Weekend Worship — Overwhelmed by God

Then David the king went in and sat before the Lord and said, Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house that You have brought me this far? This was a small thing in Your eyes, O God; but You have spoken of Your servants house for a great while to come, and have regarded me according to the standard of a man of high degree, O Lord God. What more can David still say to You concerning the honor bestowed on Your servant? For You know Your servant. O Lord, for Your servants sake, and according to Your own heart, You have wrought all this greatness, to make known all these great things. O Lord, there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears. — 1 Chonicles 17:16-20

I love this part of David's story. He wanted to build a house of cedar for the ark of the covenant, to create a permanant home for the presence of God. But God totally turns it around and basically says He will establish David's kingdom through his family line and even speaks of His plans for David's descendants. God promises David He will never take His presence away from David and his family lineage.

Then David goes before the Lord and says, "Who am I, Oh Lord God, and what is my house that You have brought me this far?"

As I read this I felt myself overwhelmed by God's goodness. Imagine how David felt in this moment? He desired to honor God in the best way he could think of and God takes his offering and turns it completely around and multiplies it back to David. Our Lord is that GOOD!

Wow. Now think of our offering of ourselves. We become the temple of God's Holy Spirit, not a home of cedar but a home of the heart. And God takes our humble offering and multiplies it over and over again. We are blessed to be this "temple" to His Holy Spirit in ways we will not completely understand until we are made complete in Christ and stand in His presence.

I am overwhelmed by God's grace, generosity and goodness. We can't outgive God. His delight in us exceeds perception and understanding. His faithfulness endures forever!

Oh Lord, who are we that You would give us Your very Spirit to live and dwell in us? We are Your children, Your chosen and loved ones whom You bless over and over again with Your very goodness. Thank You, Lord, for bringing us this far. Thank You, Lord, for regarding us and loving us in such high degree. Thank You, Lord, for Your greatness and all that You do in and through us. Abba, there is no one like You! We adore you, Jesus! Amen!

Love you, my friends, so very very much. We belong to the Most High God and we are His delight! 
Dineen 

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God is an Equipper

My friends, we are witness to amazing times right now. God is doing some really big stuff right now all over the world. First, I want to share some Bible verses that caught my attention years ago and now God has brought front and center again. Take a look at two often overlooked people in the Old Testament by the names of Bezalel and Oholiab.

Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, See, I have called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship, to make artistic designs for work in gold, in silver, and in bronze, and in the cutting of stones for settings, and in the carving of wood, that he may work in all kinds of craftsmanship. And behold, I Myself have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the hearts of all who are skillful I have put skill, that they may make all that I have commanded you: the tent of meeting, and the ark of testimony, and the mercy seat upon it, and all the furniture of the tent, the table also and its utensils, and the pure gold lampstand with all its utensils, and the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering also with all its utensils, and the laver and its stand, the woven garments as well, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, with which to carry on their priesthood; the anointing oil also, and the fragrant incense for the holy place, they are to make them according to all that I have commanded you. — Exodus 31:1-11

God literally put this ability into these two men and all who were considered skillful to create and build the Tabernacle as God designed it. We tend to think we are born with a skill set and it’s done. According to this, the specific skills and knowledge needed came at the time of need. Not only that, God called specific people forth, namely Bezalel and Oholiab.

Remember this is Old Testament times where God chose specific times to give His Spirit to specific men and women He called to specific tasks. And in each case God gave these people wisdom, understanding and knowledge and equipped them for their specified calling. (Consider David, Samuel and Esther to name a few.)

Now let’s jump to the New Testament, to another piece of Scripture that also captured my attention years ago and has intrigued me ever since. This one is about you and me.

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. — Ephesians 1:18-21

Let me just interject here how amazing I find it that Jesus was also known as a carpenter. To think of His earthly profession in light of Him also being the One who created and all was created for (Col. 1:16-17), it makes perfect sense He would create with His hands as a man as well. Just a thought...

Now back to the equipping part. As I said, in Old Testament times God gave His Spirit according to a specific need or task or calling to specific people He chose to accomplish His purposes.

