Power Of Lost and Found

Key Scripture:  “Suppose one of you had a hundred sheep and lost one.  Wouldn’t you leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until you found it? When you found it, you can be sure you would put it across your shoulders, rejoicing and call your friends and say, “I found it!”  Luke 15 1-6

Power Point:

     Recently I had lost something. I thought perhaps I had left it at church and the first thing I did the next Sunday was to make a beeline for the Lost and Found box.  Not there.  I searched through my car-several times, thinking it had fallen under a seat.  Nope.  I looked everywhere I could think of to look and then I finally said, “Holy Spirit, will you help me to see it?”  He did. He knows how to search successfully for lost things.

      This morning I was reading Luke 15.  The first two verses are priceless:

"Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained…”

     In response to their complaints, Jesus responded with not one but THREE parables to explain why He did what He did.  You see the Pharisees were the “religious” ones of the day.  They worked very hard every day to be sure they were good enough for God. It was easy for them to look at someone who outwardly did not seem to measure up to their standards and be critical of them-and of Jesus. It seems that He didn’t measure up either!

    The parable of the lost sheep is so encouraging to every one of us who has made mistakes in our lives isn’t it?  Wouldn’t YOU want a JESUS to come searching for you if you’d blown it?  If you look carefully, the scripture says, "the sinners and the tax collectors drew near".  The religious people complained and murmured against the grace and mercy of God. They were more concerned with being “right” than being in the “right place at the right time”.  

     The entire time that Jesus walked this earth, He was living proof of a God who searches for lost people until they are found. In those days, sickness was a definite curse.  People were outcasts who were sick. They were "set apart". They were not to be touched. Jesus touched them and healed them.  The tax collectors and the adulterers, the sick, and all the other “sinners” were the captive audience of most of His teaching.  When Jesus made His final journey to the Cross, He gave us the greatest example of the heart of God.  It was the ultimate act of the One who was seeking that which was lost. 

     Is there someone in your little corner of the world who is “lost”?

Is there someone who needs a touch of His grace and mercy?  A hug?

A gift? Could you write a note of God’s encouragement to them?

      Wouldn’t that be a lovely way to say “Thank You Jesus for coming to find me when I was lost."? It’s interesting to note that when sheep are lost, they lie down and give up.  They refuse to get up. They are "cast down". That’s why Jesus used the illustration that the sheep was picked up and put on the shoulders so that it could be carried back to the flock-to safety. 

     Beloved, God searches for us any time we lose our way. He's the Good Shepherd remember? He does that for everyone in the world. Perhaps we should too. Is there someone you need to forgive and begin again? Is there someone you know that has given up?  Is there someone you can seek and find today and bring them back to the flock? Can you be a shoulder for them to lean on until they get back to the place of safety?

     Jesus says, “Thank you!”

Power Thought:

I’m so grateful to have been lost and then found.  Aren’t you? It was His good pleasure to do that.

    

    

Power of Promising Promises

Key Scripture: " And God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they are..." Romans 4:17

Power Point:

For a few weeks, The Lord has been giving me a phrase.  I've been patiently waiting for Him to elaborate.  The phrase is:

"It is what it is, but it's not what it's going to be!"

Ah.

Sometimes the "what is", rules our thoughts doesn't it?  And yet, the promises of God are always focused on "what is going to be."  They are focused on dreams fulfilled and hope realized. The more we become "firmly convinced", as Abraham did, we will stop wasting our time figuring out if God can. We begin focusing on the character of the God who has promised the promise.

     God told Abraham that He would honor his faith and make Him a father of multitudes.  I'm sure that there were many cries from Abraham and Sarah's heart over the years for the blessing of a child.  All of his life, Abraham lived in hope of being a father, yet year after year passed with no sign of a child. Then one day God appears for a nice chat with him and says, "Okay Abe,

I've got some good news. I've heard your prayers.  Not only are you about to become a father in the natural but also in the spirit.  Because you have trusted Me and believed in Me, you will be a father of nations.  Many nations."

Fortunately, Abraham did not waiver. He didn't stagger and fall down in the face of such a "crazy" promise"-this gigantic, enormous, impossible promise.  He just agreed with God. He said, "Okay." and then started preparing the nursery. 

Scripture says that he strengthened his faith.  The more he believed God, the stronger he became.  As he thought about God, he thought about how all things are possible with Him.  As he thought about God, he thought about how faithful He had always been to him.  As he thought about God even though the days turned into years, he did not fall apart, he grew stronger and more fully convinced that what God had promised him, He was perfectly capable and more than willing to perform.  Let's face it.  Abraham made a few mistakes on the way to the promise fulfilled. He and Sarai tried to figure out HOW God would fulfil his dream of fatherhood.  But even though he had tried to "help God out" God stayed on track.  He stayed on his pre-planned  track to see His promises realized on earth as they are in heaven.

