The Storm Might Be Big But My God Is Bigger!!

Storm - A violent weather condition with heavy winds, precipitation, and thunder & lightening.

What causes a storm?
A storm is produced when a center of low pressure develops with a system of high pressure surrounding it. In other words when hot air & cold air meet in an atmosphere.

The dictionary also says that a storm can be - a direct & violent assault on a stronghold.

What is a stronghold?
Stronghold - A fortress; a place of refuge, safety, & survival.

Could it be that some or all of the storms we face, are a direct attack from Satan on our stronghold, which is Jesus?

Think about it....We pray for things in our lives & the lives of others. We encounter a storm & what is the first thing the enemy will say? Jesus isn't listening to you or Jesus is not going to answer our prayers.
Ancient fortified cities in Old Testament times were built with a wall around the outside, at that time it was a powerful defense. Such walls were strong enough to keep out all but the most determined invader, but the inhabitants would also build a secondary defence in the center of the city in the shape of a tower. This was called a 'stronghoId", and couId be defended by just a few soldiers, so that if an attack came, the people of the city could crowd in for protection, confident that the tower could be easily defended. Jesus is our stronghold in this day & time. He is everything that keeps us safe from harm & evil's way.
The enemy is directly attacking the person in whom all of our trust is in. Satan knows that if he can get us to doubt the Lord that our defenses in the Lord will be broken or tore down. That is when the storms will over power us or over take us, when we quit believing or trusting in Jesus.
After thinking about natural storms, I began then to think about spiritual storms.
Don't allow storms in life make you doubt the Lord.
Spiritual storms can be caused by faith & hope colliding with fear & doubt. Those being hot air are faith & hope and cold air being fear & doubt. Fear and doubt will cause a disturbance in the atmosphere anytime they are present. Faith and hope will stand their ground as well & thats when a storm begins. Neither side wants to back down.
But the spiritual storm you are in...I have a question for you...What manner of man is this? You do not serve a God who can be measured! You do not serve a God who has no power!
Matthew 8:26,27
"And he (Jesus) saith unto them, why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, & rebuked the winds & the sea; & there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds & the sea obey him!"
What manner of man is this? The one who spoke to Moses in a burning bush! The one who parted the Red Sea! The one who turned water into wine! The one who healed the blind, made the lame to walk & the deaf to hear! The one who said let there be light & there was light! The one who was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, & received up in glory! The one who made all things & without Him was not anything made that was made.
He is the One who commands something & it happens. When the Word comes from His mouth it happens. His Word does not return unto Him void.
He created the storm, He created Satan, and He created you & me. So what makes us believe that our storm or situation or whatever it is that we're facing, is too big for God? Is the creation created by the Creator? Does not the artist hold the paintbrush in His hand & make the paintbrush do what He wants it to? How much more do you think that God doesn't know what we all go through & need?
Satan wants us to worry & fret. When we do, we take our eyes off of Jesus & begin to look at our problems & situations. This is for me but I feel this is for others too. I hope this message from the Lord will encourage and uplift someone else.
Jesus told me in a dream, "We all go through pain but there is a certain amount of pain that is appointed unto man." He said, "We do not have to go through pain that is not appointed to us." That is because He (Jesus) has already went through the worst possible pain that anyone could ever go through. He died on the cross so that we could be victorious through Him & His resurrection. He died so that we could live an abundant life full of joy and peace. From the dream I learned that sometimes we cause ourselves more pain by not listening, believing, or trusting in the Lord.
Jesus spoke to the storm & said Peace be still, & the wind ceased, & there was a great calm.
This same Jesus has given you & me power.
Mark 28:18
Jesus said: "All power is given unto me in heaven & in earth."
Jesus has given us authority through & by His name. Let us start speaking to those storms & mountains and proclaim the victory.

There Is No Neutral Ground!

What is the definition of the word neutral?

