@Gospelfit #LentenChallenge Day 39 ~ Where’s God?

Luke 23:46 ⁴⁶ Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Having said this, he breathed his last.

When we are troubled and going through issues or we have a plethora of circumstances that are consuming our time, money, emotions, or attention, it can become difficult to feel like God has EVERYTHING under control. We may become so consumed with what we are GROWING through that we forget to pray. We neglect the power of crying out to our God, Who, yes has everything under control. Can We Talk?!

During this Lenten season we are reminded of Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection. Jesus, being fully man felt some of the same emotions that we experience. He experienced rejection, anger, pain, doubt, and fear. In His final minutes on earth, His question to God was,  why have You forsaken me. Rest assured that just like with Jesus, God has not forgotten you. He was in control then and He is still in control now. The Word promises that He will never leave or forsake us.

As we press through this last week of the Lenten Challenge, take comfort in knowing that whatever you are GROWING through God is with you. He knew that you would have these challenges before you today. He is not caught off guard or surprised by your circumstances. God didn’t get busy and when He turned His attention back again, there was Jesus on the cross. His plan for Jesus and His plan for reconciling our hearts back to His was predestined. Your life in Him is predestined. God knows that you are able through Him to handle all the challenges you face. Trust Him to heal and handle the issues, situations, and circumstances in your world. He is still in control. He is as close as your next whispered prayer.

Aqua 4HisTemple

@Gospelfit #LentenChallenge Day 38 ~Staying Power

John 19:17-18 ¹⁷ and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew^[a] is called Golgotha. ¹⁸ There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them.

Are you in a period of testing right now? We know that tests and trials are designed by God to make us and mold us. We are made stronger by the tests and trials that we endure. You’ve heard folks say, that which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Our tests are not designed to kill us be to strenghten our faith. Passing our tests allows us to move to the next level in God, teaching us and preparing us for what lies ahead. Can We Talk?!

As believers, it does not matter who you are and what your relationship is with the Lord you WILL face tests and trials. Our faith is tested when we go through trials. In the 1st chapter of James, he tells us to count it all joy when we face trials of any kind. He goes on to say that the testing of our faith PRODUCES perseverance. And when perseverance has finished its work in us we will be mature and complete, lacking anything.

Today, you might find yourself restless or discontent. You may be ready to give up or quit. Remember that God may testing you to teach you how to stay. He may be teaching you how to stand in the midst of adversity and uncertainty. If you quit you have forfeited the benefits of perseverance AND God will not be able to bless you at the next level, that next level blessing that will require you to know how to stay.

So if you are praying for a spouse and God is testing your staying power, He won’t send that spouse until you learn how to stay. Marriage requires staying power. If you are praying for that great career that can help you get out of debt, give you purpose, and help you care for your family, but you quit every job you get, God won’t bless you with that career until you learn how stay. Jobs come and go. Careers require staying power. TODAY you may be learning how to stay and stand through TOMORROW’s lengthy sickness of a loved one, a rocky marriage, or through the antics and confusion of a wayward child. Do you have what it takes to stay?

What is God trying to teach you today? It will bless you in the future. Surrender so that you can move to next level of your life. Learn how to stay. Learn how to stand in the face of obstacles and opposition. He will be standing right by your side.

Aqua

@Gospelfit #LentenChallenge Day 5 ~ Main Dish

Romans 1:16 ¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

I hope your season of fasting and prayer is fortifying and refueling you. I chose the Daniel Fast for my Lenten Challenge. Having participated in a Daniel Fast last year with our women’s ministry, triSistah4:12 Ministries I had some experience with this type of fast. Here we are now 5 days into the Lenten Challenge and I find myself thinking everyday something that I do not even think crossed my mind last year. After lunch or dinner I’m thinking…What was my main dish? I hope you can already see where I am going? Can We Talk?!

The way that many of us were taught to eat was that we have a main dish which would be the meat and then our side dish would be the veggies. Since I am eating primarily fruits and veggies now my mind is  challenged to think that I am full and satisfied because I have not had my main dish. As I was going down this rabbit trail in my mind this morning I started thinking about our scripture for today and the Lord whispered, “I am your Main dish.”

During this season of fasting, prayer, and surrender we must reflect on our relationship with Jesus. Some of us can’t be content in our relationship with Him because He is not our main dish in our everyday lives. Jesus is our side dish. We have compartmentalized our lives in Christ by living one way on Sunday morning and another way “in the world” throughout the week. Our everyday lives are craving the Main dish. Our everyday lives are craving the power and presence of Jesus Christ. In the 12th chapter of Romans the Apostle Paul implores us to “Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.”

Don’t you think our daily lives should be a testimony of our relationship with Christ? Living in the world, but not being of the world means that our everyday lives speak to who we are as His followers. No, that doesn’t mean we pretend to be someone or something that we are not. That also does not mean that we are perfect faultless people. What it does mean is that everyday, unashamed, with all our faults and wrinkles we pick up our cross and follow hard after our Savior who lived and died so that we would be free.

