God is

KNOW: 

God is the difference between life or death.

RECOGNIZE: 

God is the difference between victory or defeat.

UNDERSTAND: 

God is the difference between freedom or fear.

 

God's amazing promises.

God’s amazing promises always come to pass!

“When the Lord your God brings you into the land.. and has plucked away many nations  before you…

…know, recognize, and understand… God, HE IS GOOD…

… He will love you, and bless you, and multiply you…

… YOU SHALL NOT BE AFRAID…

…the Lord… will clear out those nations before you… little by little;… not quickly; lest the beasts of the fields increase among you…

[and praise God]…there shall be no man able to stand before you…”

-------------------------------

WOW-ZA…and that’s only from ONE little chapter out of Deuteronomy (chapter 7:1, 5, 13, 18, 22, 24). 

God has so many promises for you and me…jump into His Word with devotion and prayer, and watch it come alive right in your life just as it is mine!! 

Life just keeps getting better and better!!

Be blessed.

F-O-R-E-V-E-R

Deuteronomy 6 - our refresher course over God’s Commandments

There are ten (10) commandments, not nine (9), not eleven (11): TEN – 10. They are not to be added to, nor are they to be taken away in any way, shape, or form. Yes, the commandments were the original law, but thanks to Jesus, we have been freed of the law.  However, following these commandments need to be the baseline foundation to which we live by every single moment of every single day of our lives.  They are meant for our good, anything else will eventually bring you into one heck of a dark pit (speaking from experience).

God’s commands are not hard. They make us better people; better husbands, wives, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, grandparents, friends, co-workers, etc. God’s Commandments simply make us better! 

Plus if we do our duty to follow and obey the Lord’s precious commands, He promises (and God never lies) that ALL will go well with us and our family’s FOREVER – that is, F-O-R-E-V-E-R. Right on and Amen to that! So, if you ask me, life can’t get any better than that.

Be blessed!

Know, recognize,understand.

“Know, recognize AND understand…that the Lord is God in the heavens above and upon the Earth beneath: there is no other.” (Deuteronomy 4:39)

Knowing, recognizing AND understanding God is the key to living life victoriously ~ to the fullest, until it overflows…and then some – Amen and Praise Jesus!

So, if you are asking yourself, “What do I  need to do to truly start knowing, recognizing and understanding the Lord?”, then here you go:

To know God, which He makes quite easy to do: Invite Him to come and live in your heart, (I emphasize invite; God will not push His way into someone’s life! Nope, He waits until He’s invited).

Want to recognize God: Begin to look and see life, people, and circumstances through the eyes of your heart, not the eyes of your head.

Finally, you want to understand God: Get a Bible and read it; find a comfortable church and join it; and put your hands together, close your eyes,  and pray (talk, ask, believe) about it.

Live blessed because you are !!

Fearing God = Living victoriously

“…do not fear him [man] … the Lord your God has given you this land to possess …

you shall not fear them …” (Deuteronomy 3:2,18,22).

There is only one to fear---GOD! God only!! To fear anyone or anything else isn’t even an option for God’s children, and WE ARE God’s children. Hallelujah!! Figure out who and what you fear, then get over it!  Except for our fear of God, (which is good fear - the only type of fear to have); then nothing, no one, no circumstance, and no amount of money should ever phase us.

I know that once we keep our fear to fearing God and God alone, then doors are going to open so suddenly in our favor that our former selves will be blown away with the wind and our God fearing selves will be unstoppable to any worldly man or beast--- Praise God!

Step out and watch God step in!

"You have roamed around this mountain country long enough; ... now rise up and go...pass through...begin to possess it...BEHOLD, I have BEGUN to give Sihon and his land over to you. Begin to take possession..."

It is time to GET UP; stand up, chin up, shoulders back...GO.

