Power Of The Defender

Key Scripture:   “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine and does them is like a wise man who built his house on a rock and the rain descended, the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it did not fall. For it was founded on the Rock.” Matthew 7:24,25

“But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards.” Matthew 7, The Message

Power Point: 

You just can’t get away from it can you? Every day more and more bad news pours out as the government delays yet again on the budget crisis.  As I was praying this morning, the Lord said, “I am the Defender of My people. No person, no institution, no crisis in judgment will destroy My people. I have not retired. I am not wringing My hands. Only Satan is running out of money. I have plenty left and I intend to share. I’m not worrying about what to do next, I’ve always had a plan.”

Do you remember how often the children of Israel got into “desperate straits”? It was then that they went running really fast back to God and of course, He always defended them from their enemies and provided their needs and threw in a few extra blessings in the process. Before you start sliding back into fear or discouragement or hopelessness let’s take a moment to look at what God says about every situation:

-No weapon formed against me shall prosper.

-When the enemy comes in, like a flood, the Spirit of God will lift up a standard (of Truth) against him. Is. 59:17
-I will bring health and heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth….then it shall be to Me a name of joy, and praise and honor before all nations of the earth who will hear of all the good that I do for them; they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and all the prosperity that do for them.  Jeremiah 33:6-9

-My soul shall make its boast in the Lord…they looked to Him and were radiant; their faces were not ashamed.  Psalms 34

-The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, and none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.  Psalms 34:22

-Commit your way to the Lord; Trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass…Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him.  Psalms 37:5-7

-And my God shall supply all your need.  Philippians 4:19

-I have been young and now I am old and I have never seen the righteous forsaken or his descendants begging bread.  Ps. 37:25

Lift up your standard of Truth Beloved and tell the enemy to take a hike!  Shoo!

Power Thought:

Nobody, nobody, nobody will hurt or destroy that which is Mine.

Power Of Garbage

Key Scripture:  "May grace, (which is God's unmerited favor) and spiritual peace (which means peace with God and harmony, unity, undisturbedness) be yours from God our Father...Who has blessed us with every spiritual (Holy Spirit given) blessing in the heavenly realm." Ephesians 1: 2,3, Amplified

Power Point:

     One Christmas, many years ago, my dad had decided to surprise my mother with a beautiful diamond necklace. He delegated the wrapping to my sister, Nancy, who thought it would be fun to put the "treasure" into an old vase that had been in our basement for years.  As the evening wore on, everyone was engrossed in their presents and wrapping paper was flying in all directions.  At some point my mother decided to pick it all up and take it out to the incinerator to be burned up.  When she returned, my sister realized that mom had not said anything about her necklace.  She asked her if she had opened the gift from my dad and mom replied, with disgust clearly written all over her face, "Oh that old thing, I threw it in the garbage." She had never looked inside the vase. Her beautiful gift was now residing in the garbage, waiting to be burned in the morning.  When my sister explained that there was indeed a gift inside the vase, well-I didn't know my mom could move that fast!

     The other day I was praying for someone and The Lord gave me a very interesting picture. I hope it will bless you.

      This friend was putting together a kite. She was trying to attach a tail to the kite. When she was finished, she tried to make it fly but the tail she has added is actually a heavy rope holding five rusty old cans.  The kite would not fly because the cans were too heavy.

     A little confused, I asked The Lord what the significance was.  He said that there were five cans because "five" is the number that represents His grace in the kingdom of God.  He had given this person grace gifts.  When I asked Him what the cans held he said, "Grace, Faith, Hope, Love and Peace."  I was definitely surprised.  I thought they must have held things like bitterness or doubt, or anger, things that would have kept the kite from flying. Instead He said, "These are your gifts of grace. Many times my people throw my gifts in the trash.  They may open them but never use them and so the containers become rusty from lack of use." What an stunning revelation!

     In the next part of the vision, I could see Holy Spirit picking up the cans. As He reaches into the first one He comes out holding a yellow butterfly. The butterfly immediately flies to the kite tail and attaches itself and begins to flap his wings gently.  That happens again and again until each can is replaced by a beautiful butterfly and the kite begins to fly on its own.  The Holy Spirit has discarded each can.  When we allow Him to, He will add His Grace Gifts to our lives so that we can fly too.

     Just as my mom threw away a valuable treasure and had to go and retrieve it from the garbage, so we, Beloved, might need to see if our Grace Gifts of "grace, faith, hope, love, and peace" are operating as they were meant to in our lives.  Could it be the perfect time to ask Holy Spirit to help you find them and let them fly your kite, up into the heavenly atmosphere where the air is clear?  These are all gifts that are for us but they are also gifts He wants to share through us. Have you added them to your life or thrown them in the garbage? 

Power Thought:

Everything from our Father is a valuable treasure, a very good gift. There's absolutely no garbage!  
Ready for takeoff?

Power Of Hope

Key Scripture:  “Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you that HOPE in the Lord.”  Psalm 31:24

Power Point:

Well, I HOPE so.

