Be a Planted Seed

by John Bevere
DESCRIPTION
Being planted means that you lay down your life to serve God in the church you are in.
Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God (Psalm 92:13, NKJV).

Flourishing “in the courts of our God” includes at the judgment seat of Christ. If you have done what God called you to do, He will be pleased when he examines your life. To know the call of God on your life, you must be planted in the local church. If you want to find out what a seed is, just plant it. A plant that is transplanted constantly will stop bearing fruit and eventually die, but a planted seed will inevitably grow into its destiny.

So, if you are planted in the local church you are going to grow into your destiny. Being planted means that you lay down your life to serve God in the church you are in. A seed must die to produce fruit. The environment of the soil will put the perfect amount of pressure on the seed to crack it open so that the life inside it will come forth.

God's Battle

by Boyd Bailey
DESCRIPTION
Life is full of opportunities to do battle on behalf of the Lord.
“The Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands." 1 Samuel 17:47, NASB

Life is full of opportunities to do battle on behalf of the Lord. Engagement with fear is a spiritual skirmish waiting to happen, but the Spirit flushes out fear and defeats it with faith. Anger is always set to ambush and battle its foes, but patient forgiveness sees it coming and bypasses its ugly assault. Pride is lurking to pounce on the strong and successful, but humble prayer pushes back relentless reinforcements from hell. Indeed, enemies of God are brought down by God.

What battle are you facing that has the best of you? Is it a health issue? Then cry out to your ultimate Healer, Jesus. Is it relational conflict? Then submit to Christ who can restore broken relationships. Perhaps you face a financial giant? Then go to God and seek godly counsel with transparency and trust, asking both for wisdom and accountability. Heaven has the assistance you need through saints on earth. Look for the Lord’s resources from those who love Him and you.

“Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.” 2 Chronicles 20:15

Our true battle is not with who or what we see, but with the unseen powers and principalities who seek to soil our faith in the Lord. The enemy Satan speaks lies to our minds, so we meander around the most meaningful and struggle with feeling insignificant. However, the truth of God dissolves the devil’s deceptions and replaces them with clarity and confidence in Christ. The war in the heavens has already been won, so enlist in the Lord’s army. Your battle is His battle.

Therefore, be bold as you battle with the weapons of the Lord’s wisdom and not with the foolishness of man. Fire God’s gun of grace with bullets of belief, not blanks of unbelief. Shoot at the ultimate enemy, not at the messenger who is only the bearer of bad news. Take your smooth stone of spiritual service and sling it toward Satan. God directs your efforts to defeat the enemy!

“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:14

Asking God for the Impossible

by Lysa TerKeurst
DESCRIPTION
What might happen if we dared to ask God for the impossible just a little more often?
"I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." Isaiah 45:2-3 (NIV 1984)

Several years ago I sat beside my youngest sister and listened as she boldly rejected my views of God. She told me how she'd always been a free spirit, much too non-conventional for traditional religion.

"Good thing I'm not into religion," I gently replied.

She twisted her face as if half expecting a lightening bolt to strike us both. "But you ARE religious."

I laid my head against the back of the lounge chair, closed my eyes to the sun now washing over me and simply replied, "Nope."

Letting my statement just sit for a while, I decided not to clarify unless she asked. And ask she did.

That's when I explained that I follow God, not a list of rules. I am passionate about getting into the Bible— God's teachings—and letting the Bible get into me. I no longer evaluate life based on my feelings. Instead, I let my feelings and experiences be evaluated in light of God's Word.

I have watched God chase me around with rich evidence of His presence and invitations to trade apathy for active faith. But I had to make the choice to see God. Hear God. Know God. And follow hard after God.

Then I took my sister's hand and told her I'd be praying for God to mess with her in ways too bold for her to deny.

Fast forward over six years later. My sister walks into her professor's office and sees one of my books on her bookshelf. I don't think she really believed anyone actually read my books. But there it was. And it messed with her.

She later went home and poked around my blog a bit where she found a clip of my testimony. Again, it messed with her. One verse in particular messed with her so much that she let the possibility that God exists slip into her heart.

A few days later she went and had Jeremiah 29:11 tattooed on the back of her neck. And she started calling wanting to talk to me. About life. About tattoos. And about God.

