Power Of Truth

Key Scripture: “And gird yourselves with the belt of truth.” Ephesians 6:14

Power Point:

    I was studying the belt of truth recently and found some very interesting facts.

     “Everything they needed hung from their belt.  It had specially designed hooks and holders, which held the scabbard that contained the sword at exactly the right angle.  It held the quiver which held the lances they would need for battle and an apparatus on which to rest the large battle shield. It also had clips with which to hold the breastplate in its proper place.

Their supplies of bread, oil, and water were also on the belt.” (Tim Greenwood, Blue Letter Bible.)

     As you look carefully at the Belt of Truth, you can understand why God says its vitally important. The Truth of God is what sets us free. The Truth about God is what keeps us free.  What you believe about God defines your forward motion in the life of faith. If you anchor your beliefs to Truth, you will find everything you need for any battle that occurs. Your righteousness, your faith, your anointing from Holy Spirit-are all are firmly attached to your belt of Truth. It is what girds you for battle and releases your promises.

     I guess that means that you have to know that you know that you know what God says about you, and to you, and what HE says about Himself and who He wants to be for you.

     Every situation you face in life is simply an opportunity to turn a problem into a promise fulfilled.  Every battle you face is an opportunity to see Him turn the tables on the enemy.  So many times in the Old Testament the children of Israel would be faced with insurmountable odds. With a twinkle in His eye, God would diminish their already small forces. When they went to sleep the night before the battle, it looked like certain defeat. When they awoke the next morning, they found that God had been on their side all along.

     Colossians 2:15 says that Jesus “disarmed principalities and powers.” (And I

LOVE this part.)  It says that He "made a public spectacle of them."  Everyone watched as Jesus disarmed the Enemy of all of his powers and took back the keys of the kingdom.

     “Disarmed” means that He took all their weapons and left them defenseless. It means that whatever enemy you are facing in your life today, it is already disarmed. 

     Beloved, NO weapon formed against you can prosper today unless you let it.  If you have girded yourself with the Belt of Truth, you are uniquely equipped to make a public spectacle of your enemy. Truth is your greatest weapon, and it is the anchor of your faith. You can’t move mountains, or win battles unless you believe what God says.

John Osteen said it this way:

“This is my bible. (The Truth)

It is the Incorruptible, the Indestructible, 

Ever-living seed, 

of the Word of God. 

I am what it says I am. 

I have what it says I have. 

I can do what it says I can do. 

     Are you girded with Truth that transforms you today?  Are you placing your faith in who God says you are and not what the Enemy would like you to believe?  Have you found the promise of God for your problem?

      When I get on an airplane or into my car, the first thing I do is fasten my seat belt.  It keeps me safe.  It anchors me so that I stay firmly in place. The Truth is that God’s word is your safety belt. It keeps you firmly in your seat when things get bumpy. Jesus never promised that there wouldn’t be bumps in the road but He promised that you would be safe when you hit them.

     Whatever enemy you are facing today be sure to face him, toe to toe with the sure-footed, stability of the Truth of God’s word.

You ARE who it says you are.

You HAVE what it says you have,

And you can DO what it says you can do.

And that, my friend, is the Truth!

Power Thought:

Everything you need to disarm the enemy and make a public spectacle of him is fastened to your faith in His truths.

Power Of Walking Higher

Key Scripture:  "If you are raised up with Christ…set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. …Let the peace of God rule in your hearts…” Colossians 3:1,2, 14

Power Point

     Jesus walked on water because His thoughts were in the clouds.

He lived on a heavenly plane in a heavenly place continuously.  His feet never touched the ground. It didn't matter what was under Him.

     Why can’t we do that as perfectly as he did? Why do we begin to sink as Peter did when he saw the waves at his feet? Is it possible that our thoughts drag us down, while His thoughts defy gravity?

     His thoughts are higher than our thoughts and they always bring us up into the realm of heavenly possibilities.  When Jesus reached out His hand to Peter, He was walking in the kingdom of God.  When Peter took His hand, he was back on top of the waves, with Jesus, strolling through the impossible.

