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How to abandon fear for an abundant life!
Jezebel set up an environment that bred fear and since that went against the teachings of the prophets of God she had to eliminate those who went against what she stood for.
Our Biblical Background: 1 Kings 18, 19, 21; 2 Kings 9
Jezebel is introduced to us in 1 Kings 16:29-31 as being King Ahab’s wife, the daughter of a Sidonian King. The Bible tells us that it wasn’t bad enough that Ahab followed in Jeroboam’s foot steps but he married Jezebel and began worshiping Baal.
Jeroboam was the first king of the Northern kingdom of Israel and set up high places for the Israelite’s to worship so they would not go to Jerusalem which was now in the southern kingdom of Israel called Judah. Now, you are all caught up! đ
Since Ahab was a pansy, Jezebel was actually running the country. She usurped the power from Ahab by catering to his every desire. She kept him so busy creating new desires that she was able to run the country with an iron fist while he was occupied fulfilling his own desires.
She had control of the 400 plus prophets of Baal and Asherah. She had control of the whole of Israel including God’s people but God was not going to let her and Ahab have complete control. He created an environment of fear for them too using Elijah.
Biblical Life Lesson: If you are not afraid to die, you can live without abandon for Jesus.
The people around Jezebel where afraid for their lives. They were complicit in their worship of false gods because they were afraid to die therefore afraid to live for God. There were still quite a few people that the Lord saved for Himself who were not afraid to die including Elijah. The Lord might not use you to go after Jezebel but He does have a vision for you that will fill your life with wonder.
Last week we talked about killing the old you so the new you will live for Jesus with everything she has. Being afraid to die holds you back from living your life with abandon. There is nothing on this earth worth hanging onto that will cost you your soul. Elijah had nothing and lived without abandon.
The Lord showed His power to Elijah by feeding him using birds. Then the Lord used Elijah to show His power to all of Israel. He was the opposite of Jezebel and that is why she wanted to kill him. Â
Join me in The Bible Gals Monday at 2pm EST to discuss the Biblical Power Tools for how to abandoned fear for an abundant life.
I have exciting news for you as well. I am running a FREE Biblical Goal Bootcamp to help you plan a future with Jesus in The Bible Gals from February 22-26th. You can learn how to set biblical goals even if you don’t know your vision from God yet. Sign up here and make sure you join The Bible Gals.
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The Way to Talk with God
Life can sometimes be rough. You can have a good minute then a bad. What do you do when the bad minutes come? Do you scream out to God or do you scream at Him? In Isaiah 1:18 God begs us to reason with Him. Why would God allow us to reason with Him? Why would our creator even want to reason with us? It is for our sake He allows us to reason with Him. It is for our sake He wants to reason with us.
God knows He is right but we do not. Not yet anyway. When He tells us to do something, we are unaware of the future ramifications. We bulk at the prospect of making this change. We come up with excuses but never to God. We talk to the air or people. We reason within ourselves and with other people looking for confirmation. God wants us to talk it out with Him.
When we first begin talking to God we go through stages and He walks us through each one. Jesus said we need to become a child and that is how we speak to Jesus first. Then we switch to being a teenager looking for independence and understanding. Then we should begin talking to Jesus, mankind to Man.
The Way of a Child
âAssuredly,â Jesus said in Matthew 18:3, âI say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.â Think about how children talk. Babies look at you with love as you talk to them. They turn their head when they hear you speak. Then they ask questions, in awe, to learn. As children they know the world is big and they want to know everything. As children of God we know the Kingdom of God is big and we should want to know everything. We should ask God questions and listen intently for the answers just like children.
The Way of the Teenager
When we learn more and are a little more traveled we want more independence. But what also comes with independence is rebellion. God is big and can handle your rebellion. In Matthew 18 is the story of the sheep that leaves the fold. Jesus leaves the 99 behind and goes after the one. He wants you to mature enough in this stage of talking to Him that you will be one of the 99 who waits for Him to come back but if you are the one it will be because you did not speak to Him about your rebellion.
During this way of talking to God He expects you will become childlike and also rebellious. Jesus is big enough to hear your complaints like the Judge from Luke 18:5. He will give you justice but you have to tell Him what you are looking for and listen to what He has to say about it. Both the way of the child and teenager are about learning. We cannot always stay childlike or rebellious we must prepare ourselves to become an adult.