     You’ve heard people say that haven’t you?  In fact, you’ve probably said it a time or two yourself.  HOPE.  It has a nice ring to it doesn’t it?  When I think of that word, I think of a Christmas past when, as a child, I was hoping for a specific doll.  For the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, after my mom had carefully wrapped all the presents and placed them under the tree, I would “hunt” for what I was hoping for.  Christmas would not be complete without a “Tiny Tears” doll. Every Christmas Eve, we went to church. Before we went, I was allowed to open one present. Because of my weeks of scouting, I was pretty sure I knew which beautifully packaged gift contained “Tiny”.  Eagerly I reached for it and wrapping paper flew in all directions. I could barely wait to open the box but when I did I was stunned, (STUNNED!) to see a stupid black velvet hat with rhinestones and a purse to match. My mom had set me up.  She knew which one I would choose and, of course, she had planned for me to wear that stupid hat to church for my program. I did wear it, but not without a fight.

     When we returned home from church wrapping paper again flew in all directions. I thought I had opened every present and I was getting sadder and sadder by the moment because “Tiny” had not shown up.  Finally, my mom said, “Suzie did you not see the big present at the back?”  I hadn’t, or if I had, I hadn’t paid any attention to it because it didn’t look like it held a doll. Longer story short, I opened it.  It was a white cardboard suitcase and yes, inside was my “Tiny”.  Oh the joy!

     I had had hope.  In fact, I was so certain that I would get “the answer to my prayer”, that I could hardly wait to open it.

But it didn’t look quite like I thought it should. It was packaged differently so I ignored it.  The thing was, if I made a request for a specific thing for Christmas, I usually got it. My mom had a “history” with me of providing what I asked.  I was extremely confident. I had no doubt- until what I had asked for didn’t appear in the way I had asked for it.  I remember being so sad (and mad) that she had ignored me and bought me that stupid hat. My hope had taken a serious nosedive when what I THOUGHT was the answer to my prayer wasn’t; when what I had asked for didn’t appear at the  “right” time. Yet the answer was there all the time.  I just had to keep looking.

    Beloved, HOPE in God is a certainty.  If you have a history with Him, you can be quite certain that He answers your prayers, even if those answers are delayed, or packaged differently than you expected.  Hope in God is  joyful and confident expectation of good. That means if you haven’t discovered the answer to your prayer you can still be confident that He is faithful.  He has promised and He will bring it to pass.
     Sometimes the trials of faith can seem overwhelming can't they? Sometimes they threaten to submerge us altogether beneath the waves of uncertainty.
You can REST in this truth:  God is faithful.  He always has been and He always will be.  In every troubling valley, He has a door of HOPE with an exit sign over it.
As you trust Him, He'll lead you out of trouble into hope, into the place that He had prepared for you all along.  (Hosea 2:13,15).
Joyfully and confidently expect His goodness and faithfulness to lead you out of trouble into hope.

Power Thought:

All the promises of God are "YES! and AMEN!" Is that what you are expecting?

Power Of Greater In Me

Key Scripture:  "Because He Who lives in me, is greater than he who is in the world."  I John 4:4

Power Point:

"Greater" can mean many things.  It can mean more abundantly, more powerful, more numerous, more wonderful, larger, or higher.  Do you remember when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness in Luke 4?  The devil came and promised to give Him greater things if He would just follow him. Jesus always responded, in the wisdom of the Spirit declaring the Truth that what God had to offer was always greater than what the devil had to offer.

     When Jesus lives IN us, His Holy Spirit is IN us.  All the character qualities, all the graces of God are alive and well, in us.

     If the Holy Spirit in me is greater than any power that comes against me from the world, the flesh and the devil, then I should be able to respond to any situation in Truth that sets me free. His Spirit in me releases heaven into that situation.

What does that mean?

     Let's face it.  People do and say hurtful things to us.  Holy Spirit says that, if we allow Him, we will be able to respond in love.   We will be able to pursue peace.  We will overcome evil with good.  He says that He can help us to respond in His power, not in the power of the flesh.

The Truth is, that the Truth will set us free. The facts can change.  The Truth does not change and only the TRUTH as the Spirit of Truth reveals it to us brings us freedom.

   Beloved, when the Spirit of Truth Himself lives in us, He is greater than anger.  In fact, it grieves Him when we don't allow Him to be Who He is in us and for us.  When we don't give Him the freedom to teach us, to stretch us, and to lead us, then He cannot bring us the freedom that Jesus died to give us.

     Perhaps your issue is fear.  The Truth that has been promised to us is that our Father has wonderful plans, good plans for us, to give us a future filled with hope!  The Truth, as Jesus stated it is, that if we ask, seek, and knock, our Father will give us what we ask for. He will show up and He will answer the door to His riches in glory each time we knock.

     How can you determine if the Spirit of God in you is greater than he that is in the world?

There are definite evidences of that. 

Are you growing in grace and mercy?

Is compassion your first thought?