Then Jesus came to give all of us His Spirit, once and for all—not just a portion in accordance to a task or purpose here on earth but in the full sense of a heavenly calling.

According to Ephesians 1:18-21 God’s complete and great power is “toward us who believe” and is in accordance to the “strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead.”

In other words, the same power that resurrected Jesus—brought Him back to life—dwells in us who believe—God’s complete and Holy Spirit.

Let that sink in deep for a moment, my friends. If I were speaking, I would stop here for a “pregnant pause,” because I am absolutely desperate for you to understand this. We are not given just a portion to accomplish a momentary task. No, we have been given “the fullness of Him who fills all in all” for now and all time—eternity. God has given what He holds dear to whom He holds dear. We are His saints and Christ’s inheritance (vs. 18).

And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. —Ephesians 1:22-23

When I first stumbled upon this truth and spoke it out loud, I’m sorry to say my church family at the time thought I was a bit “over the top,” and me being so new to this walk of faith at that time thought I had overstepped my ability and knowledge to understand God’s Word. In truth it wasn’t me interpreting or understanding this truth, but the Holy Spirit—that same power that resurrected Christ, living in me and equipping me with the knowledge and wisdom to understand God’s Word.

When I first stumbled upon this truth and spoke it out loud, I’m sorry to say my church family at the time thought I was a bit “over the top,” and me being so new to this walk of faith at that time thought I had overstepped my ability and knowledge to understand God’s Word. In truth it wasn’t me interpreting or understanding this truth, but the Holy Spirit—that same power that resurrected Christ, living in me and equipping me with the knowledge and wisdom to understand God’s Word.

That same power lives in you, my friends. Why wouldn’t it? Ask yourself that. Why wouldn’t God equip you just as He equips all of us with the power and authority Jesus came and died for in order to give it to us? Will He give you less or more than anyone else? No, He came for all so that all would be filled and completely equipped!

My fellow Sumites, we are all part of the church, the body of Christ. The question is not whether the Holy Spirit lives in you but how much do you want Him to fill and empower and equip you on a day-to-day basis?

Ask for it, walk in it, live it. That’s what God is calling us to do right now—to ask for His Holy Spirit to fill and over flow in us, to walk in this place of boldness and reassurance of His presence in us in complete fullness, and to live as if we are seated in this power with Christ in the heavenly realms, looking down at our trials and challenges from a heavenly perspective instead of looking from the depths of our fear and wondering how God will show up.

God is already there. God is in every situation we face because He’s in you. In all of us. We are completely equipped.

So here’s a final question for you: If Jesus is seated in the heavenlies and also dwells in us, why do we think of heaven and earth as being so separate? What if the gap between heaven and earth is much smaller and thinner than we ever realized?

I'm pondering that one with you!
Love you!
Dineen

Trusting God is Like Building a Puzzle

My friends, I have to tell you I wrote this post partly on my iPhone as I did my walk and pray. I can only imagine that my fellow walkers and joggers thought I was a text addict, but when God has something to say, I’ve learned not to rely on my memory and write it down.

I went out on this walk with the goal to hear God on a particular issue. I needed answers, or at least an answer. I believed I’d received part of it during my quiet time, but I needed more.

You see, I’m in that place where you think you’ve heard what God is telling you to do but it’s pushing you to a whole new level of trust and dependence upon Him and you just want to be sure. As I prayed and sought God in this, He began to show me how trusting Him is like building a puzzle.

When God thought of us, created us and thinks of us, He sees a complete picture—who we are created to be and this reflects God’s heart for us. Yet we live in this world of brokenness and evil that has fractured our picture into pieces. Our faith walk is a journey to find those pieces and put them where they belong until we have the complete picture. I believe this is a life long journey and we see the full picture when we go home to heaven.

So in the meantime we have these puzzle pieces and each one represents an area of our life or situation that God asks us to trust and walk with Him. As we do, each piece goes into place and we begin to see more of the big picture and have a better understanding of God’s plan. This also gives us reference and inspiration for the next area or puzzle piece.

