Live Like You Mean It!

Today was my birthday!  It was a most wonderful day!  I've been celebrating the launch of my new book, but today I set all that aside to spend time with my Lord.  I started in prayer and as I prayed I was filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude that He chose me.  He chose me.  He created me to be born on this day and to live in this time in history.  He brought me forth from my mother's womb to fulfill His purpose for my life in the earth - right now!

He had plans!  I am His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, to do good works that He before-ordained that I should walk therein.  He created me on purpose for a purpose!  He planned for me and decided on who I would become for His glory!

He is thinking about me all the time! His thoughts towards me are good and not evil, to give me a future and a hope and an expected end. His thoughts toward me outnumber the grains of sand and they are GOOD!  

Selah.

"The Lord of hosts has sworn, saying, Surely, as I have thought and planned, so shall it come to pass, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand-- For the Lord of hosts has purposed, and who can annul it?  And His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?"  Isaiah 14:24, 27 (AMP

Guess what?  He chose you, thought of you, made plans for you, and created you on purpose.

In other words, He meant to do it.  He made a decision to do it.  He thought about it and planned for it.  God is a God of purpose.  He never does anything or says anything without a reason.  And when He does, nothing can change it.  He orders all things after the council of His will and upholds all things by the word of His power.  As He has "purposed, so shall it stand!"  He is an awesome, omnipotent God!

You may be going through a difficult season in your life right now.  You've been waiting on God for a long time and your wondering if you missed it.  You're wondering why He has allowed one set-back after another, and the disappointment and frustration has you emotionally drained.  Or perhaps you've made some mistakes and you think you've blown it.  These are all lies of the enemy.  It's not so much about you, as it is about His purpose.  Cast down every imagination and high thing that exalts itself above the knowledge of God.  Do not cast away your confidence in God; it has great recompense of reward!

You were born on purpose for a purpose. Discover what your purpose is and make a decision to live it; chose to live it.  Live like you were meant to live.  Do it like you mean it!  On purpose!

Way Makers live on purpose!

The Attitude of Gratitude

This past Thanksgiving season has been a real blessing to me.  I am on the road to recovery in my inner life, because I strongly believe that one must be emotionally healthy and spiritually mature to be effective in leadership.  So I've committed my life to Christ's care and control and I'm allowing Him to remove my character defects.

Until now, I never realized how powerful gratitude is in the life a believer until recently.  It is my new secret weapon in spiritual warfare.  This attitude of the heart stands guard to ward off negative thoughts and every high thing that exhaults itself against the knowledge of God!   Two days ago I did a teaching on "Gratitude" and I'd like to share with you some of insights I've discovered and experienced when I cultivate thi state of mind:

• Acknowledging the things for which I am grateful to God, draws me closer to Him.  My relationship with Him is more intimate as I began to recognize all that He's done for me this year. 
• I've found that in some experiences that were especially difficult, like my heart surgery and the death of my aunt, God gave the grace needed to walk through - the grace not only to walk through, but to be a blessing in the process.  Because I was grateful to God for all the many details and issues - large and small - both experiences yielded opportunities to minister the grace of God to others in a way that yielded fruit for the Kingdom.  
• When I express gratitude to Him, it pleases Him immensely and His heart is turned toward me and I'm immediately aware of His presence. 
• I no longer feel victimized or subject to my circumstances.  My glass is half full; not half empty. 
• Gratitude evokes a spirit of praise and worship to God.  A grateful heart compels me to praise God!  When I enter His gates with Thanksgiving and into His courts with praise, the blessings and favor of God become active in my life.  
• Gratitude is the enemy of depression and discouragement.  I am able to cultivate and maintain my spiritual health by warding off the enemies of my soul that come to rob me of my joy and peace.
• Expressing my gratitude to God on a daily basis, helps me to keep a balanced perspective on the challenges of life and reminds me that God is in control and has kept His promise to never leave me or forsake me.  I approach each day with a more positive attitude, I'm able to pray according to God's will and to trust Him more fully.  

What are you grateful to God for?  In what ways are you grateful for the people in your life?

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Give thanks in all circumstances;

for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

God's Obstacle Course

I wanted to share something with my readers that has significantly changed my perspective on the challenges I'm facing in my life right now.  We've often heard it said that God doesn't put no more on us than what we can bear.  I'd like to challenge that way of thinking tonight. 

Obstacle courses are designed to build strength, endurance and character.  For example, in the military and sports, obstacle courses are designed to develop and prepare soldiers and athletes to endure strenuous physical activity.  Each part of the course is designed to develop a certain skill, endurance level and physical ability.  Pariticipants continue to chart the course until they've completed each section with timed precision. When they've mastered the course, they are deemed ready to fulfill their mission.  The obstacles are not intended to stop them from fulfilling the goal, but rather to ensure that they are fully capable of fulfilling the goal. 

God has designed an obstacle course tailored-made for me - and you.  Every challenge we face is uniquely designed to strengthen our character, promote growth and maturity, and to equip us to live the abundant life.  The obstacles come not to descourage or to destroy us, but to train us to get better and better each time we encounter one.

The idea is that each time we encounter a problem, to determine what is it that's preventing us from moving forward.  Once we identify the source of opposition, then we can begin to pray and ask God for wisdom to move around it.  You see, what usually happens is we encounter an obstacle and immediately we think we're doing the wrong thing - that we didn't hear God when things don't work out.  The truth is, when you run into an obstacle/opposition, it's most likely because you are doing the right thing, rather than the wrong thing.  Just because we meet with a challenge doesn't mean we're outside of the will of God.

If there is an obstacle that you seem to encounter over and over again, and you can't seem to get beyond it, then it's probably because you're not going about it the right way - perhaps not God's way.  There's probably a better way to do it.  Remember His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.  Ask God how you should go about it.

Instead of responding to obstacles with "I can't do it," let's ask the question, "How can I do it?"  Instead of "I don't have the money," ask "How can I get the money?"  Don't give up because something seems hard.  Let's keep our hands to the plow and not look back.  All things are possible with God!!