A few weeks later I stood in the middle of an airport praying for my precious sister who called while I was traveling, and asked me to pray for her. She had called. She had asked. And that's the miracle of our Jesus. He is the God of the impossible.

I wonder what might happen if we dared to ask God for the impossible just a little more often. I'm up for it? Are you?

Dear Lord, use me today to reach the heart of one. I want to trade any apathy I may have for active faith. Lead me, and I will follow. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Reflect and Respond:

Read the book of John over the next several days. Let the truths of Jesus' life resonate in your mind and soul. As you read and ponder each verse daily, let your feelings and experiences be evaluated in the light of God's Word.

How can you, right where you are, choose to see the rich evidences of God? How can you show this to someone else who needs to hear it?

Have you asked God for the impossible lately?

Power Verses:

John 15:13, "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." (NIV)

Colossians 1:9, "For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding." (NIV)

The Father's Plan

by Mark Jeske
DESCRIPTION
The greater our lives are aligned with His plan, the greater our satisfaction and joy in life.
The gospel message is based on mysteries and paradoxes that seem illogical and unbelievable to outsiders to the faith. Take the Trinity, for example. How can God be three and one at the same time? Is there one mind or three? one will or three? one power or three?

God tells you about Himself not to explain enough so that you understand but rather so that you appreciate and worship Him. He tells you of His essential unity, but He reveals that three distinct persons are at work in the universe.

It is the Father whom Scripture describes as the grand Planner. In servant mode during His earthly ministry, Jesus gave 100% of His attention and respect to the Father’s saving design: “When you have lifted up (i.e., crucified) the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him” (John 8:28,29).

From all eternity, even before mankind’s fall into sin, the Father lovingly predesigned the rescue He foreknew His Son would need to carry out. The greater our lives are aligned with His plan, the greater our satisfaction and joy in life.

Power of the Tongue

by Os Hillman
DESCRIPTION
Use the power of the tongue for good, affirm someone close to you today.
"The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit" (Proverbs 18:21).

Words have the power to motivate or destroy, energize or deflate, inspire or create despair. Many successful executives can remember the time their father failed to give affirmation to them as a child. The result was either overachievement to prove their worth, or underachievement to prove he was right.

Many a wife has lost her ability to love because of a critical husband. Many a husband has left a marriage because of words of disrespect and ungratefulness. Stories abound regarding the power of words. There are just as many stories of those who have been encouraged, challenged, and comforted with words that made a difference in their lives.

Jesus knew the power of words. He used parables to convey His principles of the Kingdom of God. He used words of forgiveness and mercy. He used words to challenge. He used words to inspire His disciples to miraculous faith.

Do your words give life? Do they inspire and challenge others to greatness? Who does God want you to encourage through your words today? Affirm someone close to you today.

Trust God

by K.P. Yohannan
DESCRIPTION
Know that God will protect you and continue to stand by you if you remain humble, and if your heart is with Him.
God is sovereign, and we can trust Him. He is the One who appointed us to our leadership position, according to Romans 13:1–2. So when our popularity begins to wane, when our position seems to be in flux or when we feel inadequate for the task at hand, we have nothing to worry about. It is all in the Lord’s hands.

Consider John the Baptist. He was in the public eye long before Christ; he had numerous disciples and a lot of public attention. But soon people started going to Jesus more than they were going to John. So one day some of John’s people brought this to his attention, essentially saying, “Master, we’ve got a problem. Jesus is getting the big crowds now. You are losing your popularity” (see John 3:26).

But John basically says, “You don’t understand. We can’t receive anything unless it has come from God. I’m really happy that Jesus is receiving all this attention. Don’t you remember? I came to promote Him. This was the role I was given to play. I’m not threatened; I’m so content” (see John 3:28–30).

John the Baptist knew that God was the One who placed him where he was, and this knowledge gave him security, regardless of the position and title he held. Even when John’s disciples joined Jesus, John was glad because he understood the larger picture (see John 1:35–37).

Even when we feel overwhelmed in our position, we can rest in the Lord. When we are a leader, it is very common for us to face new challenges and crises. We may not weep on the outside, but inside often we are trembling and thinking, I don’t know if I can do this!