Do you have peace that passes understanding?

When was the last time you experienced joy?

Are you impatient or patient?

Are you willing to wait to see God's plans unfold- believing in His desire to bless you and keep you?

Do you draw the line at doubting God?

Is your heart set on love?  Do you always expect the best of others, no matter what?

Are you always kind?

Are you actively doing good?

Are you walking by faith with a spring in your step?

Are you quick to hear, and slow to speak and slow to anger?

Is your life more focused on others or on yourself?

Do you trust God to be good to you?
Are you allowing the Truth to be greater than the facts of your circumstances?
Are you a victim or are you walking in His victory?

     Is it your intention to be intentional about giving the Holy Spirit room to grow?  Is your life living proof that His love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control have really set you free? Do people see Jesus in you? Do they sense His power in your life?

     Beloved, the only way we can live a blessed life, a greater life is if the Holy Spirit is given the freedom to set us free. Remember, greater, much greater, is He that is in you, than any weapon that is formed against you.  Greater, much greater is your ability to overcome and prosper in spite of how things may look at the moment.  Greater, much  greater is the power in you to gain the victory in every situation, and still be kind, loving, gentle, and patient-and full of His power.

Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

Greater works than I (Jesus) do will you do.

He that is greatest among you shall be your servant.

The greatest (of all spiritual gifts) is love.

Greater is He that is in you and me, than he that is in the world.

Power Thought:

Will you let Him be greater, much greater in you today? It will set you free.









Did you know that "It's Time To Power UP!", the book is available on Amazon.com?

Power Of His Magnificent Grace

Key Scripture:  " For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of Hosts is His name."  Isaiah 54:5
Power Point:
     Twenty years.  It seems like a long time doesn't it?  And yet, it also seems like a short time. This last week, on the 29th of January, I remembered the twentieth anniversary of my husband's death.  Surprisingly, it was a day full of remembering him with joy and love, and then it turned into a celebration of God's very great goodness and faithfulness to me in all that time. We would have been married fifty years in April.  I have never remarried or even thought about it. I guess you could say that the Lord became my husband. He's done a very good job!
     When I needed a hug, He made sure I got one.  Either from someone He sent to me, or by hugging my heart with His comfort and promises.  I had always hated the word "widow".  To me, it meant someone lonely and poor and cast aside. In all actuality, it can mean exactly that.  We definitely live in a couple's world.  Advertisements are geared to that.  Movies are usually about the great love affair between two people. I had to learn to grow past that and past broken dreams and pain to discover who I really am underneath it all.
I was a wife and a mother and suddenly my biggest job was no longer there.
Our "together" dreams for the future seemed buried, and the "team" that I was on, had dwindled to one.  I knew that I had to hear God differently, and see Him differently.  He had some big shoes to fill.
     Shortly after my husband died, I had decided to go to church. It was a cold, rainy, February morning.  It was my first time back and my daughter and I had recently begun attending a new church, so I knew no one there.  The church was always crowded and the parking lot was a mess.  The attendants usually directed you to the "upper" lot where you had to stand until a shuttle came to pick you up.  I observed the parking lot attendant pointing everyone to the shuttle lot.  Discouraged and sad, I said, "Lord, You promised to be my husband.  My husband would have dropped me off at the front door."  As my eyes lifted, I realized that the parking attendant was right in front of me, with a smile on his face, and kindness in his eyes, and he directed me to the lot where the church entrance was. I was stunned.  I was even more stunned when I

realized that there was one parking place left-right next to the door. Needless to say, I cried throughout the whole service at the tender heart of God, and His commitment to be my Husband, and realizing that He knew what that meant.
     I can promise you that God is a wonderful provider, a wonderful counselor, a patient and loving husband.  As I learned to rely on that truth, my life definitely changed for the better.  One morning as I was praying, he took me farther into Isaiah 54.  It said, "For the mountains depart and the hills may be removed, But My Kindness will not depart from You, Nor shall my covenant of peace be broken.  I will have mercy on you." 
     It's easy to sing God's praises when the mountains stand strong and steady. It's a sacrifice at times when they're moving; when you can't find sturdy ground to stand on.  Learning to know Him as He really wants to be for you, to understand that where you are is where He has a miracle waiting for you. That is the gift that you receive when you choose to trust Him anyway, even though...
     Twenty years.  Twenty years of kindness without exception.  Twenty years of growing in knowing how magnificent my heavenly Husband really is. 
     Some of us pray and think like widows. We pray from a point of lack, of need, or problem after problem. We seem to forget that we have a heavenly Husband. Isn't it time to stop that?  Isn't it time to pray like the Bride of Christ, whose husband is the God of the whole earth, the Lord of Hosts?
Well, isn't it?
Power Thought:

Marriage is a wonderful covenant.  God thought it up so He knows exactly how to be a husband to the widow, or a father to the fatherless.  Trust Him. He's magnificent.

Were you aware that "It's Time To Power UP!", the book is available on Amazon.com?