Just a quick thought today… 

Communication is the essence of any good relationship. If you want to improve your spiritual relationship then pay careful attention to your communication with God.  Make every effort to communicate consistently, clearly, and confidently. 

Blessings to you!

MC

It seems today, even among some leaders, “Kingdom” has almost taken on a type of buzz word status.  Many say it, some acknowledge it, but few truly live under the authority and rule of God which, in fact, is Kingdom.  The departure from living in line with true Kingdom principles and values has left man in greater need of a Savior than ever before.  This creates quite a problem for man, but God has already provided a solution… His Word a.k.a. Jesus Christ.  As a believer you should desire to live a life consistent with the principles of the Kingdom.  Although there are many aspects of living a kingdom life, today, I want to share a few thoughts on valuing and living the word.  

1. Honor the Word of God. To honor is to place a higher regard on its life giving power than your own habits, opinions, and thinking.  You must value the Word more than life itself.

2.  Receive the Word.  To receive the word means to listen with a heart to obey or put into practice what you’ve heard.  The Word is transforming—but only if you apply it.  Don’t just listen, but do what it says.  When you receive enlightenment put it into practice immediately.

3. Declare the Word.  This is not a blanket call for everyone to come out preaching, but to let the power of your life testify to the perfecting, saving, delivering, refining power of the Word. Your life has been given to reveal the glory and power of God. It does that as you live for him.

Remember, you have been given a sphere of influence and when you walk in humble submission to the Word of God the light of God within you shines and declares his goodness.

Blessings to you,

MC

The life of Jesus teaches us a lot about living.  Do we really learn from his example? 

You must consciously appreciate that he was completely God and fully man.  He slept, ate, walked, talked, cried, and prayed.  He got tired, he got excited, and he got hurt. He was misunderstood, despised, taken advantage of, and betrayed.  He endured ridicule, mocking, and belittling. Did I mention that he even had issues with friends? Yet, his focus was not on those things, but what he was sent to do. He manifested worship. He chose righteousness.  He chose to follow the mandates of the Father.  He chose to love.  He chose to forgive. He healed.  He delivered.  He encouraged. He corrected.   He chose to remain in integrity. He gave his life for others. He exhibited supernatural power.   He is the quintessential example of the power of choosing to live a life of humility, holiness, and righteousness.  Will you make the same choices?

Today, decide to really follow the Master.  Follow closely, make kingdom choices and you will find that you will live the life God intended.

Jesus said unto them, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh to the Father but by me.” John 14: 6

Blessings to you,

MC

A few lessons we learn from mothers… 

Mothers have influence.   You as a believer, whether mother or not, have influence too.  God expects you to use your influence not just for personal gain, but also to release others into their destiny.  Pray that you understand how fulfilling your purpose will serve others.

Mothers have a vision for their children.  They want better lives, easier roads, more success, love, peace, and happiness for them.  You must have vision for those you lead.   Pray that you are able to connect with the plan God has for those you lead.

Mothers work to bring out the best in their children by giving them love, guidance, and correction.   As a leader, you must have confidence in the ability and potential of those under your influence. You must work to bring out the best in them.  Pray that you see others as God sees them.

Mothers speak life into their children.  The words of a mother can give children courage, allay fears, and build self-confidence.  You, God’s servant, have the power to release others into their destiny through the words that you speak.  You must see them as God sees them and speak in line with his truth. Use your words to give confidence, allay fears, and build self-confidence in those you influence. Pray that you speak in line with God’s word.

Jesus’s mother released him into a new level of influence at the wedding feast of Cana.  She understood his potential and had confidence in his ability. The Bible records that this encounter was the beginning of miracles that Jesus did which revealed his glory and caused others to believe on him. This week consider those you influence, how can your words help them move closer to fulfilling their destiny?  Invest in the life of another. Make a diligent effort to “mother” them and know that God will give you an exponential return on your investment.

Blessings to you!

MC

My prayer for you today is that you will live with the certainty that God knows all about you and loves you.

He is concerned about everything that concerns you. He waits for you. He looks for you–pursue Him.  

He stands at the door of your heart and knocks–open up to Him.  Be confident that He understands all your situations and circumstances–trust Him.

He wants to give you strength and wisdom. He wants you to succeed.  He longs to light the way to your destiny. He is waiting for you to ask about His plan; not just pray about yours–surrender. 

Beloved of God, when you pursue, trust, and surrender to the Word you will live an extraordinary life of peace, satisfaction, joy, and favor.

Blessings to you!

MC

As I hit the road this morning I just want to remind you that you are important to God. 

You are his greatest asset on earth. Every dream, vision, plan he ordained for your life will happen as you trust and obey him. 

Today, be confident in him and have confidence in your ability to master every situation life presents.  You are already identified as being more than a conqueror. 

 “Being confident in this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” Philippians 1:6

Gotta run.

Blessings to you!

MC

Just a simple thought today:

Your experience of being blessed, fulfilled, and happy is directly proportional to the level of reverence and obedience you have for the Lord.  These things can and should be constants in the life of a believer.  The true condition of your life has been spoken from the mouth of the Lord.  Being blessed, fulfilled, and happy are not conditions based on the circumstances the world presents you, but the circumstances deemed right to the Lord.

Embrace the life God designed for you today, by lifting the level of your reverence and obedience and you will see an increase in your experience of living a Kingdom life.    

