Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Peek In...Push Out...Press Forward
Wouldn't it be wonderful if everyday and everything worked out just as you planned? Think about it, if every morning the sun was shining, the temperature was just right with a light breeze coming from the right direction. You made exactly the amount of money that you needed and had enough left over to do what you wanted, your kids never needed new shoes and your extended family never bothered you! And what if in your spiritual life you always understood the scripture, God always answered your prayers exactly like you thought He should, your body was always healed and no one ever got on your nerves? Wouldn't it be nice? But it usually isn't that way is it?
But what if you could do something about where you are? What if there were simple steps that would enable you to reach beyond where you are to where God wants you to be? Would you be willing to take those steps? After all, we can't expect God to do everything...can we?
Our walk with God is a journey and a covenant, there is nothing God cannot do, He is willing to do anything for His children, but there are somethings we have to do with Him to arrive at our destination:
1. Peek In-Perhaps our greatest need is to see what God is seeing, to have spiritual vision that enables us to see beyond the outward appearance and to see what is actually taking place around us. The amazing thing to me is that too often we believe that God doesn't really know what is actually taking place in our lives, we think He's surprised at the events of our lives and world, that unless we tell Him, He really doesn't have a clue...but He does. Just as Elisha had to remind his servant, God has to remind us, open your eyes and look, there are more for you than against you, surrounding you is an angelic host that is prepared to defend you and to deliver everything you have need of...just peek into the realm of heaven!
2. Push Out-Sometimes we have to push some stuff out of the way, to get rid of the things that prohibit and hinder our progression. The Apostle Paul said that we have to lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily besets us in order that we may run and obtain the prize. But not do we push out the stuff, we push ourselves out of the box, out of our comfort zones, out of the nest so that we may fly! I have to admit, sometimes it's easier to stay in the nest than it is to fly, to do something we've never done before, to go where we've never been...you have to push yourself knowing that in every step you take God is with you!
3. Press Forward-The Apostle Paul we haven't arrived or received everything Christ died for us to receive, so we press forward. Pressing is more than getting up in the morning and saying, "Well, I think I'll be victorious today!" In fact, we are victorious because we are in Christ and He is in us. Pressing forward is the determined walk that says regardless of what takes place in my life I will keep moving, I will go forward until I have crossed the finish line!
Today, take a moment to peek into what God is saying, push out the junk and push out from the safety zone and press forward into all that God has for you...It's going to be worth it!

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Always A Son...End of Story
I got inspired this week, a spiritual television program spoke a deep truth into my spirit and I just cannot get away from it. While watching a rerun of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, the story of a poor kid from the slums of Philly who goes to live with his rich Aunt and Uncle in Bel-Air, I heard a word from the Lord...The family is all moving, going to new locations, college and no longer living under the same roof, Will, the nephew is concerned that because he is not a child of that house that he will be forgotten, reduced to a memory, yet he desires to remain a family member, to receive the weekly phone call from his uncle...and this is where it all gets spiritual...Uncle Phil looks him in the eye and says, "You are my son! You will always be my son...end of story!" Something inside of me stood up, there was a stirring within me that reminded me that this is exactly how God feels about us. Because we have entered a covenant with Him, He calls us His sons, His children, as sons and daughters we are give the keys to the Kingdom, an entrance into a covenant with Him. We are given responsibility, revelation, and relationship, our hearts are knit together with God...and that is the end of the story!