Neutral:
-impersonal: having no personal preferance.
-not supporting or favoring either side in a war, dispute, or contest.
-possessing no distinctive quality or characteristics.
-one who does not side with any party in a war or dispute.

In todays society we are taught to take a neutral stance on very heated and debated topics. Topics that Christians of all people, should be shining their lights & standing up in the way of holiness & speaking out against sin. For instance, the topic of homosexuality. We are not supposed to condone it but we are not supposed to speak our mind & voice our opinion & what the Word of God says about this abomination. We are stuck in a "middle ground" if you will. Where we are against these things but yet when faced in a situation to stand up for what is right we place our "tail" between our legs & we run from it. We are afraid of hurting someones feelings. Or worse yet we "go along" with it because it is the worlds idea of the nice thing to do or it is what the majority is doing.
God said there is no middle ground! Either you are for Him or against HIm. We can't have one foot in the world & one foot out. When we are out in the world, we act as those who are in the world. Then when we are around church folk, we act all holy. The bible says in Joshua 24:15 "...choose you this day whom ye will serve;" We can't be going in & out, only serving the Lord when we feel like it or when it is convenient for us. Either you love the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul, & strength. And you want to serve Him & want His will in your life. Or you just simply don't! There is only two choices. There is no middle or neutral ground.
We as Christians should be standing up & proclaiming Jesus Christ, no matter how much criticism we receive. No matter if it isn't the popular "vote" of the people.
If we go around acting as the world acts & living the way the world lives, yet we confess we are Christians, What affect does that have on our testimony?......It makes it void!!!
Jesus said in Matthew 6:24 & Luke 16:13 "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, & love the other: or else he will hold to the one, & despise the other...."
THERE IS NO NEUTRAL GROUND!!!!!!!!!!
Not only will the things we speak & the way we live determine the side we have chosen but our thoughts as well. Are we thinking one way & speaking or doing another?
We are according to 2 Cor. 10:5 supposed to "Cast down imaginations, & every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, & bringing into captivity every, thought to the obedience of Christ;"
We are not to entertain evil thoughts. As soon as a thought pops into our mind, that we know is not of God, we are to cast it down.
Also knowing to do something that is right & not doing it but doing the complete opposite, that is rebellion.
James 1:8 says "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways."
We need to choose Gods righteousness or mans righteousness.
We need to choose relationship or religion.
We need to choose holiness or vanity.
If we don't make a decision to walk in the ways of the Lord to stay in the ways of true holiness but we continue to one day serve God then the next day not to serve Him, the Lord says, "I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art luke warm, & neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." (Rev. 3:15,16)
It's time we get on fire for God. We are living in the very last days of the end times. We either get on fire for God now or burn in the lake of fire later.
Let's use the time we have left wisely. Use our time to promote Gods kingdom & bring in lost souls who do not know our merciful God & Heavenly Father.

What's In Your Ark?

Here lately God has been trying to show me somethings that I wasn't fully aware of. I have been going around for weeks now seeing stuff that has to do with Noah's Ark. I thought that it was strange that all of a sudden I am seeing this stuff. I have been wanting to have a baby & I feel in my heart that God wants me to name him Noah. So I thought maybe these were signs that God is fixing to do something for me. But I waited on the Lord & He showed me the message He was trying to get across to me.
God was wanting me to look in my own "ark" to see what I was secretly hiding, not fully aware of it. So I made a list of things that could be in God's ark; love, kindness, forgiveness, peace, joy, happiness, & etc. Then I made a list of what was in my "ark"; kindess, love, joy, & then there was something brought to my attention. I had other things that shouldn't be there. The Lord showed me that I still had a temper that I needed to work on. I have some fears, and people that I need to forgive and other things.
When the Lord showed me this I felt bad. I felt as though I had let Him down. But He wasn't showing me these things to put me down. He was showing them to me to get closer to Him & to advance myself. To grow up in other words.
In the beginning I didn't look at it this way & I kind of acted like a little kid does when it is scolded by a parent. I pouted & cried but a few hours later I got over it. I realized that God is only looking out for my best interest & the bible says that the Lord chastises those whom He loves. It doesn't feel good at the moment you are being "scolded" by God. But those are defining moments in our lives. He shows us, if we will listen to Him, areas in our lives that we need to move up & improve in.
I am thankful that I have a God who loves me & has my best interst at heart. He is always there & is a constant friend. He has never turned His back on me & never will.
I want to do all that I can to please the Lord. I want Him to use me & if being scolded is going to get me closer to Him & will allow Him to use me in more areas then I am for whatever He wants.

