Living for money or living to LIVE

"Do not wear yourself out to get rich, have the wisdom to show restraint. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle."

Proverbs 23:4-5

Life isn't about making money, it's about God; life is about living to the fullest in joy, peace, prosperity, hope, love, faith, peace, and adoration.  God is about living, money is about weariness and stress. Therefore, choose God - choose life; your life will improve dramatically and your peace, prosperity,  and joy will come without wearing yourself out trying to find it on your own.

When you are running low

"...Don't be afraid... For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says, 'The jar will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land."

1 Kings 17:13-14

When your energy seems depleted, when your bank account is running low, when your world seems to be falling apart - keep your faith!   God is working, God will supply, God will provide your every need.  He's with you, he will not leave you, he will not let you lose the battles before you.  My friend, he loves you, and when you see this darkness through to the end, to the light ahead, the miracle of the trial and tribulation is going to shine through for you and you will be standing in ah and glory - the glory of God Almighty.

Hiding anything?

THE EYES OF THE LORD

God sees all.

God knows all.

Therefore, 

God sees you!

God knows you!

With him, there are no secrets.

Moving forward not backward

"... you must not eat bread or drink water there or return by the way you came."

1 Kings 13:17

In order to quit the cycle of hitting dead-ends in your life, you must do things differently; stop repeating the same mistakes over and over.  Instead, take each mistake, put the lesson learned, seek guidance from God, and move forward in a new direction.  LIFE IS WAY TOO SHORT FOR CIRCLES AND DEAD ENDS.

You are not stuck! Keep going forward

"Endurance builds character, which gives us hope that will never disappoint us."

Romans 5:4-5 CSV

Keep doing what you are doing; keep pressing forward in the darkness set before you because perseverance and endurance bring victory! My friend, there is light shining through on the other side, but you must be determined to push through until you see it.  You can do it.  You can be your own light, just focus on God's voice in your heart - the more you push through, the louder it will become; and the more you move forward in darkness, the brighter God's light will shine through for you.

When God is the center, the possibilities are endless.

"Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm.  Nothing is too hard for you."

Jeremiah 32:17

For you and I, the scene before us may seem impossible.  However, when we change to the scene in front of us to the face of Christ within our hearts, then the challenge turns into a piece of cake, for nothing is too hard for our God.  So, don't give up, do what you can do, and then let God take care of the rest.

Don't waste time on nonsense

'This is what the Lord says: Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites.  Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.' " So they obeyed the word of the Lord and went home again, as the Lord had ordered.

1 Kings 12:24

Life is too short to fight battles that God doesn't want us to fight.  Therefore, stop wasting precious time and energy on things that you cannot change, things you cannot control; they are God's battles and we must stand back and know that God has the victory - all victory.  Therefore, in his time, and in his way, the victory will be had.

Attitudes change everything

"So the Lord said to Solomon, "Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates."

1 Kings 11:11

Your attitude can make or break you...

How is yours right now???

Everlasting strength

"For thus saith the Lord God... in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength."

Isaiah 30:15

Find quiet time with Christ every day, for in him lies unending and everlasting strength to keep living and moving.  

CHOICES, CHOICES, CHOICES

"If it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of Amorites, in whose land ye dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Joshua 24:15 KJV

Write down the top five indecision's in your life.  After doing so, make a decision on each one and stick to those decisions.  Make the decisions based out of your heart, out of the whisper of God's voice - the touch of his Spirit.  Even if they seem rocky, stick to them. For if you feel that the decisions are based on Christ and his leading you will succeed - God will see to it.  Yes, there may be small changes along the way, but the changes will be easy because God's burdens are always light!  Therefore, stop floundering like a fish out of water, and just do it.  My friend, life is too precious to sit around wandering back and forth with, "What-ifs". For the only, "What-if", one needs to be concerned with is, "What if Jesus comes tonight?  Will he take me with him or will he not?".

Dark clouds

A wise and discerning heart

"So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong... "

1 Kings 3:9

Instead of asking for wealth, health, blessings, and miracles, why don't we follow in the steps of Solomon and begin to ask God for discernment and wisdom?  For like Solomon, if we seek God for these two things, (wisdom and discernment), wealth, health, blessings, and miracles in which we seek will be added... no begging, whining, or wishing required.

Keeping our word

"... Did I not make you swear by the Lord and worn you...?" At  that time you said to me, 'What you say is good, I  will obey.' Why then did you not keep your oath to the Lord and obey the command I gave you?"

