Troubles are open doors of opportunities

“There I will give her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor [troubling] to be for her a door of hope and expectations.” Hosea 2:15 AMP

Although we cannot avoid the dark, troubling, times in our lives, we can decide to take a different approach as to how we face, think, and react to, them.  The Lord opened my eyes to a new way of thinking after I read this verse, and I truly believe that times of trouble are our opportunities to believe in new beginnings, new open doors, new opportunities, new hopes, new expectations, and new directions. Yes, troubling times can be looked at as new and exciting times, my friend.  So, join me in deciding to take a whole new approach to trouble – join me in approaching trouble with strength, boldness, and faith.  I believe and feel, with all of my heart, that this approach will profoundly change the quality of our life; that we won’t fear trouble anymore, and we will be able to honestly say that we are truly joyful in hope and in affliction¹

¹Romans 12:12

Be a light for God

“… and those who turn many to righteousness (to uprightness and right standing with God) [shall give forth light] like the stars forever and ever.” Daniel 12:3 AMP

Live your life in a way that when others look at you, they see, feel, or sense a difference about you; a light about you, a warmth about you!! Yes, open your heart and life to God, and let Him take over.  Let Him take your life and turn it into a shining light for the world to see.

Gosh, our world is so filled with darkness and fear!  So, be different! Be God’s loving child and help change someone’s life today.

 

Do not Fear! God's got your back!

"...one in the likeness of the sons of men touched my lips.  Then I opened my mouth and spoke... Then there touched me again one whose appearance was like that of a man, and he strengthened me.... 

Fear not!..." 

Daniel 10:16, 18, 19 AMP

When you can't speak, God will speak through you! When you are weak, God will strengthen you!  Therefore, fear not in this world - God is with you, He is for you, and through Him, you can do all things that He has set out for you to do!

DO NOT FEAR - GOD'S GOT YOUR BACK!!

All-powerful

“But the judgment shall be set [by the court of the Most High], and they shall take away [Satan’s] dominion... ” Daniel 7:26

Satan has no power over God’s children and God’s world.  I know, it does seem like it at times, but fear not, he doesn’t stand a chance.  However, we must be diligent about resisting him before he attacks by keeping God first and foremost in our lives so he cannot wear us down.  Therefore, spend daily time with God, pray throughout the day, be accountable to your sins, and resist all temptation at the onset!

The fact is, while we are here on Earth, we will never be freed of the attacks of Satan, but remember, we have Christ with us, and that gives us more power than Satan can ever stand up against.  God is all-powerful, and His power is alive in us!  So, use God’s power in all things, and in all ways, and then you can be confident that you’ll make Satan think twice before he even thinks of messing with you.

Be excellent

“Then this Daniel was distinguished above the presidents… because an excellent spirit was in him… because he believed in (relied on, adhered to, and trusted in) his God.” Daniel 6: 3, 23

Deliverance, promotion, prosperity, gain, favor, blessings, and grace, all come from God.  Therefore, be excellent, honorable, and faithful in all of your works, every day, all day, and forevermore.  I know it may not seem like anyone notices, but God notices, and He will prosper you continually when you stay true to Him by being a shining representative of who He is to the world around you.

 

Sheer humility

“But when his heart was lifted up and his mind and spirit were hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was deposed from his kingly throne and his glory was taken from him.” Daniel 5:20 AMP

Always remember the Why you are where you are; the Who, who got you to where you are; and the How, as in the how you do what you do so well, (your gifts and talents).  God is the one who pours blessings upon you, opens doors of opportunities for you, fills your bank accounts with money, gives you homes that seem like mansions to some, and surrounds people around you who love, adore, and accept you; you, in yourself, have no part of it.

Therefore, always make sure to give the credit where the credit is due – God, and God alone.  If you fail to do so, you may find yourself beginning to take the glory for God’s good works in your life, making it easy for your gloating to become prideful and haughty - and if that happens, then God will remind you, my friend, and sheer humility will be yours to deal with accordingly.

 

Making wrongs right.