Blessed is everyone that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways.  For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands:  happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. Psalm 128:1-2

Lately, my daughter’s favorite word is ”random.”   In her estimation everything often seems arbitrary and disconnected.  As I listen to her conversations I work to help here make connections and see the big picture not just because I am her mom and that’s what moms do, but because I believe that even when things seem random there is order and purpose.  So, this morning I share some of my random thoughts.  I hope you will see the order and purpose.

1.  Let there be no disparity between the power God has placed in you and the power that is demonstrated in your life. Live the truth that you know.  Strive to walk and live by faith in God alone.

2.  Let there be no difference between the character of God and your character. Yield to the total ministry of the Holy Spirit. He is developing you. He is transforming you into the vessel that God desires you to be.

3.  Let there be no inequality between your thoughts, words, and actions and those of the Lord.   Righteousness yields righteousness.  If you think, speak, and do that which is right according to the Lord you will walk in power.

Before I hit the road this morning, I will share some thoughts I still have rolling around in my head from Sunday’s message. 

You are God’s greatest asset on Earth. He wants you to release all aspects of the power he has given you.  In fact, God is calling you to release it daily.  There should be no disparity between the life you have received and the life you manifest in the world. 

God has given you:

   ·         Power with him

 ·         Power over the enemy

 ·         Power to love

 ·         Power to change

 ·         Power to forgive

 ·         Power to bless

 ·         Power to live

 ·         Power to speak

 ·         Power to stand

 ·         Power to prevail

 ·         Power to obtain wealth

  I could go on forever, but I’ll simply leave you with a few thoughts.   First, ask yourself what area is at the top of your list to be released today?  Second, as you move through this day think about your identified area based on the Word of God. Then commit to revealing more of his nature by operating in the power he has given you.  Finally, note the changes and give him praise. “If you live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Galatians 5:26   

Let me share a little insight that might transform how you apply the principles of this familiar little passage.

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.”   Matthew 6:33

God wants you to live a carefree life; not careless, but carefree. Think about the difference for minute. He has in mind for you a Kingdom centered life that is full of the power, promise, and purpose he ordained for you. He sees a life where your every need is supplied.   Often though  a believers prayers and thoughts are not kingdom focused, but self-centered.  They are filled with requests to obtain something or get completely consumed with pursuing God for some immediate need.   It is possible to become so overly concerned about material things and personal comfort that you lose sight of the bigger picture. You are God’s greatest asset on Earth.  For example, God tells you to do something and instead of doing it immediately,  you set up a prayer schedule to ask for all the things that you think you must have in order to get started instead of just obeying.  You find more ways to stall than the one good reason to get started.  Now don’t get me wrong, I am an advocate of planning and I am persuaded that you must count up the cost before building, but sometimes believers hide disobedience behind the mask of waiting on God. He knows what you have and will never set a requirement beyond what you are able to handle.  Hasn’t he already promised to supply all your needs? If more is needed then your obedience becomes the key to opening up God’s provision.

Jesus knew you would have needs and requirements.  His instructions is to remain Kingdom focused.  The promise is this, when you are kingdom focused God takes complete care of you. He meets all your needs—spiritual, physical, emotional, and material.  He gives you access to his plans for your life. He gives you direction. He gives you certainty.  He gives you peace. First with him, then within, and finally with those around you.  You must be kingdom focused.  Excessive concern for the temporal things of life may be an indicator that your focus may be a little off.   There is a promise for  increase in your life as you focus on the Kingdom. 

 So how do you get or stay kingdom focused?  It essentially comes down to two things:  perspective and obedience.

Gain perspective.  A God-centered perspective involves more than mental assent but forms the foundation of your thoughts, words, and actions. Recognizing and bowing to the authority of God is a critical component of living a successful faith-filled life.  In order to gain proper perspective you must intentionally seek God’s perspective on an issue. God has already taken a position on everything. He is not trying to figure out what to do or how to handle a situation. He has already decided. You must find his position and align yourself with it. The imperative, “Seek ye first the kingdom,” is designed to influence your behavior and your will.   You must investigate how God’s authority can be honored or revealed in a situation. Then you must acquiesce to his authority.  Once you do that, you are prepared to move point two:  obedience.

 Walk in Obedience.  A commitment to obeying God is essential for your success. Let’s be clear, the full benefit of following God will never be realized in your life until you radically obey.   When you gain God’s perspective on an issue set your mind to obeying the truth. Let God’s truth override your own thoughts.  Let his truth put your emotions in check. Let God’s truth be the driving force behind your actions. Commitment to God is an all or nothing situation.  You can’t be “sort of” committed; half-hearted committed locks you out of the blessing.   You can’t try to commit; trying to do something assumes there is an opportunity fail.  When God is a part of the equation there is no failure. Your real decision to obey opens the door for God to send a helper.  The Holy Spirit is given to ensure your successful completion of God’s intent.  He is the, the “Paraclete.” He comes along side you to speak, coach, push, and pull you along. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is more than just speaking in tongues or giving charismatic gifts.  As you raise the level of your obedience an added benefit is that your intimacy level with the Holy Spirit will increase. Finally, you must develop the heart of true worshipper. As David wrote in Psalm 15, you must swear to your own hurt and change not. This means fulfill your commitment to God even when it hurts your feelings or challenges your established thought patterns.  

God is the author of transformation and the keeps every promise, but your obedience is required. Gain perspective and walk in obedience and you will soon experience the spiritual, emotional, physical, and material increase you seek.  

Blessings to you, 

MC