Sometimes the areas we work on start outside of the puzzle frame. You know, when you work on a section of the puzzle and build it part way until you see where it fits in the bigger picture.

Right now I’m in one of those areas. I can see only this small section that I’m working on and it’s a crucial area to the bigger picture. It involves not just me but my hubby as well. You see, there’s something I could do to help solve part of this problem but God is asking me to wait and let Him do this. I have no idea how, only that He’s asking me to trust Him in a whole new way.

As I walked and prayed God spoke to my heart and said, “We’re building the picture together, Dineen.”

It’s a big challenge to trust God in this, but I am willing. He’s proved Himself faithful over and over again. But I realized that staying this course of trust means I will have to explain to my husband why I’m waiting and not implementing this solution. The question then came, “do I fear my husband’s displeasure more than God’s?”

Yet another area and opportunity to trust God. I will have to wait to see how this plays out and trust God here as well. Get the picture?

Thankfully, God already knows the big picture. After all, He created it and everything He does in our lives is intended to add to this picture to bring it to completion, because everything He starts He finishes (Phil. 1:6). He could do it all Himself but then where would that leave us? Mere spectators? A flat picture on a table with no substance or depth?

Just like when we sit down to actually build a puzzle, we know the end will result in a complete picture. We study each piece and come to appreciate its detail and significance to the completed image. All the pieces are there and Abba is working right there with us to put it all together. He’s asking us not only to trust Him for each piece but for the whole picture as well.

This is the adventure of faith and trust and belief. We don’t know how all the pieces fit together but God does and the picture is vast because it’s not just our own picture we’re working with God to create but also the areas of overlap where our lives intersect with the lives of those we love, those we pray for, those we care about and those He calls us to serve.

It’s about building the picture of a lifetime.

Walk in trust, my friends. God won’t let you down and He is by far the best puzzle master I know. Share in the comments what your “puzzle piece” is right now and let’s pray for each other.

Love you with the passion Jesus!
Dineen

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Do You Really Believe God is Good?

As I prayed and asked God what He wanted me to share with you today He kept bringing me back to His goodness. And not just His goodness but BELEIVING He is truly good and desires only good for our lives.

As I listened to His heart and I listen to the hearts of so many others (even my own at times), I sense it is an area that needs more exploration and explanation.

Because if you don’t truly BELIEVE God is good and that He is ALWAYS good, you can’t trust Him.

I mentioned in my last post about God’s motivation being pure—that one thing that God is not capable of is having an impure, selfish, or ulterior motive in anything and everything He does. It’s completely out of His character!

I’ve shared in the past that Romans 8:28 is my life verse. I’ve lived and breathed this verse since I was a young child—before I ever read it. For whatever reason God deemed it GOOD, to placethis truth deep within my heart.

And yet I still am learning the full truth of this amazing piece of Scripture!

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

The phrase “all things” caught my eye this time. As I looked up the Greek words, I discovered something breathtakingly all-encompassing. Though the NASB translation uses two words, the original Greek translation uses just one—something that’s fairly common actually.

The Greek for this phrase, all things, is pas and means all, every, all the things, all kinds, all men, all people, all respects, always, any, anyone, anything, continually, entire, every kind, every respect, everyone and the list goes on and on. I’m just highlighting a few here.

We tend to think of “things” only in the tangible sense, but the Greek word alludes to far more. God works in every area of our lives for our good. In the people we love, all the situations we’re in and in us. Continually. The scope is huge!

My friends, I so want to impart this truth to you because the more we embrace that God is truly working for our good, totally and completely in all ways and always, and that He is completely and totally trustworthy, we walk through life a mere fraction of who God intends us to be. We don’t embrace the power and authority we have through our salvation in Christ (Luke 9:1-2, Eph. 1:19-20) because we think we can’t, we shouldn’t, we’re afraid, or we don’t even realize what’s available to us.

Now let’s take a look at one more word in this priceless biblical gem. That word is “purpose.” The Greek word is prothesis and means a setting forth, sacred, consecrated, purpose and resolute. It’s derived from the Greek word protithemi, which means to set before, displayed publicly, planned and purposed.

