Acknowledgements for True Prosperity

Photo by Amelia Grace Photography

Acknowledgements for True Prosperity

By

Debra Courtney

I walk in truth, in the light of God’s Word, according to His wisdom. I know the truth and the truth makes me free (John 8:31-32). 

I separate myself from darkness and God is a Father to me (2 Corinthians 6:17-18).

I walk in diligence and obey God’s commands and blessings overtake me (Deuteronomy 28:1-2).

I walk in faithfulness and I am blessed because I constantly do what is right (Psalm 106:3, NIV).

I believe; therefore I say what God says (2 Corinthians 4:13).

I honor the Lord by bringing Him all the tithe, so my storage places are filled with plenty (Proverbs 3:9-10).

I prosper as my soul prospers in understanding of the Word (3 John 2).

I sow bountifully so I reap bountifully (2 Corinthians 9:6).

God rewards me because I diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).

I am of faith, so I’m blessed like faithful Abraham (Galatians 3:9).

God opens the windows of heaven and blesses me so there’s not room enough to receive it (Malachi 3:10).

I receive what I ask from God because I watchfully obey His instructions and habitually practice what is pleasing to Him (1 John 3:22, AMP).

I live a godly lifestyle, in obedience to what God says is right. Because I’m willing and obedient, I eat the good of the land (Isaiah 1:19).

The word of faith is in my heart and in my mouth (Romans 10:8).

I tell the mountains in my life to be removed and cast in the sea. I believe that those things I say shall come to pass, so I have whatsoever I say (Mark 11:23).

I give and it’s given back to me, good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over (Luke 6:38).

I abound with blessings because I am faithful (Proverbs 28:20).

Because I fear the Lord, he teaches me how to choose the best and I live within His circle of blessing (Psalm 25:12-13, TLB).

I separate myself from darkness and God is a Father to me (2 Corinthians 6:17-18).

His truth is my shield and armor (Psalm 91:4). 

Call things that are not as though they were (Romans 4:17)! AMP

Wisdom

Photo by Lori Kennedy

Wisdom 

                                                           by
                                                   Lori Kennedy

“If any of you need wisdom, you should ask God, and it will be given to you. God is generous and won’t correct you for asking.”James 1:5(CEV) 

Oh how I wish I knew at 25 what I know at 45 after 20 more years of living, being a mother and wife, seeking God, and 20 more years of falling down and getting back up over and over again. Each day I continue to have life, I realize how much I don’t know and how much there is still to learn.  I remember back to the days when I thought old consisted of anyone over the age of 25 and I thought “old” people were dumb.  I also thought I knew just about everything about everything and oh so much more than anyone else knew.  

We can say that’s just a stage young people go through.  Or, we can call it what it is…the sin of pride.  I was seeking a life consisting of what I considered successful by the world’s standards.  For me it all stemmed from not understanding my identity and not seeking Christ in all things.  I was not a Christ follower at that time and in my people pleasing overachieving way, I was attempting to find worldly success at the sacrifice of my very self; my heart, my dreams and my desires.  I became wise in my own eyes.  God had very special plans for me but I was not seeking them because I was too busy selfishly seeking what I wanted and what I considered was successful; which was worldly success. 

We have all been created with the internal desire to make a difference in this world.  It’s how our heavenly Father designed us.  If we don’t seek wisdom from God in living that out, we might end up seeking things that aren’t part of His hope for our lives.  Those things may not even be bad things.  I once read about a girl who defined herself through her success at swimming.  It was all she lived for.  Swimming in itself is not a bad thing, but if you are defining yourself through your success at any given activity (for me music, playing guitar, singing), then, sooner or later, you will be left feeling unsatisfied.  If our identity is determined by our success at something, then that can be a problem as there will be times that we will fall short of that success.  The first way to make a difference is to find our identity in Him and seek His will.  By making Him famous first, you will make the largest difference in this world. 

The scripture above says to ask God for wisdom and it will be given to you.  I don’t know about you, but I want to make a difference in this world and I want to do it God’s way not man’s way and not my way.  I need ongoing and continued wisdom for that.  Wisdom that I don’t have inside myself; but wisdom that I can get by asking God for it through prayer, seeking it through reading God’s Word, and communicating with God’s people. 