1 Kings 2:42-43

Why waste your precious time and the precious time of others promising things that you have no intention of following through with?  

Hence, if you don't mean it, DON'T SAY IT.

Show yourself a woman or man of God

NIV version:

"... So be strong, show yourself a man, and observe what the Lord your God requires: walk in his ways, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and requirements... so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go..."

1 Kings 2:2-4 NIV version

Here's my version:

Be strong! Be a man or woman of God: do what God's Word says to do and listen to and follow the still, small voice of God in your heart.  Do not step aside from him, or his words; not right or left.  For if you fail him not, and follow his lead, you will succeed in everything do and everywhere you go.

Evil must be removed from within you and amongst you

“You must purge evil from among you.”

Deuteronomy 22:21, 22, 24

Three times in this chapter alone states that evil must be purged from among us.  Therefore, remove yourself from the evil around you, if possible, (if not possible, then dig deep into prayer and seek Christ-filled help to change your surroundings and those that you cannot leave).  

As well, remove evil from within you - NOW!  Forgive, repent, dig deep into the Lord;  pray, pray, pray.  Whatever you need to do, my friend, do it; get rid of it! All it’s doing is holding you back from living the blessed life that Jesus died for you to live, and for you to live to the fullest!

So, once again, “Purge evil from among you.”

He opens our eyes to see

"...Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who has allowed my eyes to see..."

1 Kings 1:48

Ask God to open your eyes; ask God to truly make you see.  For when you see through His eyes, you will truly see... you will truly see and experience miracles, blessings, and beauty that the human eye will never see.

The haughty will fall

"You save the humble but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low."

2 Samuel 22:28

Synonyms of Haughty:

proud, arrogant, vain, conceited, snobbish, superior, self-important, pompous, condescending, patronizing... Any of these words describe you?  If so, I highly suggest to open yourself up for change.  If you don't, the bottom of another's foot will be stomping the top of your head. It won't be pretty. Synonyms copied from https://www.google.com/search?q=haughty&oq=haughty&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.1872j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Blessed in His refuge

"Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling ...Blessed are all those who take refuge in him."

Psalm 2:12

Let these words sink in: BLESSED ARE ALL THOSE WHO TAKE REFUGE IN HIM.

Walking in the ways of the wicked

"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit at the seat of mockers.  But his delight is in the law of the Lord...whatever he does prospers." 

Psalm 1: 1-3

Waste no time in evil and wicked ways (nor with evil and wicked people).  For those that do can be guaranteed these: their time is short and their steps will soon take them to the pits of darkness, death, and destruction.  

Therefore, delight yourself in God, and as the Word of God says, (in a nutshell), 'blessed is the man who delights himself in God for whatever he does - in goodness - prospers'. 

There is safety in Christ

"Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts the Lord is kept safe."

Proverbs 29:25

Safety lies in Christ, not man.  Therefore, whatever fears you are having that involve men - the world - are from the world and the world's hold over you which will get you nowhere, eventually causing you to fall and having to start again.  So, reassess!  Put your trust in Jesus and just keep moving forward.  Ignore the whispers, complaints, downgrading words of the world, and press on - God is with you.  And remember the words of today's verse, "... whoever trusts the Lord is kept safe."

  

You are delivered

"... The Lord has delivered you today from all who rose against you."

2 Samuel 18:31

God has given you the victory -- YOU ARE FREE!

Days of distress

"It may be that the Lord will see my distress and repay me with good for the curse I am receiving today."

2 Samuel 6:12

It's no fun when you feel like you cannot do anything right and everyone notices as well as tells you about it.  However, if you can step outside of yourself and look at it as a way of learning and growing in Christ, then the mistakes you do and the cursing you receive may just turn out to be some of the best blessings and milestones you could ever have asked for.

Heartache and sorrow

"...But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him."

2 Samuel 14

Though your heart breaks with sorrow and hurt, please know that God does not take away life; the world, (sickness and disease), does.  Our God is the giver of life, and when our loved one is taken away from us, we must hold tight to this:  God takes our loved ones out of this fallen world, brings them to himself, and gives them a life full of light, full of health, full of joy, peace, and gladness.  Yes, God takes our loved ones from us for right now, but one day we will be together with them in a heaven that gives true LIFE and true LOVE; a heaven that wipes away all of our tears and all of our sorrows.