Relentless: Receiving the Grace, Mercy & Goodness of Love Himself

“O God, God of Israel, there is no God like you in the skies above or on the earth below who unswervingly keeps covenant with his servants and relentlessly loves them as they sincerely live in obedience to your way. You kept your word to David my father, your personal word. You did exactly what you promised—every detail.” – 1 Kings 8:23-24 (MSG)

Have you ever had a wrong impression of someone? A time when maybe you thought something about a person but then after you met them you realized they were not at all what you had expected? I have definitely had those experiences! Sometimes people can have the wrong idea about who you really are. Their impression of you could be based on what they have heard others say or on misinformation. In those instances, don’t you want people to know the truth about who you really are?

Similarly, there are many people today who have the wrong impression of God, where their view of Him has been based on what they have heard others say or on misinformation. I believe that His desire is that people discover the truth regarding who He really is. So, how can we find out what’s true about God in order to set the record straight? Jesus said in the Gospel of John that the Scriptures found in the Bible reveal truth unto us. In other words, they show us what’s actually real about God!

Continue Reading ->
.

Live Life Inspired by Love

There are many people trying to live the Christian life in their own strength, however the Bible teaches us that we can receive supernatural inspiration that will ultimately affect everything that we do. What is this motivating force that can inspire us to live life differently and on a higher level? It is the love that God has for us.

“Let everything you do be done in love, true love to God and man as inspired by God’s love for us.” – 1 Corinthians 16:14 (Amp)

We see in this verse of scripture that when a person focuses on God’s love for them it inspires something within them… true love for God and for people. Our love for God is to be a response to His love for us. The Bible states in 1 John 4:19, “We love him, because he first loved us.” Notice, He loved us first! Let’s think about that for a moment. Before you were born, while you were in your mother’s womb, then as a child and throughout every day of your life since, including today, He has been loving you! Sadly, many are oblivious to the reality of this love. They may have heard about religious concepts and traditions, but unless they have come to know for themselves this amazing love, their lives will lack the necessary power and inspiration to truly flourish.

Continue Reading ->
.

Paths of Increase – Part 2: There is Hope for Your Future

“Though your beginning was small, yet your latter end should greatly increase.” – Job 8:7 (KJV)

God has a plan for your life… a plan of increase. He wants you to see beyond where you are to His plan for your future. He wants you to come to Him and receive a fresh vision of what He has in store for you. Job 8:7 begins with these words, “Though thy beginning was small”. You might look at where you’re at in life right now and say, “I’m in a small place”. God’s saying to you that no matter where you’re at right now, no matter what you may be facing at the moment, there is hope for your future. He has a plan for you to greatly increase.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” – Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

In Jeremiah 29:11, we see that God desires to prosper you. It goes on to say that He has a hope, a future and an expected end for you. The “end” He has planned is not a small ending. It’s an ending of increase, blessing, prosperity, peace and goodness! This is the will of your Heavenly Father. The word increase has been defined as becoming greater in number, size, strength and quality. Notice that increase is not only becoming greater in quantity but also in quality. In other words, when you experience God’s increase it means that areas of your life begin to rise, things come up to new levels and you enter into new places of blessing.

Continue Reading ->
.

Paths of Increase – Part 1: Taking the Limits Off

I believe God wants us to be reminded of His ability today. I believe He wants us to be reminded of how able He is. Webster’s Dictionary defines able as “having sufficient power, strength, force, skill, means, or resources of any kind to accomplish the object”. Well, how able is our Heavenly Father? Is He able to do big things where we are concerned? I’m talking about His plan and purpose for our lives. What is God able to do?

“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21 (KJV)

We see in Ephesians 3:20 that our Father is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ask or think! Think about your future. Think about where you are going. I’m talking about this year, 2012. His plans for you are awesome… His plans for you are amazing. They are “exceedingly abundantly above all that you could ask or think” plans! It is for this reason He wants you and I to enlarge our vision. He wants us to elevate our thinking. He wants us to think bigger than we’ve ever thought before and to dare to conceptualize all that He can, and will, do in us and through us in this coming year! Our God is truly able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ask or think.

Continue Reading ->
.

A New Name… A New Season

“Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.”  (Isaiah 42:9)

Throughout the Bible, time and time again we see God do new and wonderful things in the lives of His people. Many times these new seasons of experiencing God’s power and grace would begin with God giving His people a new name. In the Old Testament, Abram’s name was changed to Abraham, Sarai’s was changed to Sarah, and Jacob’s to Israel. In the New Testament, the Lord changed Simon’s name to Peter and Saul’s name to Paul. After receiving their new name, each of these individuals entered into new seasons of increased fruitfulness, favor and blessing. They saw God’s promises fulfilled and they began to be used by God more than ever before to do His will and to impact their generation!

Continue Reading ->