     One day as I was praying for someone, I was thinking about the storms that were continually around them. While I sat quietly waiting for Holy Spirit to “help” me with my prayers for them, I heard Him say very clearly, “They carry the storms within them.” As I thought about it, I realized that indeed they do. It gave me a whole new perspective on how to pray for them.

     You see, Beloved, when we refuse to “let God’s peace reign” in our hearts, something else will reign. When we refuse to believe and ground our faith in God’s goodness and His delight in doing the impossible for us, we are letting someone else’s thoughts rule in our hearts. That’s a stormy way to live don’t you think?  If your thoughts are continually stirring up those storms, then guess who’s reigning.  You have the incredible choice of "Letting God’s Peace" rule in

your hearts. So why are you agitated? Is it because you really don’t believe the promise that God loves you and that He has a plan to turn everything in your life into a very good thing?  Is it possible that you are looking around you instead of looking up?  Is it conceivable that your doubts outweigh your faith? If that's the case, then the only way is down!

     Walking on water requires two things:  The Holy Spirit and Faith. The Holy Spirit in you will stir up the real truth about your situation. He will remind you of all the wonderful promises you have in Christ and your position as a child of God.  He will stir up waves of hope and courage that give you a solid substance to walk on, even when it doesn’t look solid.  It is our choice to believe Him.  It is our great privilege as His child to walk on water with Him or sink below the level of faith and get really, really wet. It is our choice to live in chaos or in peace.

     Once Jesus got to know the power of Holy Spirit, He never looked back and He certainly never looked down. He allowed Himself to be taught the truths of God and walk in them and on them. He knew His Father and He trusted Him to be a man of His Word.

     Only believe, Beloved, and you will find that the storms stilled IN you will bring peace AROUND you.

Where will you walk today? Are you ready to get your feet wet?

Power Thought:

What do you really believe about God and His plans for you?

Power Of The Smell Test

Key Scripture:  “Unto me is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God.”   Luke 8:10

Power Point:

     I’ve always loved a good mystery. I’ve read every Agatha Christie novel. I LOVE watching mysteries on television. And I guess I really love figuring out the “mysteries” of God.  Being an analytical, I’m always trying to solve the mysteries of Who He really is and what He really has promised to me.

He has been a great partner in this adventure.  Why? Because He loves for us to search for Him.  He loves for us to uncover the secrets, the mysteries about Him. If He had told us everything about Himself at the very beginning, the journey would not have been nearly as much fun would it?

     I love looking back over my life and seeing a promise that He gave me at the beginning of my walk with Him spreading its wings in my life.  I love unwrapping and uncovering the mysterious ways in which He shows His faithfulness. I love opening the present of His Presence, pulling back the tissue paper and discovering something that is absolutely perfect for me that day. I love knowing that there is nothing mysterious about Him- but there is still a great deal that I don’t know.

     I’ve heard of people who don’t know Him who say to Him in desperation, “If You’re up there, PROVE IT!” In fact, I was one of them. I was a young mother, with a husband who traveled and a sick child. It was the wee hours of the

morning and my son was sick, again. I had no where to turn. The ear infection was back and my baby was crying. As I started to carry him downstairs, I tripped and sprained my ankle. I couldn’t go up and I couldn’t go down. It so happened that my mother-in-law was there and she quickly came to help. It was the last straw. I had had a nodding acquaintance with Him, but that night I was finally desperate to know if He really was there. People said He would help me. I needed to know if that was true.

I cried out, ”God, if you’re really up there, Prove it!”. 

     Within two week, my husband came home having had a personal encounter with God.  Everything about him was different. There was an “awe” in him. As he told me about his experience in a hotel room with the Holy Spirit, I could see that God was answering my prayer. He was “proving Himself.”  The mysteries of a God who wanted to be a part of our lives on an intimate, continual basis, was solved but not completed. Over the last 39 years He has continued to tell me His secrets. The more I ask, the more He tells me.  In James it says that “we do not have because we do not ask!” I asked and He answered. And He’s still answering.

