Power Of Sinking or Swimming

Key Scripture:  "Don't be afraid, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by your name.  You are Mine.  When you pass through the waters I will be with you.  And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you."  Isaiah 43:1,2

Power Point:

     If you remember the crossing of the Red Sea, God commanded the children of Israel to move forward. It was the beginning of their instruction in learning to walk by faith.  If they were going to follow him, they  had to have a measure of faith that the waters would not close in around them after they began their journey. It's good to note that God had parted the waters before they dipped their toes in it. In the beginning of our walk of faith, God will part the waters to make it easier for us.

     In Ezekiel 47, Ezekiel is brought to the temple and where there " is water, flowing...and he brought me through the waters; the waters came up to my ankles...the water came up to my knees...the water came up to my waist."  The waters become a river that Ezekiel could not cross because the water was too deep.  It was water in which you had to swim, a river that could not be crossed by walking.  That sounds like an impossible situation to me. Ezekiel had the option to sink, swim, or stay on the shore!

     Then there is Peter.  He's in his little boat, surrounded by water.  Jesus decides to take a walk and invites Peter to walk with Him, on the water. What great steps of faith.

   We begin by walking in faith. As we grow in faith, God actually encourages us to swim in the waters.  Have you ever been in that place where you think you can walk through and suddenly the waters are over your head? Remember Ezekiel. Sometimes swimming is the only option to sinking isn't it?

     As our faith matures, Jesus will invite us to walk on the very substance that it is impossible to walk on. Of course, if you want to be close to Jesus you have to walk where He's walking. It's time to walk, sink, swim, or stay on the shore.

      Jesus promises us that He will give us Living Water.  Not only does He surround us with it, He fills  us with it.  In John 7:38, He tells us that "He who believes in Me...out of his heart will flow rivers of living water... He spoke this concerning the Holy Spirit."  In Isaiah 59 the Spirit promises to come in like a flood when the enemy attacks us. It's good to note that the ENEMY is the one who drowns, not the children of God.

     I don't know where you are today but I hope you're flowing in the rivers of the Spirit of God. I pray that out of your heart Rivers of Living Water are flowing for you to walk on.

     I hope you have moved past the "easy places" of just dipping your toe in the waters and then waiting for God to part them.  I hope you've taken off your "floaties" and learned to swim in the River of God.  And I hope that when Jesus reaches out His hand and invites you to stroll with Him through impossible situations, that you have reached out your hand in perfect faith and said, "YES! I'm coming Lord!"  When you have taken these steps of growing faith, Holy Spirit is allowed to flow from your very heart and drown your enemies. He has redeemed you. He knows your name. You are His. You will not be overwhelmed, Beloved. Keep holding His hand and walk by faith.  He's teaching you to walk on water.  He will keep you and He will reward your faith.

Go with the flow.

Power Thought:

Walking on water is a picture of God's children deliberately refusing to be limited by the things they see as they walk in the flow of the Spirit with Him. 
Release the flow of LIVING Water from your heart today so that you can take a stroll with Jesus through impossible situations.       

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

Power Of Above All Things

 Key Scripture:  "Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults-unless, of course, you want the same treatment.  That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging.  It's easy to see a smudge on your neighbour’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own face." Matthew 7:5,6 The Message

Power Point:

     I have to admit that for a large part of my Christian life, I was guilty of judging others more than myself.  While ignoring the kingdom principles that were supposed to be growing in my life, it just seemed easier to focus on the faults of others.  That way, I would not have to look at the obvious places where I was missing the mark on a daily basis.

      Which is the greater evil according to Jesus?  Who does Jesus focus on in any given situation in which you are involved?  What is "above all things" most important to Jesus?  What prayers does He pray over that person that is SO obviously missing the mark? And what prayers is He praying over YOU right this minute?

     Beloved, we are to bring heaven to earth. What is in heaven?  Total unconditional love.  We are to be the "salt of the earth".  That means that we are to be the seasoning that gives flavor to other people's lives so that they want more of Him, not less. His love in us and through us is, according to Him, always the more excellent way. We are to be the Light of the World so that when people are with us, they get a glimpse of the Son.