Anybody hungry?

Aqua

@Gospelfit #LentenChallenge Day 4 ~ Covered

  Isaiah 53:5-6 But he was wounded for the wrong we did; He was crushed for the evil we did. The punishment, which made us well, was given to Him, and we are healed because of his wounds.

Jesus paid it all! Whatever you are worried about. Whatever you are fretting about. Whatever you are throwing away your life for—Jesus paid it all! The Good News of Jesus Christ is that there is nothing that we could have done to earn our salvation and there is nothing that we can do to lose it. Can We Talk?!

When we are on a journey to improving ourselves to be more like Christ for the glory and honor of the Father, we can sometimes get lost or confused in our thinking that we somehow must be perfect or good enough to gain His acceptance and approval. That couldn’t be further from the Truth. As we go through this challenge, we may make some miss steps. We may fall short. Mostly because of some unrealistic goals we set. We may eat or drink something that we gave up and guilt and shame will set in because we think we’ve let God down.

My best advice to you is to get back up. The very next minute after you recognize you have gone your own way, repent and get back on track. Our God is loving, forgiving, gracious, and merciful. My experience will God has not been one of judgment, punishment, and condemnation. God sees us through Christ’s eyes. Christ is interceding to the Father on our behalf for our miss steps and set-backs. I can imagine Him saying “My blood covered that, all of that”. Because I know that Jesus has my back, I can get back up again!

See you at the top,

Aqua

@Gospelfit #LentenChallenge Day 3 ~ Put Your Faith On It

Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and the One who saves me.  So why should I fear anyone? The Lord protects my life.

Fear. If we all would just take a second to think about and deal honestly with the fear that has plagued us in our lives, we would hopefully be willing to confess that fear only has the POWER that we give it. Can We Talk?!

When we allow it, fear has the power to paralyze us and keep us from our appointed destiny in Christ Jesus. We all have seen fear paralyze people so much that they do not move. Literally and figuratively. These are the people that are always waiting for the right time, a burning bush, an angel in a vision, or a prophetic word before they can step out on faith. They check, double check, and verify as they wait on countless, nameless people and signs to confirm a Word from the Lord.

Conversely, we have probably seen fear make people move through life so quickly that they have not stopped to check with God to be sure that their will lines up with the plans He set before us. Busy, busy, busy, but not productive or anointed. Driven but by what? Afraid if they slow down, God will ask them a simple question. “Who told you to do all of that?”

Life changes and life challenges have a way of invoking fear. The next 43 days may seem insurmountable. You may be thinking what have I gotten myself into? Put your faith into action. Put your faith on your fear. Faith has a way of arresting fear. Stopping fear in its tracks. We are not alone on this journey. The Father has equipped us to handle every challenge, struggle, and temptation ahead. He will be here with us every step of the way. Since God is for us, what demon has the strength to oppose Him? None. Not one.

Believing is seeing,

Aqua

Another Night With The Frogs?

Only thirty more days left in this year. Did I just say that? This season is always an exciting time for us to reflect on the birth of our Savior and to think about the prospect of a fresh start. Yes, a new year. A clean slate. A do-over. Time to get some things right and time to let go of the regrets of the past. I’m little puzzled by that. Why do we feel like we HAVE TO wait until the new year to start making changes that could impact our lives forever? Why do we have to wait for the new year to start working on goals, dreams, and visions to improve ourselves? To save our lives? Can We Talk?!

In Exodus 8, God releases the second plague in the land of Egypt. The frogs. Frogs, frogs everywhere! Pharaoh asked Moses and Aaron to pray to God and have the frogs removed from the land. Moses asked Pharaoh WHEN do you want me to submit this petition. Pharaoh said “Tomorrow”. I’m not kidding you. That is in the Word of God.

Tomorrow? You mean to tell me that you have enough belief in God to ask me to ask Him to stop the plague, but you’d be willing to spend another night with the frogs rather than to have me to ask Him to do it today? That’s exactly what we do when we wait for the new year to make changes. We’d rather spend 30 more days unhealthy, 30 more days with our addiction, 30 more days with our pain, 30 more days with our unforgiveness, and 30 more days in our sin than to ask God to heal us now and begin the journey to wellness today.

Sure, most of us might not be like Pharaoh, we would at least pray the prayer today. But what we wouldn’t do is put our necessary action with God’s power to make that prayer begin to manifest in our lives today. Whenever we ask God for change, He is going to require some change on our part too, before we see the evidence of that change. What can you start doing today that will impact the next 30 days? Don’t wait.

What’s plaguing you? Listen, you don’t have to spend the next 30 days planning how your life will be better in 2013.  You don’t have to spend one more night with the frogs.

GospelFit #THANKSgivingDiet Day 21 ~ Thanks, Praise, and Faith for the Journey

Here we are! 21 days of thankfulness and praise under our belts. My prayer is that you are richer for the experience. I pray that in the most difficult situations you find that you have trained your spirit through faith to the look at the situation through grateful eyes with a thankful heart. Our scripture today really sums up nicely our last 21 days. We didn’t plan this. Can We Talk?!