Instruction - Promise - Obedience

In Genesis 12:1 it says,
"Now the LORD had said unto Abram, get thee out of thy country, & from thy kindred, & from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:"

God gave Abram specific details as to what He wanted him to do.

v2: And I will make of thee a great nation, & I will bless thee, & make thy name great; & thou shalt be a blessing:
v3: And I will bless them that bless thee, & curse him that curseth thee: & in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Abram was given a promise by God that he would be a blessing & receive blessings. Abram would possess a land that God was going to give him. But God also told Abram what to do in order to receive those promises (verse 1).

As I was reading in my bible I noticed that Abram only partially obeyed God. He left the country that he was in but he didn't depart from his kindred as God instructed. Genesis 12:4,5 "So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Ha'-ran. And Abram took Sa'-rai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Ha'-ran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came."

What has God promised us? What instructions did the Lord give us in order to receive the promise?

Abram was trusting in the Lord by leaving the country he was in. Not knowing where to go. He had no map, not even a clue as to where he was heading. All he knew was that God told him to go. He was heading to an unknown destination, stepping out on faith. What courage it must of taken him to leave everything he had ever known. Leaving his comfort zone not knowing where he was going.

We can trust in the Lord & do what He says but if God has given us specific instructions we need to follow them fully to the best of our ability. We must do this in order to see His promises come to pass.

It was only when Abram had fully obeyed God, that he seen the promise.
Genesis 13:14,15 "And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him. Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever."

Trusting God for a child as He has promised me. I wonder have I fully obeyed Gods instructions? I pray that I do not overlook or miss anything God has commanded or asked me to do.

The Lord says in Jeremiah 29:11 that "..I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."

I know that anything God has spoken & asked me or commanded me to do, it is for my own good. The Lord would not tell us to do something that would harm us. We need to put total trust into Him.

We need to squeeze out all trust, hope, faith, & obedience into the Lord. We need to start putting it all into action. We must do this if we ever want to see our promises come to pass.

LOOK UP

I have been feeling bad here for the past little bit. It is hard to explain it but I know that the Lord knows all about it. Anyways to make a long story short.....the Lord helped me to write another poem. I am sharing it here so I pray it helps someone else out who is going through something right now. I suppose that is why we go through things is so we can say hey I've been there too! But anyways here it is.

LOOK UP
Thou hast heard my cry from the dark place,
Thou reached down with thine hand & saved me with thy grace.
Troubles on all sides & I felt no one cared,
I felt all alone & my burden I could not share.

You told me to look up from whence cometh my help,
You said your promises are yes & amen & they would always be kept.
You said you would never leave nor forsake me,
You said I am by your side, I the LORD am with thee.

Hold your head up my child & do not fret,
All that thou doest for me will be rewarded you will have no regrets.
Follow my instructions & do what I say,
For even before thou asked for help it was already on the way.

So know this trial & pain will not last forever & it will end,
Know that until this storm passes it is my peace that I send.
So be patient & wait for the promise to come,
My child it may feel like the end but your life has only begun.

I hope this encouraged someone besides me. I just wanna say I love the LORD!!!!

Who Can Be Against Us?