This is what Love DOESN'T do:

Love doesn't strut, doesn't have a swelled head. Love doesn't think more about how good WE are and how bad THEY are.

Love doesn't keep score of other people's faults.

This is what Love DOES do:

Love cares more for others than its self.

It takes pleasure when the Truth sets someone free.

It puts up with anything.

It always trusts God to bring good out of evil.

It always looks for the BEST, not the worst.

It never looks back but always grasps hold of God's vision of the future.

It keeps going until the end.  It never dies, never gives up, and never gives out.

    If we are in Him, then Beloved, HIS love is in us in all its fullness.  He intends for us to grow in love and become Love.  The fruit of His Spirit is love.  Love is supposed to bear the fruit of Him in us. It is our great privilege to extend to someone a hand up, a fresh word, a refreshing love.  If you remember the Father of the Prodigal Son, he knew the issues that his son was having, and yet, he kept his eyes on the road where this child would eventually return. I think he was praying ahead as he looked ahead. His love was so pure and so outrageous that it caused his other son to be jealous.  He judged his brother bitterly, mostly by thinking about himself first. (What about ME?!) The prodigal son had been foolish but his brother had missed the mark even more grievously.

 Jesus' prayer for every one of His children is this:

"Beloved, I wish above all things for your good fortune in everything you do, and for your health-that your everyday affairs prosper, as well as your soul!"

Beloved, I wish above all things that you would love one another as I have loved you.

Beloved, I wish above all things that you would walk in the Spirit, walk in love, and bring heaven to earth.

Beloved, I wish above all things that you would  "Remember the root command, Love one another."

         The words "above all things" means that BEFORE you do anything else, you are to do what God has told you to do. He is determined to make us aware of own hearts first. What He has told you to do is to love with excellence. Does that mean that you ignore the lack of fruit in someone's life?  Absolutely not, but in order to pray like Jesus prays, you are to pray for the fruit He has placed in them to ripen and become good fruit that will remain.  You are to bless and not curse. Your words are not to be "idle words" of condemnation but prospering words, encouraging words, believing words; even to yourself, especially to yourself.

      In every situation, God is most concerned with what is in YOUR heart. Why? It is your heart that brings forth the treasures of the kingdom.  Your heart is the soil for the seeds of the goodness of God to grow up and out and change the world.

Power Thought:

What will issue out of your heart today above all other things?

Copyright © 2014, Suzanne Roberts, Unpublished Work.

Power Of Challenges

One Hundred Year Blooms

Key Scripture:  "Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith life is forced out into the open and shows its true colors.

So don't try to get out of anything prematurely.  Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way." James 1:1,2, The Message

Power Point;

     I love the thought of being "well-developed, not deficient in any way" don't you?  I am, however, not particularly fond of the means leading to that end!  After a few years of extreme testing, I think I have learned a few things. 

1.     Promises are wonderful when they are applied to our lives.

2.     Tests are God's method of choice to help us apply promises to our lives.

3.     Promises fulfilled are sheer gifts to us when they are "pressurized" because they are God's answer to every problem we face. 

"We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you-your tickets to participation in the life of God." (2 Peter 1:4)

     Do you remember when you were in school, and you got to class and the teacher said, "Today we are having a "pop quiz"? You heart started beating faster and you began to wish you had really studied your homework instead of talking on the phone to your friend. If only you had been better prepared.

The thing is, Beloved, God never takes you through a test for which He has not completely prepared you. You have all the promises, all the power, all the provision you will ever need to force your faith life out into the open. Each test is an opportunity for you to examine yourself and see how your faith is shaping up.  God is quite clear that faith is the only way for His children to be like Jesus, and to experience the benefits of our inheritance. His promises believed, and received, and walked out in faith are your "tickets to participate in God's life".  (2 Peter 1:4)

     Faith requires equal force to force it into the open. You already have a "measure of faith".  It's meant to grow, and the growing comes when you say "YES!" to God's promises and refuse to let them lie dormant in your life.

     Here's the good news.  I was recently reading about a phenomena called the "hundred year bloom".  Mahesh Chavda, in his book, "The Hidden Power Of Prayer and Fasting" describes it this way:

"...outpouring record rains yielded a once-in-a-lifetime- bloom in Death Valley, California.  Desert seeds that had lain dormant for 100 years suddenly sprang to life after the unusual rains...people streamed from all over the world to see this amazing sight."