     Beloved, you may be in a place today where there is no hope in the natural for a good outcome.  Don't worry, God is still on track to blast you away with His faithfulness and His very determined goodness.  He wants you to know that "It is what it is, but it is not what it's going to be!" He's heard your prayers and your cries and He has called out your answer in the heavenlies and is diligently working all things together for your good. He's calling out heavenly answers to earthly problems.

What are you calling out today?

     Abraham agreed with God.  We should too, don't you think?  God always gives His life to the deadest of the dead things in our lives when we believe Him. Always. He always responds to the call for His life to invade our lives. Always.

     Beloved, it is what it is, but it (that illness, that financial downturn,that relationship), that whatever that seems to be impossible right now is being re-formed, re-created into a new thing.

God is calling out heaven's promise to you.  "It" is becoming what He says it's going to be.

Do you agree?

Power Thought:

Look up-not down.  Look forward-not behind.  Look into the unseen and see what God sees. And believe.

Power Of Continuing

Power Of Continuing

Key Scripture:  "But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News."  Colossians 1:23

Power Point:

     Looking at America now, it's sometimes hard to remember how we began.  It seems as though today we give up very easily. Even just a few years ago, there was a culture of "continuing".  People stayed with things.  They worked through them.  Today it seems to be easier to just give up and take up something new.  Because of that, one of God's greatest lessons to us is to teach us the art of "continuing".  According to His way of thinking, continuing is key to kingdom living; to becoming more like Jesus.

     The word "continue"means to "stay still, stay in your place, to persevere and keep persisting in what you are doing." Here are some of the things that God expects us to continue in:

Continue in My word: John 8:3

Continue in My love, John 15:9

Continue in grace, Acts 4:3

Continue in faith, Acts 14:22

Continue in His goodness, Romans 11:23

Continue in prayer, Colossians 4:2

Continue in what you have learned, 2 Timothy 3:4

Continue in brotherly love, Hebrews 13:1

    When you think about it, the Christian life is not a bed of roses is it?

  Continuing can be hard work!  In difficult times we're not allowed to give up, give out, or give in are we?  We'll told to stay in our places with bright shining faces; to persevere and keep on persisting in the Truth that will ultimately set us free. We can do that because of the Holy Spirit given to us by Jesus.

     Aren't you glad that Jesus gave us such a perfect example of "continuing"?  In spite of His closest friends trying to talk Him out of going to Jerusalem (where they knew He was probably going to die), Scripture says that "Jesus set His face toward Jerusalem". He did not run away, He ran toward the enemy. The truth is He knew exactly was waiting for Him and He continued.

     Beloved, the Body Of Christ is not meant to be an army of quitters who give up at the slightest obstacle that is placed in their path.  We are meant to continue.  Why?  Because if we have the same Spirit in us that Jesus did, there is victory ahead. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus had to work through the place in His soul where every doubt and fear was being leveled at Him.  But He did work through. He continued until the Spirit strengthened Him and He could persist and persevere. Fortunately for us, the story did not end in the Garden. It did not end at the Cross. It continued until everything that God had promised and prophesied was finished. Completely.

     You may find yourself in a place where His love is in question.  Love WILL have the final word.  You may find yourself in a place where His goodness appears to be hidden, or where what you thought you knew is being challenged to the nth degree. Set your face, and set your faith toward the finish line.  Continue Beloved. When Jesus died, the Resurrection followed. He promised us an abundant life. He meant it. Because He persevered we can have that same incredible Spirit power in us to continue. 
     I believe I see a resurrection in your future.

His work is finished, but the story of your life?  It is "to be continued".  
Will you?

Power Thought:

Never, never, never give up!  (Winston Churchill)

Power Of The Power Of Forgiveness

Key Scripture:  "Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you."  Colossians 3:13, The Message

Power Point:

     We tend to remember too many bad things and forget the good things don't we?  This morning, I needed to forget  the "difficult" things that happened to me yesterday and then remind myself that even though it was a tough day, I ultimately picked the fruit of the Spirit.  I picked self-control and peace as my weapons of choice.

I was actually berating myself for taking longer than I liked but then I remembered that, after all, I did it! I remembered the Father's faithfulness. I remembered to use Jesus Name as my authority. And I remembered that the Holy Spirit in me was perfectly capable of turning the tables on the enemy. I love it when He does that!

I didn't forget my promises.  I'm pretty sure God was patient with how long it took me to respond rather than react. He simply chooses to remember that we had a great partnership and ultimately we won!