What does making a difference look like in your life? 

A Visit from Grace and Truth: Agreeing With God When I Sin



Photo by Debra Courtney

A Visit from Grace and Truth:  Agreeing with God When I Sin

By

Melissa Haas 

Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.  Proverbs 3:3

I often joke that brownies are my love language.  When I was a kid, my mom would always have something hot from the oven waiting for us when we got home from school.  To this day, the smell of brownies baking takes my heart back home, reminding me of safety and rest, comfort and love.  

Growing up in south Louisiana in a predominately Catholic culture, I found myself increasingly isolated from my peers.  We were evangelical Protestants, and my beliefs set me apart from those around me.  School was challenging.  I did not fit in, so coming home was a welcome relief.  And somehow, along the way, my need for nurture and acceptance and comfort got connected with the food that was waiting for me when I got off the bus.  Not surprisingly, one of my biggest adolescent struggles was being overweight.   

Time went on.  I got married, became a missionary, and had children.  Whenever life got stressful or painful—anytime I felt sad, lonely, or rejected—I baked.   Then, when our missionary career ended prematurely and all of my dreams were shattered, I found myself in a counselor’s office trying to sift and sort through my pain.  She became my Nathan, pointing out the shame I was carrying about my weight and the self-sabotaging behavior of emotional eating that I felt powerless to overcome.   

The truth was that I had been involved in an idolatrous relationship with food—in particular, sweet foods like brownies.  When I needed comfort, I nurtured myself instead of seeking that comfort from God and others within the Body of Christ.  I was isolated, self-reliant, and stuck.  For the first time, I was able to acknowledge the truth of my sin, but that created another problem.  

How did I accept the truth of this sin without condemning myself?  I knew from experience that self-condemnation would only trigger a self-defeating cycle of eating for comfort only to feel more shame.  On the other hand, how did I give myself grace without minimizing or justifying my sinful choices, enabling them to continue?   How did I love myself but hate my sin?  

One of my counselor’s favorite verses was Proverbs 3:3.  She pointed out that when Father confronts our sin, Grace and Truth always make the visit together.  While Truth is unyielding in His truthfulness, Love empties Himself, pouring out streams of grace filled with mercy and forgiveness.   Together Grace and Truth create a safe environment for my soul to acknowledge the truth about my failures while continuing to feel loved and accepted in spite of them.  Now that I am no longer fearful of losing love, I can focus my attention on growth and change. 

Over the years Grace and Truth have been good friends, and the longer I have lived with them, the easier it has become to accept my humanity as a gift that keeps me connected to the One I was created for, the One who calls me daughter and friend.  We all occasionally eat brownies together because God likes chocolate too.  More importantly, though, we enjoy our relationship.  The comfort and acceptance I need are bountifully supplied through my relationship with Him and His people, satisfying my deepest longings.  (And the icing on the cake is that this satisfaction is calorie-free.  Smile.) 

How about you?  How are you relating to yourself and to God when you sin?  Make a commitment to develop your friendship with Grace and Truth.  Find what you need in Him. 

4 Lies Women Tell Themselves

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Four Lies Women Tell Themselves

ByLucille Zimmerman

Lie #1: It’s selfish to put yourself on the list.  Self-care is not selfish. Self-care is about taking control of your own health and happiness. By being in control you stay healthy and put yourself in charge of making sure you have a good quality of life. Taking good care of yourself means the people in your life receive the best of you rather than what is left of you. When Jesus told people to love their neighbor as themselves, he was presupposing that people would love themselves. If we don’t love ourselves, we are violating that commandment just the same as when we don’t love others. Alternately, if we only care for ourselves without caring for others, that would be selfish. But loving ourselves is good and godly.

Lie #2: It’s unchristian to set boundaries.  I used to think people who had clear boundaries were mean and nasty, and people who accommodated everybody else's whim were Godly. People with healthy boundaries have developed an identity separate and distinct from others. Their lives have a nice balance; they are connected with people, not enmeshed with them. Imagine a picket fence with a gate: You get to decide who you want to come into your life and how far they come in. For instance, you may want to crack open the gate by limiting someone to a ten-minute phone call instead of inviting her over to your house. There may be a family member you want to honor, but his or her behaviors may be so toxic you must limit the relationship to a birthday card. Boundaries are flexible, so they can change. The most important thing to understand is that you are the gatekeeper controlling your life and space.