Now put that together with what comes before this word, purpose: “to those who are called...”

We are not just saved by grace, my precious friends, we are called to join our Lord in His good works, in His sacred and consecrated plans and purposes! And not just for ourselves but for others too, like our pre-believers! God just doesn’t give us the necessary, He gives us His very best. And He entrusts it to us. You better believe He has a special plan and purpose for you in your marriage, as a mother, at your job. Even at the grocery store! (Don’t forget those divine appointments.)

God trusts us enough to entrust His love and purposes in us. Can you trust Him?

Let’s shout a holy YES from our rooftops!

Love you so very much!
Dineen

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Trust + Surrender + Obedience = Breakthrough

My friends, a few weeks ago I talked about A Step of Faith. In that post I said “we will have to take a believing step of faith to activate the promise we’ve been given.” This was all about trusting God and moving in that trust (faith) to step forward.

Nearly a month later I wrote a post about The Surrendered Life. In that post I shared, “The better I know God, the more I trust Him. And the more I trust Him, the more I am able to surrender to Him.”

Now God has me on the next stage of this journey to understand obedience. I see it this way. As we come to know God and truly believe He is good (Think about that right there and see if you truly believe God is good. Remember, He’s not capable of an impure motivation. He is just GOOD and works for our good. Always. Read Romans 8, specifically verse 28) we are able to surrender more and more of our lives (the outward manifestations of our actions and desires) and more of our hearts (where our desires and motivations behind our actions are birthed). I hope that makes sense.

So we have knowledge and understanding from experience, which enables us to trust God more, which then enables us to surrender more.

Then comes obedience.

Often times our surrender will require an act of obedience. Sometimes it’s more inward, like surrendering our control over our lives. We make a choice, we give this to God and then our actions and choices thereafter reflect this choice. Remember the power of choice.

But sometimes God wants us to specifically move in obedience in a particular way, especially when it comes to strongholds in our lives where we have to surrender a thing, a dream or even a person. Anything that holds more importance in our lives than God is an idol. Even if it’s something we see as being good for us, if we make an idol of it, God can’t give it to us, whatever it is because it’s not in His GOOD character to lead us into sin.

I have walked most of my life with a particular stronghold in my life that I have asked God over and over again to remove. If you’re thinking of Paul right now and his struggle, in which God told him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness,” then you’re right on target with me. Just call me Paul (grin). God gives me that verse frequently. I’ve prayed for years for God to take it out of my life, yet now I’m realizing the truth of this quote I read in a devo from Rick Warren:

“The secret to changing your life is not willpower. It’s God giving you the will and the power through the Holy Spirit to do what needs to be done.”

That means we have to make the choice to follow God wherever He takes us. Yes, we can ask God to move in us and change whatever we are battling within ourselves, but now I’m discovering I can’t keep reverting to my willpower when I don’t see results fast enough and I can’t just sit there and expect God to do all the work.

I knew this already, but for some reason, I was still holding onto to what I wanted and doing it myself instead of surrendering it completely to God and trusting Him to do this change in me. It’s a daily walk of obedience.

The amazing thing is, since I have made this choice to be “all in” and do it God’s way, I already feel stronger and more resolved. My choice has activated the promise (God asking me to trust Him to do this in me) and I feel the will and the power through the Holy Spirit already in action.

This is the start of my breakthrough and I’m praying for more. All this that I’m sharing here today is true for everything we walk through, whether it's a stronghold, a trial, or even a dream God has set in our heart. God wants us to walk fully in this will and power through the Holy Spirit.

It’s a life long journey and adventure, that’s for sure. Not easy but challenging and exciting. It’s that verse from Psalm 34, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man (and woman) who trusts in Him!”

This is truth behind the path of faith, the surrendered life, the abundant life, the intentional life—of Jesus, who is THE WAY, and THE TRUTH and THE LIFE!

Can I get an amen?