     He has forgotten all the stupid, negative, bad things I've done. In fact, He refuses to remember.  The problem is that we refuse to forget them at times, don't we? We refuse to forget our own shortcomings or those of others.  That's a problem.  We can't be filled with His Spirit if we refuse to forgive what others do, either knowingly or not. After all, forgiveness was the whole point of the Cross, wasn't it?   I seem to remember that the Cross was the best evidence of a forgiving heart and how extraordinarily huge it is. Forgiveness of ourselves and others is key to taking up your cross daily isn't it?

Jesus said, "Forgive others as I have forgiven you or Your Father in heaven won't forgive you."  So, if He forgives us and refuses to remember our sins, isn't that the best example of Jesus in us. Jesus gave everything so that we could live forgiven.  When we are forgiven we are one with our Father.  When we refuse to forgive, we end up estranged.

     

     When we don't act like Jesus;  when we don't offer what Jesus offers, then we don't have the 'nuts and bolts"of the kingdom in place. When we refuse to forgive, bitterness springs up; anger stirs up; self-righteousness soars; and we miss the mark.

We miss the mark of the high calling of Jesus. 

We miss the mark of the benefits of the cross for us. Jesus died to make us NEW.  We have been born AGAIN Beloved. We are completely new- extra-ordinarily NEW; a NEW creation that's never been seen before.

     A person who forgives is a person who refuses to allow the old ways to flourish anymore.  All things are NEW!

     I can remember growing up thinking that I was supposed to treasure and rehearse every single thing someone in my family did that was wrong.  There was always division of some sort. If our families are to be illustrations of God's family, then He simply cannot allow us to forget the principle of forgiveness.  Our relationship, our intimate relationship with Him depends on it. What was normal for me then, is not normal for me now. I'm choosing to be NEW!

     As we approach Easter, it seems to be a good time to remember that Easter is all about forgiveness; That wonderful overflowing, extra-ordinary forgiveness from Someone who gave His life to establish unity and love in our hearts. Forgiveness is a gift that Jesus has given us.  Will you give that gift to someone else today?
Power Thought:

Power Of Being Neutral

Key Scripture:  "And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, the Restorer of Streets to Dwell in."  Isaiah 58:12

Power Point:

     One thing I have learned about praying for people over the years is that I cannot take sides.  It's really easy to hear about problems and then take one side or another, isn't it? The Truth is, we are only supposed to be on God's side. 

     Often people will tell us something and our hearts are touched with the injustice of their situation. If we allow the "facts" to sway us, we will miss what God wants to do in them and for them. We have to stop our own thoughts from careening wildly and stirring up our emotions. We simply listen to the point that God wants to make and then present it.  It's usually different from the perspective that I would offer. Surprising, I know.

     Our job is to learn to stay in "neutral".  That means that we don't take part in a dispute or a war between others, We don't take sides. The only side we take is God's. We go to a neutral corner and wait to hear from Him.  That's when His words of knowledge, and His words of wisdom begin to flow. 

    

     Over the years, my friend Julie and I have had many opportunities to pray for each other.  At one really difficult juncture in my life, Julie was getting ready to point out to God all the reasons He should take action.  He told her she had to get into a neutral position. He meant that you do not take sides in a conflict, even when one appears to be obviously right.

Because she loved me, she didn't want to see me hurt and she wanted to take up an offense against the person who was doing the hurting.  That is a definite dead end road, Beloved.  Gradually we have learned the value of this great truth.  As prayer warriors we are to pray from heavenly places.  We are to capture higher thoughts- (the ones that God is thinking).  We are to stop, look, and listen to Him.  Isn't that a whole lot better than offering advice that has come from our own limited perspective?

     When you remain neutral, you become a powerful warrior in the Spirit. You are led by Grace and Mercy. There is no judgment or condemnation. You analyze the problem and  the problematic people, and ask Him who He wants to be for them here, or what the final outcome is from His perspective. You capture those thoughts and begin to pray in partnership with the Holy Spirit for the things that God sees and has planned. 

     When you put your car in neutral gear, it won't go anywhere will it?  It will not move.  Trust me, I've tried it. That is exactly what we are to do in the Spirit when we pray for someone.

     We remain fixed in neutral.  We do not allow ourselves to be moved in any direction that is not planned by God. We go to a neutral corner and simply partner with heavenly wisdom, heavenly knowledge and heavenly perspectives.  That Beloved, is how all things begin to work together for good!

      You remain cool, calm, and collected, detached from the emotional turmoil. Stay in neutral. That gives you the ability to offer gentle, peaceful and reasonable wisdom from above.

And really, isn't that what everybody wants?

Power Thought:

Repairing and restoring the "gaps" is our assignment. It's usually better to find out how HE intends to do that, don't you think?

     

Power UP!: Power Of Partnership

Power UP!: Power Of Partnership: Key Scripture:   “My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given.  You received Christ...