Are you praying or something more, something amazing, but you are fearful of the cost (financial, relational, the unknown, pride, etc.)? Are you staying wher eyou are because you think that you ar enot worth of such a thing? If your answer is yes (mine is) well my friend, it is time to get over it; it is time to do this!

God needs you to try, search, pray, believe, know, trust, and be fearless so that He can give the amazing life He promises you. You have to realize that if you don't make the effort to step forward in spite of your fears then you are keeping God from lifting you above it and giving you EVERYTHING you could possibly want, think, or imagine. You have them already, you only need to go in and take them - God is on your side and He will guide and protect you. So, move it my friend! 

Come on! Step out and watch God step in! 

AMAZING things are going to happen for you! Believe it! 

God doesn't withhold blessings from us...we are just too scared to grab hold of them!

"Behold, I have set the land beore you; go in and take possession...you shall not be afraid of the face o man...go up and possess it...fear NOT, neither be dismayed." Deut 1:8,16,17,21

Oh but wait! Look what happened when we stopped trusting God and let our own thoughts get in the way:

"...you were peevish and discontented in your tents...so you remained in Kadish; many days [years for some us] you remained."

Why in the world do we this to ourselves? Why do we waste so much time backtracking because we are scared?

Look at your life. Are you stuck? If you are, it is because you are living FEAR! No need to argue, it is true; true for me and true for you. Plus, if we don't open our eyes to God, fear will be the description of our futures. --- YIKES. We have to stop specializing in being the most amazing cowards in life, it is not God's plan.

God's Word stands true.  He has land, (blessings, abundance, favor, and victory), right in front of us.  Let's go for it!!  I know I am. No more time to waste for me - I'm gonna take it because God is holding out to me.

So, join me...let's live in victory; grab on to those blessings He's giving you, and let's start living FREE FROM FEAR FOREVER!!

God Bless you so much.

Boundaries

“When you come into the land of Canaan (which is the land that shall be YOURS for an inheritance, the land of Canaan according to its boundaries.” (Numbers 34:1).

You are getting ready to come into the full inheritance that God is giving you (side note: WOW! YES YES YES…LOL), so, you must – and I mean, MUST! – set boundaries so that you keep yourself from easily falling into sin.  So, being that we don't need to waste time wondering what kinds of boundaries, let me give you some ideas:

Set yourself an alone place for you and God and set time aside everyday for just the two of you; set a boundary of making sure to go to church and staying connected with other believers; set boundaries for tithing, spending, saving, etc.; set times to spend with your family and friends; set parameters of the types of folk you will or will not hang with; discipline your attitude, love walk, dedication, and motivations... The list is yours and God’s for the making, but you get the idea.

OH, OH, OH - set these boundaries NOW so that you will have no question as your life amazingly begins to open up to God’s blessings.

Now, remember that these boundaries are between you and the Lord, so as God leads you further and further, you will be able to adjust, add, drop, or reconsider as you go along.

Boundaries are your foundation of keeping what God is freely blessing and giving you, but not doing with them what He wants will only have you standing empty, watching those beautiful blessings fly away like feathers in the wind.

BE AMAZING TODAY AND REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE GOD’S CHILD! LIVE LIKE IT.

So close...don't lose sight!

“And you shall take possession of the land and dwell in it, for to you I have given the land to possess it.” (Numbers 33:53)

God will grant us special, unique, individualized, gifts and talents; special blessings, riches and abundance… each of us are made for a purpose, for His glory.  So, think about (look around your unique world) and notice things that are so called, ‘must-haves’ in your life, or something in which you have the ability to learn so incredibly quick, or maybe a talent that you don’t even know why you have…the list can go on and on – those are from God!  Yes, from God, made just for you .

Now, here is the important part so please take hold. God will grant you such blessings, treasures, talents, abilities, etc., but depending on what you decide to do with them, or how you want to use them, He has the ability to continue to prosper you, or He can take them away ever so quickly.  Some of us, like myself, like the Israelites, decided to take the extra-long route and learn the  hard way.  I look back over the last 25 years or more and I now feeling like a lot of things seem to be repeating themselves???