“… liberate yourself from your iniquities by showing mercy and loving-kindness to the poor and oppressed…” Daniel 4:27 AMP

One way to make wrongs right is to the help the poor, the oppressed, and the needy.  Not just financially, but with kindness, compassion, love, helpful and uplifting words, and resources you that you have more than enough of.  I believe that the more we give to those in need, then the more the Lord showers blessings of love, grace, mercy, abundance, and peace upon us, which in turn, enables us to help even more of the needy, oppressed, and broken people of this world; which, sadly, has become way too much of the norm.

Help others and be liberated, in the blessed name of sweet Jesus!

 

There is no other god who can save! Only God!!

“… the fire had no power upon their bodies, nor was the hair of their head singed; neither their garments scorched or changed in color or condition, nor had even the smell of smoke clung to them…

there is no other God who can deliver in this way!” Daniel 3: 7, 29

When we go through the fires, (trials), with God as our Lord and Savior, we come out alive, unharmed, stronger, and more blessed.  So, what happens if we go through trials without God?  Ummm, let's see… my guess is lifelessness, pain-filled, fear-filled, weak, dark, and full of tears to name a few.  So, with that being said, I know that I’m never letting my faith leave God, because without any doubt in my mind whatsoever, I know He will bring me through better off than before, and stronger than I ever imagined I could be.

Friend, He’ll do the same for you if you keep undying faith in Him!  So, make sure He has ALL of you – your heart, mind, body – and then you will too know that you can go through any fiery trial without a hint of smoke being smelled on you.

God knows your secrets!

"He reveals the deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him!" Daniel 2:22 AMP

Whatever one tries to hide from the world, will still be seen by God!  Therefore, whatever you want to do in secret, make sure it is God-approved.  If it isn't, then it is wrong, it is a sin, it is not going to do you any good, and when the time comes for God to reveal it, which He will, it will be at the uttermost inconvenient time for you, leaving you full of regret and shame.

Avoid shame and regret! Make sure your darkest secrets are good and God-approved.  Then take the secrets that you know aren't good, ask God to help change them, and change your heart; He'll not only help you make them right, He'll probably bless you for it!

Be bold enough to be different!

"But Daniel determined in his heart that he would not defile himself by [eating his portion of] the kings rich and dainty food or by [drinking] the wine which he drank... " Daniel 1:8 AMP

Long time, faithful, followers in Christ know the difference between wrong and right in the sight of God.  However, whether they choose to abide by God's wrongs and rights, is a whole other story.  Sadly, many, too many, don't!  Instead, the choice to fall into temptation has become way too common now-a-days.

So, it is up to you and I to be different, be bold, stand out, and stand up for God! We need to follow the path God has set before us in an honorable, faithful, and joy-filled, way; doing the right things, and holding ourselves accountable when we do fall into sin.  Let's get away from the, so-called, norm and be true - BOLD - Christ followers.  I believe, and can attest, that when we do, favor, honor, blessings, and peace, begin to pour over us. Plus, to make it even better, others suddenly begin to follow suit, for they see the Light that lives in, around, and through us, and they too want to experience the Light - the Light we've come to know and praise and love and honor, Jesus Christ, our blessed Savior.

The Lord is there

“… and the name of the city from that day and ever after shall be, The Lord Is There.” Ezekiel 48:35

Think of yourself as a ‘city’ for a moment; in your opinion, do you think that others would look at you and think, “The Lord is There”, (The Lord is with him/her)?  If you know that the answer is, “No”, then some definite life changes are in order.  It is time to get right with God, and come on over to the good side.  Living life for God brings such a joy and peace to one’s life – who would ever want to miss out?

So, give yourself to God, and let Him change you little by little, from glory to glory, and experience life changing events begin to take place in your life.  Then, once you make that choice and you become His special ‘city’, there will be no question when asked if you believe that when others look, (or think), of you, they think, “God is with him/her”, because you will definitely know that they do.