The bible says in Romans 4:19 "And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb:" Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness (Romans 4:3).
Abraham had so much faith that all these factors did not persuade him to doubt God. Romans 4:21 "And being fully persuaded (convinced) that, what he (God) had promised, he (God) was able also to perform."
Romans 8:28 says "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Abraham knew that God was working for him on his behalf. He trusted God. That is why Abraham had so much faith in God because he knew God. He had a relationship with God and knew that God was an awesome, caring, and loving God. A God that worked things out for those whom loved him. Abraham also knew that when God made a promise, He would bring it to pass. God will not lie, He is bound by His Word.
Romans 8:31 "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" Abraham did not consider his age or Sarah's barreness a factor in the promise of conceiving Isaac. God would bring this promise to pass as He had spoken. Abraham knew that God was for him. Nothing could come against Abraham with God on his side. The promise God made would come to pass and nothing could come against it or hinder it. Abraham's age couldn't be against him, and Sarah's barreness couldn't be against him.
When God makes us a promise in life, He will perform those things which He has promised. It may not be the way we want it to go or the way we THINK it should go but nevertheless God always delivers on what He says He will do. But we must trust and have faith that God is able to perform those things. God is looking for people who want all He has to offer. He is looking for people to bless. Everyday God is ready to pour His blessings out on His children. The bible says "the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect (at peace or loyal to) toward him." (2 Chr. 16:9)
God seeing the BIG picture knows all things. If we are trusting in God then we should be at peace. Not saying that worries will never arise but for the most part we should be at ease in our lives.
We should not let "factors" get in the way of what God has promised us. God does not go by our ability because we are not able to do anything without Him. God goes by availibility. The question God's asking each of us is, are you available? "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think..." (Ephesians 3:20)
God is able to do anything and able to do things that we cannot even imagine. God is bigger than we can grasp in our minds. And with Him on our side our problems are nothing for Him. That is why it is important for us to realize that nothing can stand against us when we have God for us. The storm, the mountains, our mouths, our bodies, and especially the enemy has no hold on us when it comes to Gods promises coming to pass.

The Power Of Words

I was watching the television the other day and the person on there was talking about the power of our words. Whether or not we know it, our words are life and death. The bible tells us in Proverbs 18:21 "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof." Meaning we have the ability to either "tear down" or "build up" with our words. The words we choose to use will determine the outcome of our life. For instance, say you had a job and you got layed off from that job. This job was your only source of income and since you lost your job you are facing the reality of losing your home, car, etc. Instead of being negative and saying I am going to lose everything, you decide to turn this situation around and say "No, this job must not be what God wants for me, there is something better that God has in mind." By you saying those words you are speaking positive things into existence. Look what the Lord done in the beginning.
Genesis 1:3
"And God said, Let there be light: and there was light."
Genesis 1:6
"And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters."
Genesis 1:11
"And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so."
I think you get the point. Everytime God spoke something it came into existence. He has given us this same ability to call those things even though they are NOT as though they were.
If you think about it words are spiritual. Spiritual things cannot be seen. Our words cannot be seen but they still have a great affect on our lives and those lives of the people around us.
The children of Israel murmurred and complained in the wilderness and look how long it took them to finally come out.
A trip that was supposed to take less than 2 weeks took them 40 years! This was all because of their words and actions.
Exodus 16:2-3
" And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:
And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger."
If they would of just trusted and believed in God and not complained and griped about what they were going through they would have all made it into the promised land. But their words determined their destiny.
Luke 6:45
"A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh."
God has assigned angels to watch over us. So we kind of have our very own body guards so to speak. Everytime we speak good and positive things, we are allowing our angels to go to work for us. But the moment we start grumpling, complaining, gossiping, tale bearing, and any other negative thing that comes from our mouth, we are binding our angels and stopping their work for us.
We really need to watch what comes from our mouths. When we start speaking positive we also gain a different mindset and we begin to experience peace and joy that only the Lord can give us. When we speak positive we are simply saying that the Lord has everything under control and we are trusting in Him.