Whether you think you are qualified or not, remember, it was God who placed you in this position of responsibility. Therefore, you can be sure that God will give you the ability you need to do it.

It is true that we must be constant, disciplined learners, but at the same time, we cannot afford to evaluate situations based only on ourselves—we must make conclusions based on God. That’s what David did when faced with the giant. He told Goliath, “You may look big, but I am not coming in my name; I am coming in the name of a God who makes me able” (1 Samuel 17:45, paraphrased). Jonathan Edwards, a respected theologian from the 1700s, said:

A truly humble man ... is sensible of his natural distance from God; of his dependence on him; of the insufficiency of his own power and wisdom, and that it is by God’s power that he is upheld and provided for, and that he needs God’s wisdom to lead and guide him, and his might to enable him to do what he ought to do for him.

There will always be people who might do your job better than you. But God didn’t call them to fill the position you are in. He called you, and no one can harm you.

Know that He will protect you and continue to stand by you if you remain humble and your heart is with the Lord.

Our Father

Jesus told a remarkable parable about two brothers. We find it in the Gospel of Luke 15:11–32.

The younger brother takes all the money he can and runs off, lives a bad life and wastes everything. Then he repents and goes home.

His father is loving and gracious to him. Soon the younger brother is in the house having the time of his life—the best mutton curry and the best mango and the best ice cream. But somebody is missing from the dining table—it’s the older brother.

The father is so happy, but the older son is seething, refusing to go inside and celebrate. He snaps at his father and basically says, “I’ve been living in this house all these years, and I’ve served you like a slave! I never wasted your money! I built this! I did that! I did everything you said!

“And you never gave me a feast! But you give one to this worthless, no-good son of yours who wasted all your money! I don’t want to come inside” (Luke 15:28–30, paraphrased).

And the father basically replies, “My son, my son. All of these things are yours! You can have beef-fry, mutton-curry every morning, day and night. It’s all yours! Whoever told you it’s not yours?” (see Luke 15:31).

Question: How do you explain this?

Even when the younger son was a rebel, his heart was knit with the affection of his father. So when everything was gone, he said to himself, I can go to my father.

But for the older son, it was different. Even when everything was provided, he could not get inside the house. His relationship with his father was not one of father and son; rather, it was an employer and his employee. He was working for wages: respect, recognition and understanding.

Even though he had all the possibilities as the eldest son, his heart was not in a loving relationship with his father. In Christianity and Christian leadership, this same thing can happen. You are a great leader, and you have so much to do. But in the end you can come to the place in which you are doing all the work for money, recognition, reputation, honor or whatever else. It’s all about what you get, not because of the affection of the Father who sees you in secret.

Spiritual realities are always a mystery. When God deals with us, deep down in our hearts, there is a sense that we know something happened. Everything changed for me when I realized I am not a mission leader, I am not a politician, but I am a father—a father to those the Lord has given me.

When we realize that God is our Father,that we are safe in His hands, and that we are to be a father to those He has given us—everything changes.

It’s no longer so hard to know we are safe.

Separation: Day 2 - So this is goodbye!

Hello Ladies:

Parting is such sweet sorrow or so they say! But I've found that it's can be painful but necessary for my sanity!

Many years ago back in my early college days, I used to hang out with group of guys. I thought this group was nice cause they always paid for lunch, and who was I to say no to free lunch. It never dawned on me that these man might want something from me other then my company. But as I look back I see myself as an excuse for them and they for me.

I would rather hang with these guys then be in class or hang out with my high school friends. I was getting distracted from what I should be doing, like studying! I just didn't care if these new pals didn't. As I look back if I didn't move to another state after my fathers' passing; I don't no what would have happened to me, but I can't imagine anything good.

Honestly moving to Maryland at 18 was like me getting back to reply on christ more; cause trust me I was looking for signs of God in everything and anything but God. I was so not living my life for him nor showing others how good life can be being guided by God.

Numbers 16:9

Isn’t it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community and brought you near himself to do the work at the Lord’s tabernacle and to stand before the community and minister to them?