 

Your inheritance

“… for I am their inheritance …” Ezekiel 44:28

When you accept God as your personal Savior, you inherit riches that go beyond anything you can inherit from a relative or friend.  Yes, you may receive wealth from a family member, but with God, you will also receive: security; everlasting life; love; joy; peace; patience; fearlessness; excellence; God-like confidence; energy; health; abundance; freedom; open doors; opportunities; eyes that (truly) see, ears that (truly) hear; compassion; vigor; boldness; undying faith; wisdom; honor… and the list goes on and on!  WOW!!

However, without God, you may still receive lots of money and wealth, but His hand upon them won’t be there, leaving them wide open to be taken by evil Satan himself - and, sadly my friend, in the blink of an eye, your wealth and riches will be taken from right under your nose.

Put away

“Now let them put away their [idolatrous] harlotry and the dead bodies and monuments of their kings far from me, and I will dwell in their midst forever.” Ezekiel 43:9

Put away – GET RID OF – anything and everything, and, anyone and everyone, that keeps you in sin, because they only cause you to stumble on your path to God.  Then, once you do, the miraculous life in Christ that’s been given to you will ensue, and a whole new dimension of blessed, loved, protected, and whole, will be yours for the taking! 

Praise God ~ Hallelujah!!

None will make you afraid

And I will manifest My honor and glory among the nations… They shall forget their shame and self-reproach… and there is none who makes them afraid.” Ezekiel 39:21, 26

The moment you receive God into your heart, as your Lord and Savior, He begins to move in mighty ways. Your life begins to change.  You become, and feel like, a brand new creation; sins are forgiven, your former shame and self-reproach is washed clean with His blood, and a brand new Life wakes up on the inside of you.  Fear that once plagued you, doesn’t even phase you anymore.  As a matter of fact, you begin to forget what fear feels like, and, boy-oh-boy, when that happens, watch out world – there is nothing, or no one, that can keep you down from God’s special plan for your life!!

When evil comes

But in that day when Gog (evil) shall come against the land of Israel (God’s children), My wrath shall come into my nostrils, and I will call for a sword against Gog (evil), says the Lord.  I will be recognized, understood, and known!  (Evil) shall know (at that very moment) that I am the Lord (and their doom has come).

Adapted from Ezekiel 38: 18,21,23

When evil comes against God’s children, it’s only a matter of time before evil meets its final destruction – DEATH.

Wake up child of God's!!

"... O you dry bones, hear the word of the Lord...: Behold, I will cause breath and spirit to enter you, and you shall live... I will cleanse [you]... I will give blessings to [you] and multiply [you] and set my sanctuary in the midst of [you] forevermore." Ezekiel 37: 4-5, 26, 26

Wake up child of God... LIVE!! Stop dreading your life and begin to celebrate your life! God is alive within you and He loves you! So, live - and live to the fullest.  He's got you in the palm of His hand, and He's got some amazing plans for your life.  And, guaranteed, His plans are not ones that one wants to miss.

A glimpse into a life with Christ

"Then I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness; and from your idols, I will cleanse you... I will call forth the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine on you.  And I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field, that you may no more suffer the reproach and disgrace of famine from among the nations." Ezekiel 36: 25, 29-30

Yes, what you just read are just a few of the miracles that happen when you make Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior; sins are forgiven, one is made new, miracles rain down in abundance, and lack becomes a thing of the past.

God loves you so much and He wants to show you... LET HIM !

You will surely live.

“If the wicked restores [what he took in] pledge, gives back what he had taken in robbery, walks in the statutes of life [right relationship with God], without committing iniquity, …None of his sins… shall be [seriously] remembered against him… he shall surely live.” Ezekiel 33: 15 -16

See what happens when you turn from your evil, wicked, sinful ways?  You LIVE!! You truly LIVE!!  God gives you a new life; He forgives you.  What you thought living was before, becomes nothing in comparison to what you begin to experience with the new life He instills within you.

Don’t miss out on living! If you have yet to give your heart to God, NOW is the perfect time to do so.  Join those of us that declare Him as our Lord and Savior, because, until you do, your life isn’t  being lived out to the fullest… as a matter of fact, it isn’t even being lived at all.