Love you like crazy!
Dineen

Image credit: alvinge / 123RF Stock Photo

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My precious friends, I'm still pondering the meaning of surrendering our lives to Jesus. I've always been struck by how Jesus stood before His accusors and said nothing to defend Himself. That speaks to me of a holy dignity that rises above the opinions of men and sits squarely and humbly with God. 

The Bible tells us to be holy. I beginning to think surrendering is part of being holy—a place where nothing matters at much as our Lord and Savior. Nothing compares to Him either. And we literally can't outgive God! The more we give ourselves to Him, the more He gives Himself to us! It's an amazing and beautiful exchange.

• We let go of our self-righteousness and receive the righteousness of Jesus.
• We give Him our man made dignity and step into royalty as co-heirs with Jesus.
• We hand over our self and world-made identities and receive our true identity in Jesus as children of God who are accepted, adopted, blessed, chosen, cherished, forgiven, loved, lavished and redeemed.

God's economy is so much better than what the world has to offer. Don't let the enemy tell you diffently either, because he will try to convince you that you're making a huge sacrifice when in reality you're letting go of lies and walking in truth.

The TRUTH—Jesus, who is our way, our TRUTH, and our life. So keep Him belted firmly around your waist, my friends. Yep, that word—TRUTH—in John 14:6 is the same Greek word in Ephesians 6. Jesus is our belt of truth and the piece of our armor that keeps the rest in place.

Now let's worship Him together, sing our hearts out to Him in surrender and tell our Lord and Savior that we want more and more of Him. 

Love you dearly!
Dineen 

 

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A Step of Faith

My precious friends, God has put a fire in my heart to speak to you about taking a step of faith. There is something God is calling many of us to do—something unique to our place and time and season—and He’s given you a promise that goes with this. And maybe you’ve prayed and waited for a long time for this promise but nothing is happening.

What did God call you to do first? What was His call to action? Because as we move forward in this faith journey (and we must always be maturing), our faith in action becomes more crucial to our journey forward. In other words, we will have to take a believing step of faith forward to activate the promise we’ve been given.

Let me explain this with the story of Israel crossing the Jordan in Joshua 3. First let’s set the stage with the Israelites and the Red Sea. At this point the Israelites are very “young” in their faith walk with God. They’re just getting the lay of the land, so to speak and yes, pun intended. They witness an entire ocean part before their eyes by the hand of God. This is their point of reference as they approach the Jordan, which is at its fullest at this time of the year, in this season of harvest. The Jordan is overflowing. It’s a time to claim new territory.

Amidst this picture, Joshua relays God’s instructions to the Israelites:

Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over ahead of you into the Jordan. Now then, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe. It shall come about when the soles of the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan will be cut off, and the waters which are flowing down from above will stand in one heap. — Joshua 3:11-13

The Jordan is the next step (literally and figuratively) in the Israelites faith journey. This time God is not going to move the waters first. He’s calling the priests and all the Israelites to take a step of faith first—to step into the water before God moves it. God has already proven He is capable of such a feat with the feet (oh, I just couldn’t resist that one!). Now, He wants to see the Israelites grow in their faith and belief in Him—to believe God—and trust Him to do what He said He would do.

So when the people set out from their tents to cross the Jordan with the priests carrying the ark of the covenant before the people, and when those who carried the ark came into the Jordan, and the feet of the priests carrying the ark were dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest), the waters which were flowing down from above stood and rose up in one heap, a great distance away at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan; and those which were flowing down toward the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. So the people crossed opposite Jericho. And the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan while all Israel crossed on dry ground, until all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan. — Joshua 3:14-17

The priests were instructed to step first, not to wait for the waters to part. They had to take a step of faith. Any by doing so, the waters moved, just as God said they would. But God did even more with their step of faith:

1. They crossed on dry ground. God could have left the ground wet, which most likely would have meant the priests feet would have sunk into the mud, especially under the weight of the ark of the covenant. God made a way for the priests that was complete to God’s vision of their purpose and journey. God does this for us as well. When He calls us to a direction, He prepares the way. That doesn’t mean it will be easy but with God, we will not fail.
2. They stood in the middle, not the edge. The priests not only stood in the middle, they stood firm and in place with the ark of the covenant on their shoulders. This is the promise of God’s presence in their lives and a future with Him. The way had been prepared for them, now they prepared the way for rest of the Israelites. Think of your home as that parted river and God is asking you to stand firm with His presence in and upon you. You bear the promise for your future and the future of all who will pass with you.
3. Israel crossed on the same dry ground. The entire nation of Israel passed through under the protection of the priests’ presence. This is part of our sanctification of our family through our faith (remember 1 Cor 7:14). We bring our spouse, our children—all those we claim under the umbrella of our home and faith—over the dry ground to the other side. This is how our unbelieving spouses and loved ones are blessed through us and by our prayers for them. As we stand firm in whatever God has called us to do, we bring those we are praying for with us.
4. They crossed opposite Jericho with Adam a great distance away. I can’t help but wonder if Adam is mentioned as a reminder of where they came from. Where we come from. Not as a threat but to see our past sins as far away and show us how far we have come. God had them cross in the exact place and position for their next challenge and step in the promise. Each step of faith builds upon the last and prepares for the next. Jericho would be there next victory. They didn’t know this but God did.

My friends, I pray I’ve adequately conveyed this amazing truth. Whatever it is that God has told you, given you do to, or shown you, move forward and believe God! Do not hesitate or debate, because until you take a step of faith, the promise remains a mere thought.

If God is calling you to believe Him and trust Him more, do it. Anytime doubt enters your mind, boot it out and affirm the word that God has given you. Claim it as your truth and that it is done! If God is calling you to an action, do it! Even if it scary and uncomfortable, move forward with this action (just like the Priests taking that first step into the raging waters) and the promise given will be activated.

And if God is calling you to simply stand, then stand and know that your promise is on the way. God completes everything He sets in motion but He wants us to be a part of it. He will wait on us to make the first move. This is how we claim and hold new territory in our lives.

So move! Be bold! Be courageous! God never expects us to do these things on our own. He is standing right there with us through the entire journey preparing the way, strengthening us for the weight we are called to carry, entrusting us with the promise of those we bring along the way, and guarding over our path until the completion.

My friends, this message is as much for me as it is for you. In the past my fear of the unknown has kept me planted in comfortable places but at a price. We miss out on the wild adventure of living life with God in the unexpected when we do that. I'm learning to step out in faith more and more, and each time I do, God is right there showing me or doing something new in my life.

God wants this for you too! So take that step of faith, precious one. If you're not sure what this step is, ask Him. God is waiting and ready to show you!

Love you fiercely in Jesus!
Dineen

Weekend Worship — God is Our Victory and He is Here!

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. — 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

My friends, how are you doing? How has your week gone? What are you struggling with right now? I shared last week that I would have to sell my car. I was sad to see it go, but after a few tears I was able to praise God for bringing us a quick sale at a fair price—exactly what I had prayed for. Now I'm praying for a little used car to get the job done. LOL! I'll keep you posted on that one. My God is the God who provides and He will come through!

God's heart is for us and He knows our challenges because He is with us. Let's invite His love to work through our amazing SUM community and bring peace and healing to our hearts. Leave prayer requests in the comments and let's pray for each other through this weekend as we praise God for His presence and the victories that are and will be ours! I will be praying for each one of you too.

As this amazing song says, we are conquering co-heirs with Christ. Belt this song out wherever you can as a statement of faith—a closet, a shower, in the car—I promise you will send the enemy quaking and end with a heart strengthened! I know my shower will never be the same either. ;-)

My heart and prayers are with you, my precious friends! I love you all so very much!
Dineen

 

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As we walk in our faith, God continually puts a call on our hearts to be more like Jesus. It's a mystery we will walk through our entire time here and is part of God's Kingdom come here on Earth and is part of God's great plan.

