Power of Sin

Key Scripture:  IF we confess our sin...

Power Point:

The Hebrew word for "sin" is "avon".  It means to "fall short of the goal, to miss the mark".  The root of the word is "avah", which means to twist and to distort.  When you think about it, twisting and distorting are Satan's favorite methods to steal the Truth from our hearts, are't they?  There have been times in my life when I've believed his lies, to my great sorrow.  Later, as Holy Spirit began to show me the Truth, I would find myself amazed that I could have fallen so far short of what God had told me. 

The thing I've discovered is that while Satan is "twisting the truth", the Holy Spirit is "tweaking the truth".  It can be a very uncomfortable process as you have to choose which side you are going to be on. For example, we know that we are to love everyone by the power of God's love in us.  Jesus said that "Love is the fulfilment of the law.", and then He proceeded to demonstrate that for us by the way He lived His life.

      We begin our day, determined to love just like Jesus does.  Usually by ten o'clock, God has arranged for you to encounter someone who will earnestly demonstrate the need to be loved, unconditionally, and far beyond your ability.  In other words, He will send you the answer to your prayer to help you love the unlovely by sending someone you don't even want to be in the same room with. That's God TWEAKING you.  At the same time, Satan will begin whispering in your ear, that God certainly didn't mean for you to love that person.  Nobody could love someone that so obviously falls short in every area. Surely this is the exception to the rule and he will convince you that this tiny deviation is okay with God. 

When God is tweaking and Satan is twisting, God will always have prepared you for the process. If you concentrate on His words, and lean into His Spirit, you'll find that you already know what is truth and what is a "twisted truth".  The good news is that He doesn't give up on tweaking that truth until you have finally had your "Aha!" moment and have begun to see the Light.

Perhaps your issue today is patience. Perhaps you've been missing the mark of compassion, or kindness, and you are wondering what happened to your peace.

Why not ask Holy Spirit to help you see where Satan has "twisted" a truth, an emotion, or a state of mind so that He can "tweak" it and help you stop kissing the mark He has clearly set for you.

The wonderful news is that because of Jesus, we have more peace with God than we can ever use up.  Every moment of every day, because of Jesus, we can have God's thoughts on our minds.  Those thoughts are always higher and deeper than we can imagine.  His thoughts will continually "tweak" your thoughts and bring you to the next level in the Spirit. He wants, above everything, for you to KNOW the Truth because it's vital for your good, and for your success. It will set you free.

Are you being "tweaked" or "twisted"?  Probably both.  When that happens, dig into the Truth that God has offered you for your situation. Those who handle money on a regular basis have learned to study the "real thing" so that when the "counterfeit"comes, it is easily recognizable.  Like a counterfeit bill, it's easy to see the "lie", when you study the Truth.

God has promised to make the "crooked places straight" in your life. What is He tweaking right now?

Power Thought:

Is it time for an "Aha!" moment? God isn't worried about your sin, Beloved. He's already nailed it.

Copyright ©2014, Suzanne Roberts, Unpublished Work

Power Of Problems

Key Scripture: " And the disciples went everywhere preaching, and the Lord was with them and confirmed what they said by the miracles that followed their messages."  Mark 16:20

Power Point:

     Problems are the ingredients for miracles to happen.  Shortages, relationships, pain, disease,-all of these are problems that provide the platform for miracles to enter the stage of our lives.  If there had been no lack of food, Jesus could not have fed the 5000.  If there had been no leprosy, ten lepers would not have experienced the miracle of healing. If there had been no storms, there would have been no need for peace.

     Some miracles require great faith-like the centurion who asked Jesus to only speak the word of healing and his servant would be healed. His servant was healed at that very hour.

     Some miracles require a little faith on our part, and a big faith on God's part.  All that the children of Israel needed to do was start walking into the Sea.  God, after all, had to be sure it would part!

      Some miracles require persevering faith, faith that lasts through the problems and comes out on the other side with a miracle.

     I don't know where you are today. You may have GREAT Faith, or LITTLE Faith.  Could I suggest that the size of your faith is not the birthplace of the miracle?  Might I suggest to you that it is the OBJECT of your faith that is important?

Jesus KNEW that God wanted to feed those hungry people.  He simply blessed what He had, and handed it out, anticipating more than enough. Peter knew that the Storm was great but that Jesus was GREATER.  Moses knew that if he did what God told him to do, God would show up.  They each understood the WHO, behind the promises that led to the miracles.

     Miracles are supernatural answers to very natural prayers.  They begin with a lack in some area that God is waiting to fill.  They begin with impossible situations that are waiting for God's finger to mold them into possibilities.  Miracles are born because God is Bigger than the problem; Bigger than the current resource and Bigger than Life itself. They are born because someone, somewhere believes that God will do what He has promised to do in an extraordinary way.

Power Thought:

One of the signs of a disciple of Jesus is that Miracles accompany their problems.
Beloved, you won't get a miracle unless you need one.  But if you need one, you'll get one!  