We all have one thing in common.

It doesn’t matter who you are, Who you believe in, or whether you believe in God (or not); one thing stands true, and one thing only:

There will come a day when you will come face to face with God Himself! And, it is at that moment you will know (understand and realize) that the King of kings, and the Lord of lords, is God, and God ALONE. 

God is no statue, no ordinary man, no beast, no object – NO, He is God and He is real, and the best choice you can make, (if you haven't already), is to receive God into your heart make Him your Lord and Savior.  It is not only imperative for this life that you make this decision, but for your life everlasting; because, with Him will be love, mercy, grace, blessings, beauty, health, prosperity and abundance in the full, until it overflows, along with many other spectacular surprises that our minds cannot even fathom.  However, without Him, will be gnashing of teeth – screaming, crying, and torture, and more screaming, crying, and torture… death! 

So, it is your choice … hopefully, it isn’t too hard a choice to make, and I just know that once you make the choice for God, you will never regret a single second of it!!

 

Praise God

My thoughts after reading the Book of Ezekiel, Chapters 26-30.

In a nutshell.

Ezekiel, Chapters 24 – 26, in a nutshell:

The evil, vengeance, pride, haughtiness, contempt, arrogance, hurt, destruction, death, resentment, un-forgiveness, rejection, darkness and desolation, that you bring onto others, will eventually be brought back onto you; less you stop immediately, seek forgiveness from God, turn from your wicked ways, and begin to do what the Word of God tells you to do.

My friend, if you knowingly continue in your current sins, and do not decide to stop and seek the forgiveness of God, then you will pay the price!  Guaranteed!

 

Day of reckoning.

“Thus your lewdness shall be recompensed upon you and you shall suffer the penalty of your sinful idolatry; and you shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord God.” Ezekiel 23:49 AMP

There is a hard way to finding out that God is who He says He is, and He will do what He says He will do - By, knowingly, continuing in your sinful way of living; hence, keeping your back turned on God.  Friend, if this is you, then you can rest assured that your day of reckoning will come, and when it does, it’ll will be a day you wish you could of avoided.

God gives us choices, and He wants, so badly, for us to choose Him, but many of us do not. Or, many choose Him, but choose to follow Him on ‘conditional’ terms.  Well, there are only two choices: Follow Him, or don’t follow Him – there is no middle ground!  So, please, prayerfully consider how you are presently living; what your motives are, Who you are choosing to believe in, what kind of decisions you are making, and the people who you are affecting.  If there is anything, anything at all, that you know is wrong in the eyes of God, then please put the brakes on, run to God, and do whatever needs to be done to change. If you do choose to change your ways, (and I pray you do), and give up your sin(s), then when all is said and done, you will be stronger, more blessed, truly ALIVE, full of peace, full of joy, abundance in the fullest, a legacy in the making, and, most of all, redeemed and made whole by the mighty hand of our Mighty Savior – Jesus Christ.

Praise God – Hallelujah!

 

Making fleshly decisions.

“Though it was planted in good soil where water was plentiful for it to produce leaves and to bear fruit, it was transplanted, that it might become a splendid vine… Will it thrive? [NO!]… It will not take a strong army or many people to pluck it up… It will wither in the furrows…” Ezekiel 17:8-10

When you, in yourself, without direction from God, try to put yourself somewhere that God doesn’t want you to be, you will quickly realize that things aren't working out as your flesh had planned.  It is so important to let God prompt your big decision making; if you don’t feel Him when decisions need to be made, see if you can back off making the decision for a bit, and ask God to help you!  I do know and understand that there will be times when decisions must be made, with or without God, so in those instances step out in faith of what you think God wants you to do - don’t worry, He’ll catch you if you trip and fall, then He'll stand you back up, and put you on the right path.

Remember, our flesh is selfish, and full of selfish motives, so make sure your relationship with God consistently strengthened:  Read His Word, listen for His voice, talk to Him, have faith in Him, honor Him, and make Him your first priority in all things and at all times.  You can think of it in this way:  If you fail to keep God first in everything, then all you are doing is playing Russian Roulette with your life, and you will always have to be on guard as to which bullet may be the one that destroys you.