Lie #3: You can’t show people your flaws; you must be perfect. When I studied group counseling, I learned a really interesting concept: If there is a group of people, and one person decides to take a risk in sharing a vulnerable piece of her story, she instantly becomes the most popular member of the group. Why? It’s a concept called “universality”: Every person in a group has traits or experiences or flaws or past mistakes that he or she wants to hide. When we see another take a bold risk and be accepted, we wish we had the guts to be that authentic. Of course, this concept could be taken to an extreme. It would not be prudent for a member to go into a group and reveal everything too quickly without getting to know the others. But a gentle unveiling of a vulnerable truth by one brave soul can offer the ripple effect of relief and acceptance to others.

Lie #4: You must stick every person’s opinion of you on yourself. In situations where someone reacts negatively towards me, I’ve learned to ask the question, “What is the person telling you about himself?” All of our actions and words are a reflection of our past experiences. They are evidence of the lens through which we see the world. When people blow up or overreact, it usually isn’t about what we did wrong or about how bad that person is hurting or about what dots they are connecting from their own histories. The more we back off and see a bigger picture, the more we stop allowing others to direct our lives.

Lucille Zimmerman’s book, Renewed: Finding Your Inner Happy in an Overwhelmed World releases TODAY< March 1^st.
Connect with Lucille on her website 
at
www.lucillezimmerman.com 

God's Timing

Photo by Lori Kennedy

God’s Timing

By Lori Kennedy

. . . Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death.  No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it .”  (John 11:4 NIV)

Have you ever wondered where God is and why He hasn’t answered your prayers? Have you ever felt abandoned by God? Have you felt that He's left you or doesn’t love you? 

Have you had a prayer answered in a different way than you hoped or expected?

I always think of that Garth Brooks song, “Unanswered Prayers”.  As the song goes, when Garth was in high school, he used to pray that God would allow him to marry the girl he was currently dating. Many years later at a class reunion he reflects back on his life.  Then thinking about his current bride, he thanks God for not answering that high school prayer. 

I wonder if Mary and Martha felt that their prayers had gone unanswered when Lazarus died before Jesus arrived.  John 11:5-6 says that Jesus loved Mary, Martha and Lazarus, yet He made the decision to stay where He was two days after He heard that Lazarus was ill.  He arrived four days after Lazarus had been buried.  Martha accuses Jesus in verse 21 of chapter 11 of being too late.  She states, “If you had been here, my brother would not have died.”  In verses 32 of chapter 11, Mary makes this exact same accusation. 

Why do you think Jesus did this?  Why do you think He allowed Mary and Martha to suffer this loss?  Do you think that they felt that He had abandoned them, did not love them and had not answered their prayers?  We know He was burdened for them in their grief as stated in 11:33.  Verse 35 says that Jesus wept. 

Mary and Martha had seen Jesus heal people before as had the Disciples.  Yes, healing was a miracle, but the miracle of healing had already been witnessed.  In fact, that is exactly why Mary and Martha had called on Jesus, healing was the anticipated result of requesting His presence.  However, the scripture states in 11:4 that this particular miracle was to be for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.  Verse 15 of chapter 11 says that it was so the disciples may believe.  Verse 40 further discloses His purpose by stating, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”  Maybe, just maybe, God wanted to reveal more of himself to His faithful followers than had been previously shown to them.

I had a friend tell me that our being able to see God working in our life is like the Macy’s Day Parade on Thanksgiving Day.  We are just someone in the crowd, only able to see what is exactly in front of us at that moment.  God, on the other hand, is hovering over the whole parade and can see beginning, middle, and end.  God knows what’s best for our lives as declared in Romans 8:28 (NIV), “God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose” and in Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV), “For I know the plans I have for you”, declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  It is truly daunting to try to see the Hand of God in the midst of difficult circumstances or to feel His love during an especially silent time.  If you are going through a tough time, I challenge you to keep your perspective eternal using the backdrop of the cross as your filter.  If you are feeling abandoned and not hearing from God, I laugh and tell you to hold on tight, because He might be about to reveal His glory in mighty and powerful ways to you!