Copyright © 2014, Suzanne Roberts, Unpublished Work.

Power of Perspective

Key Scripture:  "May our dependably steady and warmly personal God develop maturity in you so that you get along with each other as well as Jesus gets along with us all. Then we'll be  a choir...our lives singing in harmony in a stunning anthem to the God and Father of our Master Jesus."  Romans 15 The Message

Power Point:

     It really is all in how you look at something isn't it?  The other day, my prayer group was meeting, and Julie brought the picture you see of the woman below. What do YOU see when you look at her?  If you look at her one way, you'll see a young woman turning her head to the left.  If you look at her another way, you'll see an old woman with a huge wart on her nose.  It all depends on how you look at it.

     I've always been aware of two things; 1.  God is a superb Teacher, and, 2.  He has a great sense of humor, (which quite frankly He needs when He works with us!). On Tuesday, we looked at some of these pictures with different perspectives. We laughed and helped each other find the "other" perspective.  It was amusing to see that what was so very clear to me, was not at all clear to someone else, and vice versa. 

     Moments later, a situation arose where we had to deal with a genuine problem of perspective.  In the heat of the moment, we were all looking at the situation from a negative. It caused some offense, and some division.  Sitting there together, we were quite sure we were right, and the other person was wrong. We all had the same perspective, you see. 

     Later that night, the Lord began to talk to me about what had happened that day.  I realized as I looked at the situation from His point of view, there were things I had clearly not "seen".  They were there, right in front of my eyes, but I had focused on the "wart".  I know you have heard me say, "You can be right in the wrong way, and when you do that, you are really "wrong" from God's perspective." That's what happened that day.

     We forgot that one of the key principles of the Kingdom of God is loving unity.  That means we are to expect the best in each other and remain a united front for love and unity.  I can't imagine the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit being so strong in their opinions that they argue and put each other down, can you?  No way!  One of the things that the Lord asked me later was, "What can you agree on?"   Of course that changed the direction of my thoughts.  Instead of looking intently at the "wart", I began to see the other person's opinion.  And she had a valid point! When we spoke later, we could begin to see both points of view.  Ultimately, we talked and prayed and got it all worked out.  In retrospect, I love knowing that what Satan meant to use to divide us, God had prepared us for in advance!   I love that about Him!

     Do you remember the game "Red Rover"?  There are two lines of people, each holding each others hands as tightly as they can. One team sends of their members to run as fast as he can to break the grasp of the people holding on to each other. Satan loves that game.  If you're in conflict with someone, be sure to ask God to help you find something you can agree on, which may lead you to a fresh perspective that you both can see, together.

     It really is in how you look  at it, isn't it?

Power Thought:

     "We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses."

Abraham Lincoln.

  

     

Copyright © 2014, Suzanne Roberts, Unpublished Work

    

Power Of Confident Assurance

Key Scripture:  “Faith is confidence.”  Hebrews 11:6

Power Point:

     I have a friend who is the perfect picture of confidence. She just knows that things will work out for her and they usually do.  She does not come timidly through the door of the Throne Room, looking down at the floor, afraid to look God in the eye.  She marches in with all her royal robes flying behind her and knows as she goes, what awaits her.  And what is that, you might ask?  It is the Person who loves her most in all world.  It is the One who died for her so that she might wear those royal robes. It is Perfect Love that eradicates her fears.It is the One who is delighted to see her.  The One who Rewards her boldness.  When I grow up I want to be just like her!

     As I think about my friend, I am reminded that God says, that Faith is Confident Assurance.  Faith doesn't hide itself in a closet waiting for God to find it.  Faith in Him marches boldly into the Throne Room with its royal robes flying, armed with the promises of God.

Sometimes its good to take a look at where our confidence lies isn't it?

Faith is confident assurance that God will REWARD your confident assurance in Him.

Fear is confident assurance that He will not.

Faith is confident assurance that God is good and only does good things for His children.

Fear is confident assurance that His "good" is not good enough for you, or is not meant for you.

Faith is confident assurance that no matter what circumstances you find yourself in, they are "a good thing on the way" because God is faithful to you.

Fear is confident assurance that God won't show up, won't help, and won't honor you.

     The pendulum swings back and forth doesn't it?  Some days we have great faith and some days we have great fear.  It all depends on where you set your mind.

Which side of confident assurance are you on my friend?  At the end of the day, is your heart resting in the goodness of God to reward and bless you no matter what your circumstance may be?  Are you swinging back and forth between fear and faith?  Perhaps today would be a good day to remind yourself that God's will is good, acceptable and perfect;  For you, for them, and for this-and for that. Lean into Him, and He will direct your heart into confident assurance in Him. He loves to show us how really good He is, so that we can be confident in Him.

Power Thought:

God's goodness is His state of mind, His state of being.  It's who He is all the time. You can be sure of that, very, very sure.  

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