Well, this morning the Lord spoke so clearly to my heart and said, “You feel your life repeating in certain areas because you began your adulthood on the right track, but you lost sight – you fell into sin – you fell back into the ‘world’. Now, I give these to you again to do use them ‘MY’ way…the choice is yours Jen, so please grab hold this time, stay on track, take your inheritance from me, and move forward into the land of ‘AMAZING’ that I have special for you.”

WOW! He’s giving me a second chance, one I could have had years ago. (This time though, I choose to do it is His way - I will follow however He leads me.)

So please, if you are just beginning your walk with God, stay focused, stay on track, don’t look back, push through the struggles – He has a special land for YOU, yes YOU, and it is yours for the taking!

Be blessed, and know that you are so amazing!

Phil Wickham - This Is Amazing Grace

Good or bad – you will eventually have to eat your words.

“If a man vows…to the Lord or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break and profane  his word; he shall do ALL that proceeds out of his mouth.” [Otherwise],…he shall be held responsible and will bear [his own] iniquity.”

Numbers 30:2,15

Make darn well sure that your promised words, pledges, oaths, and actions are always (and I DO mean ALWAYS): loving; honest; kind; meaningful; realistic; wise; and (most importantly) acceptable to God, otherwise…

You might find yourself losing a ton of weight, and you’ll also have a brand new look about ya’ …

Because…

…You will be living and breathing with your big ol’ foot firmly implanted in your big ol’ mouth.

Yep, good or bad – you will eventually have to eat your words.

Do what is right in God’s sight & be amazingly blessed today.

Choose: Blessings or curses - it is your call.

“Blessed [of God] is He who blesses you [who prays for and contributes to your welfare] and cursed [of God] is he who curses you [who in word, thought, or deed would bring harm upon].” (Numbers  24:9)

Well…HAWT DAWG! This one is a no-brainer:

Do you want to continually live in defeat, destruction, and darkness? Then go ahead and live for the blessings of yourself. 

PS. Good luck.

OR…

Do you want to continually be living in an amazing abundance of God’s blessings? Then, live for the blessings of others – not yourself. Help them, pray for them, forgive them, LOVE them; be God’s shining light for them.

The life you choose is up to you. For me though – this one is no-brainer!!

Live like you are blessed…

because you ARE!

Handling tough situations.

“And the Lord put a speech in Balaam’s mouth, and said, Return to Balak and you shall speak.” Numbers 23:5

There are two ways to handle not knowing what to do or say in any given situation:

One: Step away from the situation, pray sincerely and whole heartedly, and then trust God ~ He’ll give you the words or actions you need.

Or

Two: Do it your way.

However, if you decide on this option you will soon learn that it is definitely not working. So then you must put the pedal to the medal and make a swift U-turn back to God, remembering to sincerely repent and ask for forgiveness. He’ll take you back with open arms, and He’ll help shake the dust off your clothes, wipe the mud off your face, and make sure that whatever your worldly-self got you into gets rectified.

I am going with option one – much easier…

How about you?

Enjoy your day.  Be blessed!!

A guarantee and a promise.

"If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more." Numbers 22:18

Here's one guarantee that you cannot afford to ignore:

All the power, control, money, status, authority, brains, motivation, and planning may all be yours for the taking, but if God isn't in the forefront of each and every one of them, I kindly promise you this: all your power, control, money, status, authority, brains, motivation, and planning will soon blow away like dust in the wind.  

 

Fear them not!

“…neither fear the people…, for they are bread for us.  Their defense…is removed from over them, but God is with us. Fear them not! (Numbers 14:8-9)

If you are hiding out in the midst of the crowd, fearful because are not sure what they might think or do if you try to be different, then you need to start (without stopping) pushing your way through.  Become the group leader, but surely do NOT get lost in the crowd!! Step out!