Seek God ~ you can’t live without Him.

What is iniquity?

“Behold, this was the iniquity…: pride, overabundance of food, prosperous ease, and idleness…neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.” Ezekiel 16:49 AMP

Take a few moments and make sure that you don’t fall into one of these categories, either physically or mentally: conceit/pride; overabundance/overindulgence in food – hence, stinginess; ease and idleness – hence, laziness; or ignorant and selfish of others who are hurting, in need, or less fortunate.  If you do fall into one or more of the above, then it’s time for some change, and now is a great time to start. Begin by stepping down from your pedestal and stepping into the character God has created you to be; be a help to others (emotionally and/or physically), share your abundances, and lend a helping hand when you can.  Start now, before your selfish works come back to haunt you.

Remember, you are personally called by God, so answer His call - be giving, be loving, be helpful, and be a honorable and integral child of our Most High God.  Once you do, your life will change, your eyes will open, and you will personally experience the glory of His smile shining brightly over your life.

Estranged from God.

“… because they are estranged from me through their idols…

taking his idols into his heart and putting the stumbling block of iniquity and guilt before his face…” Ezekiel 14: 5, 7

To make it real simple:

Living in (knowing) sin, (iniquity, guilt, idolatry – to name a few), is the perfect way to keep yourself separated from God, and the amazing love, blessings, and abundances, that He has in store for your life!

So, challenge yourself: How are you living?  If it’s similar to the people that the Lord spoke about, then it is high time some drastic changes need to be made.  To start, stop where you are and submit your life to Christ, in return, He will give you His Spirit, giving you an open door to a brand new beginning; fresh, new, forgiven, and free.

What does your heart yearn for?

“But as for those whose heart yearns and goes after their detestable things and their loathsome abominations [associated with idolatry], I will repay their deeds upon their own heads, says the Lord God.” Ezekiel 11:21 AMP

So, let me ask – What does your heart yearn for?  Be honest! Do you crave the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace patience, gentleness, kindness, self-control, humility, etc., etc.,; or, does your list include things like: being rich, being a leader, having a bigger house, having a new car, winning, etc., etc., ?  Why don’t you take a few minutes and write down your heart, and include every want and desire - good, bad, and/or evil.  Don’t worry, this is between you and God alone, nobody else.

Well… what do you see? What things are you proud of, what things need worked on, and what things do you know aren’t ok by God?  Once you narrow it all down, invite God to come in and change the things that aren’t right by Him; not only ask Him to change them, but to change you, your heart, and how you view them, as well.  He will go to work the moment you call, and the transforming power of His Spirit will come alive within you, helping you change those unhealthy desires into strengths and blessings that go beyond all compare of what you could of ever desired in the first place.

Finally, as for those of you that don’t want to get rid of unhealthy desires, sadly, your ending probably won’t end the way you are hoping.  So, for the sake of your soul, your life, your happiness, and your family, I do hope that you’ll consider the wrongs in your heart, and make a firm choice to turn away, ask God in, and begin to feel a whole new – alive - transformation of glory! I promise, you’ll be happy that you did when all is said and done, and when your final breath is breathed.

 

Looks can't kill

“… fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks…” Lamentations 3:9

We all know the old adage, “If looks could kill”… but luckily they can’t, it is just an aphorism. So, no matter who it is trying to intimidate you; if you are doing what God is telling you to do, if you are stepping out with faith, strength, and courage in Him; then, that person, (or those people), can be ignored - their smirks and expressions can be kicked to the wayside.  I know looks can be intimidating at times, but stand firm and think on the fact that God is way more intimidating than a look, and that thought, in itself, should give you enough strength to continue moving forward.

So, keep doing what you feel God wants you to do, and don’t dare back down to man! Remember, man is only man, but God IS God, and His protection over the call of your life will prevail over anything, and anyone, that tries to get in your way.