     Beloved, when the rain in your life comes, it's coming to bring life to all the seeds of God's promises that are lying dormant in your life. When the tests of your faith come, (and they will), they are coming to bring more of God's life into your life. They are meant to cause the promises to bloom.  They are meant to teach you how to release more resurrection power to the dead places and things that you are still holding on to. They're meant to be a sheer gift from your Heavenly Father so that you can bring His heavenly inheritance into fruition for you and in you.

One Hundred Year Blooms

     My grandchildren live in the desert. Rain is a special treat for them.  When those heavy rains come in January and February their mom allows them to play in it.  No umbrellas, just splashing around in the puddles and lifting their faces to taste the rain. That's how we need to look at the "rain" in our lives isn't it?  Your job is to look at the rain as an opportunity to be refreshed by the promises that God is highlighting for you at that moment. Focus on those wonderful promises and refuse to be distracted from their hope. 

"It's the one light you have in a dark time as you wait for daybreak and the rising of the Morning Star in your hearts." (2 Peter 1,The Message).

     The storm will soon be over. The Son will shine again with even greater brightness. You'll learn to play in the rain, and the rain will become an agent to force your faith life out into the open, if you let it.  Your choice!

Power Thought:

Faith is knowing Who you know, and knowing His plans for your life to bloom with His promises. How are you shaping UP?

The book, "It's Time To Power Up" is available on Amazon.com.

Copyright © 2014, Suzanne Roberts, Unpublished Work

  

Power Of Aunt Bessie's Pickled Beets

Key Scripture: "Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults."
Psalm 19:12

Power Point:

I spent the first sixty or so years of my life never eating beets.  I don’t ever remember my mother serving them and since I was what might be described as a “picky eater”, I thought my life was just fine without beets. 

     Imagine my surprise this year when I asked the Lord for His words for me for this year and He replied “Pickled Beets”.  Excuse me? At any rate, I decided to Google “Pickled Beets” and actually found a sermon by someone, (I’m sorry, I can’t remember his name), on Pickled Beets. Whoever said you can find anything on the internet is evidently right.

     Pickled beets are the things that your Aunt Bessie gave you for Christmas and you have pushed them to the back of that shelf in your pantry.  When you are hungry you probably go to your pantry to see if there’s anything available, and all you see are Aunt Bessie’s pickled beets. They don’t tempt you so you push them to the back again hoping they will disappear by the next time you are hungry.

    In the Jewish tradition, the beets are symbolic of cleansing the body of its impurities.  According to a Jewish friend of mine they are known as “silka” related to the word “siluk” meaning removal.  There is a prayer that they pray before eating the beets which says:

“May it be your will Eternal God that our adversaries will be removed.”

      According to my friend Shari, “The adversaries referred to in the prayer before eating the beet are the spiritual roadblocks created by the past year’s missteps that must be removed before a sweet New Year is granted.”

    I began to understand a bit more why the Lord would have given me “Pickled Beets”.  He was about to do some spring cleaning in my life and the things I had shoved to the back of the shelf were going to have to be brought out and removed. Evidently there was more than one jar. It’s been a busy house-cleaning year! 

     Do you think its possible that you might have a few jars of Aunt Bessie’s pickled beets in your pantry, shoved way to the back so that you don’t have to eat them? Why not ask the Lord what those impurities are that are keeping you from all that He has for you?  Why not get rid of a root of bitterness and eat a beetroot instead?

     The Lord works best with a clean heart.  Actually He continually offers the cleansing we need so that wholeness can come.  Is there anyone who would not want to have their adversaries removed?  Has your adversary been your temper, or your doubts, or your irritability and impatience?  Are you harboring unforgiveness? Wouldn’t life be more wonderful without them? Most assuredly.

     When you go to the grocery store next time why not pick up a jar of pickled beets?  Place them in a prominent place (not at the back of the shelf), where you are continually reminded of the cleansing power of God that removes your adversaries.

Power Thought:

Is it time for a little spring cleaning and cleansing?

Copyright © 2014, Suzanne Roberts, Unpublished Work.