God has so many great plans for you!  Do not sit on the side line of this short life on Earth ~ be bold, be different, be FEARLESS. Time goes by so quickly. Take God’s hand and live the life He is trying to give you.  I know, without any shadow of a doubt, He’s got an amazing plan for your life. Take hold! My goodness – you do not want to miss your chance!

Be blessed! LIVE!!

Fearful or Fearless?

“Caleb … said, let us go up at once and possess it; we are well-able to conquer it.” (Numbers 13:30)

Right now! Right at this very moment, without hesitation, you much make a decisive choice of which group you want to be in:

           Group 1: ‘Fearful and VERY Afraid’ or;

Group 2: ‘FEARLESS and WELL-ABLE’.

I pray you’ve chose the latter.

Remember: God IS, God WAS, and God always WILL BE.

He never leaves, never fails, never lets us down, never forsakes!

Our amazing God sent His one and only child to live and to die for us (parents could you send your child to die for others?).

Yes, Jesus died on the cross so that we could be free from fear, sin, darkness, pain, and from our sufferings.

As I type this I just become more in love, more amazed, and more thankful in God.  He LOVES US!! WOW. WOW and double WOWWW!

Jesus died so we can be fearless, bold, well-able, more than conquers. He died so that we can live…

JESUS LOST SO WE COULD WIN!!

You are a winner.  Live like it! Act like it! Love like it! For gosh sake ~ embrace it!!

Stop digging your own grave.

Complaining, gluttony, lust, greed, hoarding, and the like, all lead to one thing…death! There are literally hundreds of verses that prove this. 

One example is, Numbers 11:34:

“That place was called Kibroth-hattaavah [the graves of sensous desire], because there they buried the people who lusted, whose physical appetite caused them to sin.”

 
Yikes! Guess when were on our roller coasters of sin we don’t have to worry about who’ll dig our grave when we die ~ we’re doing a good job digging them ourselves.

Answers from God

“At the Lords command the Israelites journeyed, and at His command they encamped.” Numbers 9:18, 23

God will let you know when to move and He’ll let you know when to stay put.  He WILL make your decisions for you if trust in Him, hope in Him, and believe in Him with your whole heart, body, soul and mind.  Yes, there will be times when you are not sure what to do, and it is at those times when it is very, and I stress ‘very’, important that you just keep doing what you are currently doing. No decisions need to be made ~ as it is not God’s timing. 

When you are trying too hard to get an answer, becoming impatient, or becoming too frustrated, then you must realize that God is trying to tell you to wait! Not waiting for Him could potentially lead to one big disaster after another. 

Now wait, I have one more kicker; when the good Lord says to move, I highly suggest you get up and get moving! It is your sign that everything will eventually work out in your favor – and it will be AMAZING!  God is AMAZING!!

Be blessed! 

The Lord bless you...

I read one of my most favorit-ist (another one of my unique words – lol) verses in the bible this morning.  So, like Aaron prayed over all of the people of Isreal, I pray to each and every one of YOU:

“The Lord bless you and keep you;

The Lord makes His face to shine down upon you and be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up his countenance (favor) upon you and give you peace.”

(Leviticus 6:24-26)

You have the forever blessings of our almighty God; you are His perfect creation. Get up! Run this race called life and don’t ever look back!!

Family

This is the service of the families…and this is what they are assigned…

ACCORDING TO THE COMMAND OF THE LORD...

 Leviticus, chapter 5;28,31,29. +Joyce Meyers, Everyday Life Bible.