Mental Health: Separation Anxiety

by Family Matters
DESCRIPTION
But anxiety is nothing more than a lie. It seeks to shift our focus to the threats of a fleeting world instead of remaining fixed on the eternal Truth of God’s love for us.
Fire and ice. Oil and water. Orange juice and toothpaste. There are some things in life that just don’t go together.

I can tell you from experience, the same is true of anxiety and faith.

My battle with anxiety has lasted decades (plural). That’s a huge portion of my life when you consider that I’ve only had three full decades to work with. Most people who know me have little-to-no idea (until now that is, LOL). That’s because life with anxiety is a dual existence, a gilded facade behind which the interior decays. No one can really know how worry seizes every thought while creating a distorted sense of control you can’t bear to be without.

But I have to be candid; in all my years of struggle, I’ve come to believe that anxiety is far more than a mental illness or a clinical disorder. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely believe there are biological roots to anxiety disorders—this bruised apple didn’t fall far from the family tree.

But like so many others, medication and therapy left me nothing more than emotionally stripped and spiritually bankrupt. Desperate for healing, I went in search of the root cause of my anxious tendencies. What I discovered was that like so many other cantankerous couplings, anxiety is an all-out war between opposing forces that fundamentally CANNOT coexist.

This truly is good vs. evil kind of stuff.

Let me show you what I mean. 2 Timothy 1:7 says that God has given us a spirit “not of fear,” but a Spirit of “power and love and self-control.” Simply put, a spirit of fear is not from God…

… and if it’s not from God then it isn’t good.

Yet when we allow fearfulness to capture our thoughts, evil has free reign on our hearts and seeks to destroy our faith via doubt. James 1:6 tells us that true faith doesn’t have room for doubt—that the two are mutually exclusive.

And after all, isn’t that what anxiety is—doubting God’s got you covered?

James goes on in verses 7-8 to warn us that a doubt-tainted faith will cause us to become “double-minded” and “unstable.” When we doubt that God’s plan for us is good (especially if it involves pain), we basically sever our connection to the single source of peace that can exist in this life. We begin to appease our fears rather than surrendering to the care of the Divine Healer… and you know what they say…

You can’t serve two masters. It’s that serious.

But anxiety is nothing more than a lie. It seeks to shift our focus to the threats of a fleeting world instead of remaining fixed on the eternal Truth of God’s love for us.

It may not be easy to take in and even harder to do something with it. God knows that with His power, I am still fighting this battle each day. Blessings to you and your loved ones who fight this relentless war. We shall all be victorious one day.

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart”—Jeremiah 29:11-13.

Family Matters and their guest writers are not and should not be seen as true medical advisers or a substitute for medical help.  If you or know someone who may be suffering, please contact a professional.

Written by Michelle Hutchison

Separation: Day 1 - What can separation mean?

Happy 2017 - 

I feel that the lord has placed it in my heart to try to understand the meaning of separation. But I'm not sure what the next 7 days will bring but I'm eager to learning and I hope you can come along. 

My first stop is trying to define the word; and according to Merriam-Webster's the definition that resonated with me was: (a) a point, line, or means of division (b) an intervening space - gap. 

This definition made me think of countless times in my life, where there was a turning point. Whether by choice, action or intersection; I moved from one place to another or my views changed. Whatever it was I changed, I had become a different version of me. Good or bad I wasn't the same; and to be honest I don't always take the time to notice that. 

In the first book, in the very first chapter; God does a lot of separating. In the beginning there was God and nothingness. He separated them and inserted the heavens and the earth. That was a major turning point, for us human beings because he didn't have to. However he wasn't done, this earth he created, was deeply filled water, that his spirit hoovered over. 

He was like I'm not feeling this darkness and going to add some light; and he give this names, Morning and Night!

He made choices and acted on them; he had a thought and put it into action. Now I'm not God nor can I see the future. However I'm reminded of an 8 year old me being ask at my christian camp in upstate NY; would I like to accept Jesus Christ as my personal lord and savior. That little girl did not know that her choice would so important to her life. 

I'm realizing that the next few days will be spent in reflection with the word and myself. Looking at the points time that I have separated myself to form the me I am today; who is always changing. 

It's a new year, and it wouldn't hurt to take a look back and interview the old you! 

Biblegateway Genesis NIV