The mystery is that people who have never heard of God and those who have heard of him all their lives (what I've been calling outsiders and insiders) stand on the same ground before God. They get the same offer, same help, same promises in Christ Jesus. The Message is accessible and welcoming to everyone, across the board. This is my life work:helping people understand and respond to this Message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details. When it came to presenting the Message to people who had no background in God's way, I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians. God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities. And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ. — Ephesians 3:6-8 (The Message)

I'm using The Message paraphrase here because I think it makes this passage in Ephesians more understandable. First, Paul makes it clear that we all stand on the same ground before God. We are all offered the same promises in Christ. Jesus came to die for all of us and it's up to us to accept His gift. I think our SUM community here understands this probably better than most.

But it's the second part of this that I want to point out. Paul shares how taken by surprise he was that he would receive such a gift. He's referring to his past as a Pharisee and his brutal persecution of Christians. We see this happen even today when the least likely in our eyes become powerful tools for God.

The beautiful part (at least to me) is God's loving care in all the details. Paul says the same, that God equipped him to do what he clearly knew he could not. He even emphasizes this in saying it had nothing to do with his natural abilities.

Think about it. Here is a man who once stood in complete authority in the Temple who could have easily relied on his knowledge to move forward in his new standing with Jesus, yet he saw it as way over his head.

We feel that way a lot in our mismatched marriages, don't we? We feel like we're ill-equipped and in way over our head. That would be true if we were completely on our own. But we're not. Just as God equipped Paul down to the smallest details to share the mystery of Christ with Jews and Gentiles alike, God does the same for us.

My friends, this goes way beyond our words! God's Holy Spirit lives and dwells in us. We are equipped to the gills! Perhaps our greatest challenge isn't knowing when to act, speak, or do but in trusting this truth—trusting that God is there equipping us constantly for every situation we encounter or are called to.

Scripture backs this up too:

Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age." — Matthew 28:20 (The Message)

We don't have to ask God to be with us. He already is so let's use that prayer power to ask for what we need. Ask God for something He can do, not something He's already done.

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. — Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)

God's grace doesn't stop at the moment we accept Christ. God's grace is active and working. We tend to think we receive it when we are saved and then it's done, but God's grace is powerful and continues to work in and around us to transform us from the inside out. And that "out" is what those near to us see as we are transformed day by day to walk in the confidence, competence and gifts that come from God.

My friends, we spent a lot of time in our spiritual warfare series on our identity in Christ because this is truly our foundation.

As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete. — Luke 6:47-49

Now I believe God wants to build upon our foundation the truths that are part of our inheritance in Christ so that we can walk forward in the promises and victories that are ours.

Any time you feel ill equipped or ineffective, I want you to pray this prayer over yourself and repeat it, out loud whenever possible, to affirm who you are and that Jesus has equipped you:

For I am God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, to do good works, which God prepared in advance for me to do. — Ephesians 2:10

The Greek meaning of that word for “works” also means action, behavior, deeds, doing, effectual, labor, result and task. In other words, God created (in the Bible a word that is used exclusively of God and the energy He exerts) us and He planned significant actions that we would do effectively and with results (fruit).

Now repeat this to yourself, and out loud!

God intends for me to be effective and see results in my life.

When we are “walking in the Spirit”—following and seeking God in every part of our lives—we will be effective daughters and sons of the Most High God and see results in our life.

The choice starts with us, my friends. If we want this kind of life, we have to go after it, ask for it and believe it’s possible. God pursues us. We can choose to pursue Him.

Are you with me?

Lord Jesus, You came that we may know the Father as You do and to walk as co-heirs with You. Help us to truly believe this truth and to believe that wherever You are calling us to step out in faith, You have already prepared every detail so that we can walk effectively in this place and produce results (fruit) either in ourselves or to impact the lives of others. Thank you, Lord Jesus for this precious promise and gift! In Your powerful and mighty name, amen!

Praying & believing with you, my precious friends!

Dineen

The Beautiful but Dark Gateway

I left you earlier in the week with a scene from our kitchen table. My daughter had experienced a supernatural and scary encounter. But, you know as I think upon this, my heart soars… You know why? This 17 year old kid KNEW what to do. Somewhere, somehow, I’ve equipped her with enough to go into battle.

What really bugs me is that I had to equip her when she was five years old. “Mommy.” She came to me in her princess pajamas and rubbing her eyes. “Mommy, last night on my bed I saw red eyes that were in my stuffed animals. It scared me mommy.”