The Way of Mankind
Isaiah 1:18 tells us we must reason with God and God told Job to prepare himself like a man because God is going to question Him, and God is expecting an answer (Job 38:3). God expects us to stand before Him and reason with Him about everything we need to understand. He expects an answer. Why do you think that way? Where were you when I created everything? Do you know how the ocean stays behind its lines or even how the line got there? Just as God reasoned with Job and every other person in the Bible He will reason with us, but we have to do it like a man. We have to prepare ourselves to speak to Him. The way to prepare ourselves is to put off childish behaviour and rebellion. Know that God is who He says He is and we are who He says we are.
God created each one of us to have a relationship with Him, but He will not allow us to act like children the whole time. He will also not allow us to rebel against Him forever. Time is not on our side. It is on Godâs side. Use what little time you have left to talk with God about all the things that matter to you. All the things that matter to you are exactly the things that matter to Him.
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3 Ways to Discern Your Destination
You have read in my blog I am a proponent of knowing what God has for you in the future. That is what your future destination will be with Him. I challenge you to find one character in the Bible that didnât know what God wanted them to do in the future. When God calls you, He equips you with this knowledge, whether you understand what He has told your or believe it, makes no difference to the plan. God will have his way. You can come kicking and screaming or you can come willingly filled with joy. Your attitude is your choice, not the plan. There are three ways you can discern (or remember) Godâs plan for you.
Way One: Life is Difficult
You might have had difficulties in your life along with everyone else but that doesnât stop the plan, nor does it excuse you from the plan. The difficulties, in our life, are how we remember our plan. They are directly related to your growth toward the âsaidâ plan. What do you have the most difficulty doing but feel youâve had the most success? For me it was getting my whole life in order. I already knew I would teach Godâs Word all across Canada but through this process I learned what I would teach. I had to create my own tools for improvements, using the Bible, now I teach them. For what project have you created your own tools to accomplish and had great success? You will use them in your plan.
Way Two: Trouble that Makes us Cry
Of all the difficulties in the world which one makes you bang your hand on the table and yell, âSomebody has to do something about that!â Well, guess what, itâs you. You will do something about that trouble. I am not teaching life skills for the sake of teaching life skills. I am teaching them because I despise women being trafficked for sex. The side benefit is that all women have access to my workshops and books to improve their lives as well. At first, we will think Godâs plan is for us, but it isnât, it is for whomever you are called to serve. It is to be of service in the trouble that makes us cry. You will use this passion to rid the world of this trouble in your plan.
Way Three: Mirror Character
The Bible has an inordinate amount of characters listed. Have you ever pondered why? It is so you can see yourself in them. Which characters are you identifying with right now? When you read the Bible, you will find your mirror character in the phase of learning you are in right now. Right now, I am learning what to focus on for my ministry. Joseph is in the forefront of my mind. He had trouble that he didnât make for himself, yet he knew God was still with him. Joseph still obeyed God in his sorrow, and eventually his teenage dreams came into fruition. Sorrow is no reason to stop working your plan. Joseph is my mirror character right now, who is yours? You will use the information you garner from your mirror character to obey God in all seasons of your life on your way to your future destination.
Your Challenge
I know how difficult it is to first believe but it gets easier as you grow. Your challenge is to continue to grow in the direction of your future destination. Many people before you have done just that; Mother Theresa, Joan of Arc, Elizabeth Fry, Florence Nightingale, Corrie ten Boom, and many more. Today, you can watch Kay Author, Beth Moore, Pricilla Shirer and many more also grow into the direction of their destination. This is the challenge for all of us but you will never grow in the direction of your destination unless you know what that is.
God told Gideon he was a might warrior then proceeded to teach him how. Paul was told he would suffer for Jesus then Jesus show him how. Peter was told he would fish for men then God showed Him how. Can you see what knowing your destination looks like? God will tell you your destination then he will show you how. That is the way God does destination and this is how we are supposed to do life.
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The 3 Ways to Gain Peace
As a Christian we are not to be in turmoil with the world or anything in the world. The Bible was written for us to have peace from it. John tells us that Jesus spoke to us, so in Him we may have peace. In the world we will have tribulation, but we are not to go nuts, go insane or go berserk because Jesus has overcome the world. When He overcame the world, He gave us His peace in knowing Him. In knowing Him we just have to read the Words He spoke. He spoke all of His Words so in Him we can have peace (John 16:33).
I know that sounds tough, but it isnât. When you become a Christian, God woos you until you fall head over heels in love with Him. Imagine, when you fall in love for the first time. You cannot get them out of your mind. That is what Jesus is doing with us. He has chosen us as His bride and He is making us fall in love with Him, day by day. Peace comes with this love. There are three ways you can gain this peace: calm yourself by talking to Jesus, know the laws of God and believe unto righteousness to sow peace.