      If you want to know more about God, then you will need to spend time in “The Secret Place."  Every day will become an adventure to look forward to as you discover more of His secrets. In the book of Malachi, He tells us to ask Him to "Prove it!"  

     God proves us too. He will put us to the test to see if we will do what He says, and believe what He says. In Deuteronomy 8, He reveals that He has tested the children of Israel for 40 years in order to make sure that their faith would pass the smell test! That’s actually one of the definitions of “prove” in the New Testament.  Does whatever we're doing   ga pass the smell test? God says, He proves us so that He can do good things for us. We prove Him so that we can be perfectly confident that His goodness is no longer a secret.

     In Romans 12:2, He tells us that renewing our minds and uncovering His Truths allow our lives to become living proof of His goodness toward us.

It is a journey, a process, and an adventure.

Are you ready to take it on? Are you ready to explore the goodness of God for yourself, and uncover the secrets He wants to tell you?

Are you ready to solve the mysteries of God?

Well, come ON!

Power Thought:

Does your faith pass the smell test? What is the proof that God is alive and well and active in your life? Is that an aroma of "faith" that I smell?

Power Of Exceptions

Key Scripture:  "If anyone adds to these words, God will add to him the plagues that are written in it.”  Revelation 22:18

Power Point:

     Okay, let me make this perfectly clear:  I did NOT say that.  God said that. I guess it means that He’s really serious about keeping His word pure and unadulterated. What do you think?

     In Genesis, we see the beginning of the Words that the Living Word speaks to us.  In Revelation God says, “Don’t add one more thing to what I've said, or you’re in big trouble!” (Suzanne version).

     But don’t we do that?  When He says, “Be anxious for nothing", don’t we excuse ourselves from being anxious about certain things?  Finances should certainly worry us shouldn’t they?  I mean, be real, this is the real world.

We should be allowed to worry about a bad report on our health shouldn’t we? I’m sure God meant to excuse that one but simply forgot. Oh and what about “Love one another!” I’m sure he didn’t mean everyone!

     Be anxious for nothing? Except for…!  Are you inclined to add your own two cents worth to the Word of God? I know I’ve been guilty of that at times.  I always go back to the disciples in the boat with Jesus when that huge storm approaches. If Jesus had demonstrated anything to them, it was the fact that He cared.  Wouldn’t you agree?  Yet here they are, waking Him up and saying, “Don’t You care?”

     When a serious problem arises in your life, do you sometimes forget that Jesus cares and do you sometimes add to God’s words to you?  Do you remind Him that “this” is the one thing that you need to worry about to see it resolved? God forbid you should “take” that thought! That problem is your perfect opportunity to trust the word, just as it is written.

     The Word says, “don’t be anxious or stirred up or agitated by anything.  Instead of that, tell God your problem and then praise Him for His solutions that are way beyond anything you could ask or think.”

THINK on His character and His promises.  SPEAK only those things which HE has given you to say and His peace will come and settle on your hearts. Period.  That’s what HE wrote. And that’s what He meant. He says that HE will keep us in perfect peace, if we keep our thoughts centered on Him. End of story.

If He says He’s the One who saves, rescues, delivers us from any problems. You would probably be wise not to add, “except this one!”

If He says He will provide all your needs, don’t add, “ Except for this one!”

If He promises to never leave you alone and on your own, don’t add, “Except in this place”.

     God will always create something out of nothing for you. If you’ve been asking for more faith,  “Surprise!” -this is your opportunity.  If you’ve been standing on His promises, don’t add your own words to what He is saying about your situation. Beloved, we have to stop making excuses for not believing. He doesn’t and we shouldn’t either. Faith is how the the kingdom of God is founded.  There are no exceptions to the rule.  God will not add to His words by letting YOU off the hook. Believe, Beloved.

And that’s my last word on it. Actually, it’s His too.

Power Thought:

Will you let Him have the final say? Is it time for you to stop making excuses? No exceptions!