As I meditate on this today’s scripture, which is Ephesians 1:15-17, I hope that you found that during the last 21 days:

• You were strengthened in your faith
• You increased your love for God’s people
• You improved your prayer life, your ability to recognize blessings, and your desire to give thanks in all things (changed your perspective)
• God gave you wisdom and revelation
• You had the opportunity to spend time with the Lord so that you may know Him better.

For our journeys to heaven we need thankful hearts. When our hearts are thankful we can’t help but praise God. We can’t help but love God’s people and demonstrate that love through word and deed. When we can find that place of grateful expression our faith is strengthened and we are closer to our Father and more like His son Jesus.

Here is Joy’s post. http://joysblog.gospelfit.com/2012/11/21/gospelfit-thanksgiving-diet-challenge-day-21–thanks-praise–faith-for-the-journey.aspx

Shalom

GospelFit #THANKSgivingDiet Day 19 ~ Set Free

So many people think that being a believer means that we don’t have freedom. They might say something like “I don’t want to be like you, because you are not free to do whatever you want, whenever you want to and you can’t even think for yourself”. I know this statement because I used to say it to people who declared their faith to me. The funny part was or maybe the sad part, I had accepted Jesus as my Savior when I was younger, but never learned how to live that faith out loud and walk it out with conviction. Can We Talk?!

Sure, there are things that I don’t do, places I don’t go, and people I don’t see. But nobody can tell me that I don’t have freedom. I can do whatever I want, I choose not to. The Word says that it was for freedom’s sake that Christ set us free.

We have freedom to choose as believers. We can choose to submit and surrender to the sins of the flesh or we can choose a love relationship with Jesus Christ. His love frees us from the bondage of sin. We are no longer under the dominion of sin. We are not SINLESS, but we SIN LESS. Because of God’s great love our desire is to live our lives pursing obedience for His glory and joy! Talk about freedom.

Read Joy’s posts today about our freedom in Christ and walk in your freedom today!

http://joysblog.gospelfit.com/2012/11/19/gospelfit-thanksgiving-diet-challenge-day-19–set-free.aspx

GospelFit #THANKSgivingDiet Day 17 ~ Prayers Bringing Peace

How do you apply the scripture in Ephesians 6:12 where Paul tells the church “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”? Here’s how I try to apply the scripture in my every day life…Can We Talk?!

One word that is not in my vocabulary is haters. I know most people think that it is cool to talk about their haters, those people who don’t like them and who might seek their demise. Listen, I’m not naive enough to believe that everyone that I encounter loves me. Even though I am quite lovable. Just ask Jesus!

What I also understand from the scripture is my fight is not with that person or those people. Satan might be using them as a tool to get me distracted or off course. If Satan cannot destroy you, he will distract you. The people attempting to torment me may be going through something in their own lives that has nothing to do with me. I just might be collateral damage.

How do you handle haters? I don’t. I focus less on people who dislike me and more on people who love and support. That way, I don’t have time to worry about and wonder what so-called haters are doing. The Bible says, that no weapon formed against you will prosper. Take note, it does not say that a weapon will never be formed, it says that formed weapon will not prosper. Focus your time and attention on those who love you and want your best good. Pray for everyone else.

Joy shares her struggle and God’s answer to handling people who might dislike us and even torment us. In obedience, pray and watch the Lord change your heart about the situation and the person. He will allow you to see the situation clearly for what it really is…warfare.

Here is Joy’s PEACE! http://joysblog.gospelfit.com/2012/11/17/gospelfit-thanksgiving-diet-challenge-day-17–prayers-bringing-peace.aspx

GospelFit #THANKSgivingDiet Day 15 ~Blessings in Giving

Here we are people! Rounding the bend to the last seven days of our challenge. I pray that you were blessed and enriched tremendously by Gill’s posts and perspectives about having a grateful attitude. Can We Talk?!

For the next seven days I will be turning you over to the capable hands of my next partner in this 21 day challenge, Joy of GospelFit. Joy is the visionary for this Thanksgiving Diet challenge. Her post is linked below. I am grateful that she asked me to participate. I know that my attitude has been greatly transformed.

When I get ready to complain, I ask myself (as the murmuring is leaving my lips) what can you give thanks about in this situation? Then I arrest that thought! Stop! Have you done that? Try it!

If I keep practicing gratitude I can arrest those thoughts before they come into my mind. We don’t have to let every thought that comes to our minds run its course. Replace that thought with a word of praise and thanksgiving. A word of goodness and love. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 10:5 to take our thoughts captive to make them obedient to Christ. He also tells us in Philippians 4:8, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy think about such things. If we are thinking on these things, our minds will be too occupied to surrender to thoughts that hinder our progress, hold us back, and keep us in bondage.

Check out Joy’s post for today!

http://joysblog.gospelfit.com/2012/11/15/gospelfit-thanksgiving-diet-challenge-day-15–blessings-in-giving.aspx