Good GRIEF!!!!!

I clearly remember this and I also remember that I believed her. Our kids need us to believe them. Children are told there is no such thing as the boogie man and sent back to bed, defenseless and vulnerable. They hid under the covers and shake because we haven’t equipped them.

Now, I know I’m not alone in stories like this. Kris Vallotton shares a similar story about his granddaughter seeing something scary in her room. Kris’s son calls him and Kris tells his son to tell the little girl to say out loud, “Get, out of here bad angels. Get out of my room.”

For me I calmly and with confidence said to my little girl, “Caitie, you don’t need to be afraid because you have Jesus with you. The red eyes can’t hurt you. But, they are only trying to scare you to keep from talking to Jesus. So, you just pray and command them to leave in the name of Jesus. You say, I bind you and you must get out in the name of Jesus. Say it over and over until it leaves.”

Man I tell you what, my daughter prayed but I went to war. I started praying like crazy, pacing the floor. Walking in her room. I roamed throughout the house with arms raised and speaking aloud the words of a warrior who is mad as a hornet and stirred with purpose. I prayed for legions of powerful angels to be dispatched from the throne room to flood our house. I prayed for warrior angels to stand at every door and window with swords drawn. I prayed down power and I prayed defeat, binding this evil in the name and by the blood of Christ. My friends, I STILL pray like this today. I seek constant protection around my home, around my family. I ask for this for each of them by name every single morning.

My prayers have changed in the years as I have learned more about the spirit realm. What I know is that fear, emotion, manipulation, bargaining doesn’t affect the demons. The only thing that will cast away an evil spirit is authority. We have all authority to do this, read again Luke 9:1-2.

Before I leave this story I think there is something interesting to be noted from my daughter’s recent encounter. Why did this evil return after being gone for so long. Now that’s a good question. I asked my daughter this question if you remember. Do you remember her answer?

She said, “It started the night when I watched that scary movie at the theater.”

My daughter opened the door to this activity. She went to a scary movie which gave permission to the enemy to enter her life. My daughter knows that watching anything scary produces this kind to stuff in her life. She has always been sensitive to the spiritual realm. After years and as she is approaching High School graduation, she believed she could handle this movie. After all it wasn’t even a horror or even a scary movie. It was a movie that was eerie and disturbing. But that’s all it took to invite the demons back.

My daughter told me the night she sat at the kitchen table that the shaking stopped, that she prayed. I was relieved. But she also said something very interesting, “Mom, I prayed, rolled over and ignored it. After all, really, what is it going to do to me? Stab me? It can’t.”

Out of the mouths of babes.

The power of ignore. Kris Valloton states it like this about his red-eyed tormentor: After months of this, rebuking the thing in Jesus name and reading scriptures to it, nothing seemed to faze it. Then one day the Lord gave me the Philippians principle: In no way be alarmed by your opponents, which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you. He called this “the power of ignore.”  (Phil 1:29) Read the book because this story is much more in depth and filled with God's power. 

Okay, let's go back to my daughter’s story. My friends, think about this. We work so hard to reveal the lies, rid our lives of sin, bring about forgiveness and we find a glimpse of freedom. But, then we turn right around and invite the tormentors right back in.

So here is my question? What are you allowing into your heart and mind that is an invitation to fear, deceit, lies and torment?

I’m compelled to tell you that if you are watching programs like Ghost Hunters, The Ghost Whisperer, Long Island Medium, etc. this is a very real open door. Also, things like Ouija boards, tarot cards, palm reading, even if it’s only just for fun, open-OPEN door.

Discernment is key in this area. We make hundreds of choices daily that either slam the door on the enemy or leave us vulnerable. Keeping the Dove of the Holy Spirit on my shoulder is a minute-by-minute surrender to the love and discernment of our Lord.

God is not a God of withholding experiences or fun from us. What the world tells you is fun, harmless and that you are an adult so you can partake is often a beautiful but deadly gateway to oppression.

Thoughts?

Love you my friend, Lynn