 2015, Suzanne Roberts, Unpublished Work

Power Of The Journey

Key Scripture:  "Don't you know that God, the true judge, will grant justice to all of his chosen ones who cry out to him night and day?  He will pour out His Spirit upon them."

Luke 18.

Power Point:

     A few weeks ago, I was observing a friend of mine.  She had been going through some really rough times financially.  This lady has always had a sparkle in her eyes and was always upbeat.

I realized that the sparkle had been missing recently.  When I spoke with her, she was focused on the lack that she was experiencing, and I recognized that old nemesis, fear.  Then, out of the blue, God provided a financial miracle for her. It was indeed, a boost to her spirit.  The fire in her belly was stirred up and the sparkle came back into her eyes.  I could see the shift because she had seen that God would provide.

     In my own life, I've been struggling with putting my home on the market.  It's time to downsize and I truly am okay with that, but all the details that are involved in that journey were overwhelming me.  My son said to me recently, "Mom, if you stay in the same place, you're not walking by faith."  That is a simple thought, but profoundly true.

     We have to give God something to work with, Beloved.  We have to give Him something that He can reward.  If you remember, He says that He will reward our faith; not our doubts, not our fears, but our FAITH. According to His commands He tells us that faith

includes walking. It is the important part of the beginning of the journey of Faith.  When we begin to agree with Him and what He has spoken to us, our little legs will automatically start moving forward.  Our faith, IN HIM, stirs up our spirit man and the Holy Spirit begins to empower the promises, empower our thoughts, and help us take the next step.

Lo and behold, the darkness begins to fall away and the Light begins to shine. 

     Starting to walk by faith, however, is not the end of faith.  Starting to walk by faith, leads to continuing to walk by faith, and then finishing the walk of faith.

     Somehow we often think that if we've read the book, highlighted the pages, and listened to the CD's we have made it through to faith.  Our reward should be just around the next corner. Sorry to be the bearer of not-so-good tidings, but Beloved, You've only just begun.

    If you've been inspired by someone to reach out and grasp a promise for your life, it's easy to think that the hard part is over.  You read it and you believe it!  The thing is, those words came from someone ELSE's faith walk.  They trudged through the storms of life and came out shining. They're there to encourage you to begin your own walk and their testimony is to remind you of the Truth that the hard places can be overcome. What is the Good News?  You can do it!  What is the Not-So-Good News?  Your faith will be tried and tested by heaven to make it invincible, and assaulted by the enemy to steal it away..

     The real truth is that if you START walking by faith, and persevere in faith, you will have a flourishing finish. This is a journey.  Do you remember the old Pony Express riders? They had a saddlebag full of mail to deliver but the delivery of that mail was often met with bad weather, thieves, or cantankerous Indians along the way. Today, the theme of the mail service is: "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." 

     You are the Courier of the testimonies of God's faithfulness. Don't let any gloom of night keep you from the swift completion of your appointed rounds.  Begin your walk of faith.  Persevere in the storms that come and finish your rounds, with a flourish.

Power Thought:

If you stay in the same place, you're not walking by faith.

Copyright ©, 2015, Suzanne Roberts, Unpublished Work