God has given each of us our very own personalized family, (whether it is a family of two or a hundred; or a family of special pets; or a family in a special place…etc.), and as a Christ follower YOU have the responsibility of guiding your family to things that will not only bring joy inside your family walls,, but will guide others; the lost, dark, hurting, sad, to experience the love of Christ. (Oh, and for those of you that can say that you are completely, 100%, alone, then I suggest you start praying for guidance, step out in faith, and begin to engage. God did NOT make you to be alone! Refer to page 1 of Genesis and read from there).  So, why don’t you find ways to (unknowingly) spread the love of Christ, not just to your own loved ones, but to every single person around you? My goodness, there are so many hurting people that do not know, or have never noticed the Spirit of Jesus. This isn’t hard to do either, and here are some simple steps you can take~ ASAP! (Remember you and your family may be the difference of life or death to another person!):

First;: pray, without ceasing, for guidance: Next: begin to notice what you and your family do together that fills you all with light, love, hope, peace, and meaning: Finally; begin to invite someone, engaging, etc.,others to join in on your family’s joyous moments (ex., eating, hiking, camping, movie night, …whatever you and your family love doing together.)

Now sit back and watch! Whomever you invite, engage, etc., will immediately notice something brightly different about you all; something they want, something that, even for a brief second, will brighten their day, help them feel an inkling of joy.  You and your family may just be their first glimpse of sweet Jesus himself! WOW.

My goodness, not only will these draw your “not-so-sure” family members closer to Christ ~ which, by the way, will build your family bond so strong that it becomes unbreakable by anything, anyone, and/or any circumstance ~but, it will be your family effort of spreading the amazing power of Jesus Christ to so many lost, hurting, suffering, hopeless, scared, and even the un-loveable, soles…How AWESOME is this? 

YOU AND YOUR FAMILY HOOK ‘EM, AND FROM THERE, JESUS WILL REEL THEM IN.

Are you wandering?

“The Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sanai…”(Num. 1:1)

There are more times than not when we will ‘feel’ like God isn’t anywhere near; when God isn’t answering our heartfelt prayers.  Remember: feelings are ONLY feelings – nothing more! They are NOT-NOT-NOT God!! NOT!!!

In order to discern between God and your ‘feelings’ do some simple , yet HONEST, steps ~ (somewhere along the lines of these):

·       Take the time to really… truly… deeply, allow yourself to feel your feelings. Give yourself permission to allow them to flow through you; write them down if you wish.

·       Ask yourself if your bored with your life; are you letting the people/environment around you influence your attitude, heart, and/or feelings; and/or are these self-pity, selfish, feelings (answer honestly-no one else has to know)?

·       Are you taking this time of unknown and ‘blah’ to: DIG IN DEEP with GOD; blessing others with what you can (who you are); taking responsibility for choices and actions made?

·       Are you doing what you can do to make your life brighten up, etc.,?

OPEN your eyes to what God IS doing and close them to what you think HE is not doing. Take a look around and immediately you will notice God’s magic all around you.

God IS GOD. God IS taking care of EVERYTHING imaginable. Your part is to keep praying, believing, and have faith-faith-faith!

Simply: GOD KNOWS WHAT IS GOING ON. GOD’S GOT THIS BABY UNDER CONTROL!

NOW, take yourself and get the heck out of His way!!! Be blessed :-)

Heartfelt sacrifice.

“…Every devoted thing is most holy to the Lord” 

(Leviticus 27:28)

No matter how big, no matter how small;

No matter how many, no matter if it’s barely anything at all;

As long as you give with your heart, as long as you personally sacrifice;

God takes it, receives it, treasures it, and in return,

He blesses you twice.

Be patient and watch what God will do with your sacrificial offerings specially given to Him.

God's footsteps

Walk in the commands and footsteps of God Almighty; in return He gives you:

Fruitfulness…rain in due season…food aplenty…fearlessness like none other…untouchable by your enemies…peace everlasting…favor…regard…courage…a safe place of refuge…abundance…freedom…

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY ~ LIFE EVERLASTING WITH HIM IN HEAVEN!  WOW!

Praise sweet Jesus!! Be blessed!!

(my personal interpretation of Leviticus 26:1-13)