Way One: Calm Yourself by Talking to God
My favorites part of being a Christian is the ability to speak to Jesus. When I first became a Christian, I had no idea how to speak to Jesus but in time I learned, no matter where I am or what I am doing I can speak to Jesus about anything. I would rather have a one-sided conversation with Jesus than a two-sided conversation resulting in hurt feelings. I learned to keep my mouth shut and talk with Jesus after the fact. Fifteen years later, I am becoming an expert at it. We all have feelings and sometimes they get out of control or hurt. As Christians, we have a God who cares about not only us but all the other people we are supposed to serve. He knows we will be hurt sometimes and He doesnât want us to be the one doing the hurting.
Philippians 4:6-7 says, âbe anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.â We can say anything to Jesus and He will listen. I have said many things to Jesus including my misguided complaints against Him. There was a time when life was not as it should be, in my eyes, and I blamed Jesus for the way it was turning out. I couldnât believe He wanted me to live that way, but He had a purpose for what was happening in my life. You are that purpose. Jesus taught me that I am not the only one He loves and taught me to calm myself and love, not only Him but His law.
Way Two: Know the Law of God
Because Jesus allowed me to say anything to Him I was able to speak until I discovered the real reasons why I could not have peace. I was so filled with sin that it had to be rooted out and dealt with. The only Person who can make that happen is Jesus Himself. I was reading the Word of God at the same time I was dealing with the sin bubbling up like ditch water. It stank, and it was good for nothing but carp. I needed to be taught how to use His Word to heal my wounds. I fell in love with the Law of God knowing its healing power in my life.
Psalm 119:165 tells us âGreat peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble.â God says that if we love His law nothing will cause us to stumble. He is not saying you will never stumble but if you love the law of not lying you will not stumble when faced with a situation that might cause you to lie. It is one law at a time that changes us. We fall in love with one law at a time and we are changed by that love. To know the laws of God is to be changed by them. There might be some laws you donât know yet or love, but when you know them and fall in love with them, you will not stumble. When we donât stumble because we love the laws of God it is easy to believe unto righteousness.
Way Three: Believe unto Righteousness to Sow Peace
When you talk to Jesus about everything that is bothering you, and find He responds, you believe there is hope. Hope that life will get better. Hope the pain you are suffering will go away. Hope there will be peace in your life someday. You will learn His law more knowing He can be trusted with your dirty swamp waters. The swamp water begins to clear, and you can actually see beyond it. This is the fruit from your belief. Living, clear water, even in your ditches.
James 3:18 tells us the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. The living clear water in our heart is the fruit of the righteousness we now have from loving the law of God. Our hearts filled with this clear living water is sown to others. John 7:38 tells us those who believe will have living water coming out of them. This is how we sow peace. We can believe in Jesus and be righteous. We can sow peace by holding our tongue during a time of strife. The calm feeling we have is felt by others as peace and they want it. Peace sown.
We must set our mind to having this peace. If you cannot seem to gain peace in your life, then the Word of God is not in you. There can be no other result from the Words of Jesus then peace. He has told us what will happen in the world. He has told us what will happen to us. He has told us what He is doing. His Word gives us the hope we need for the peace we need to do what He has called us to do.
While chaos is erupting around you, you will be the one people look to for peace in the situation. They will look to you for stability. If this is what you want than gaining a peace from Jesus is the only way you will be able to do this. You must calm yourself enough to hear from Jesus, know His laws enough to know what is right and wrong and know that you are about to sow a peace no one will be able to understand unless they love Jesus Christ. Therefore, I beseech you, brothers and sisters, to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:1). Our love for each other, our lowliness and gentleness with longsuffering bearing with each other comes from a bond of peace. You can have this peace, with me, and your brethren. It is the best feeling in the world to know that there is nothing you can do that God cannot handle so go live in peace.
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The 3 Ways God Speaks to Us
Do you love Jesus? If you do John 14:21 says âHe who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.â If you love Jesus you can expect to hear from Him but does He speak to us all the same? Yes. He uses the same method of speaking to me as He will use with you, He just talks about different things. I was amazed one time when a famous Christian teacher was giving a conference, which I attended in Mississauga, Ontario, and God was talking to her about the exact same thing He was talking to me about. I used to be jealous about those things because I wanted to be special. Well guess what, I am special, because He is telling me the same thing He is telling someone else, who is much more popular than me. How amazing is that? This was a revelation for me. I want you to know that Jesus speaks to everyone who loves Him. He doesnât have favourites. He spoke to Beth the same thing He was speaking to me about. He not only speaks to the people He loves His timing is also impeccable. He manifests Himself at the perfect time to show us the perfect path for us to travel on.
I want to give you a picture of what following Godâs path is like so can visualize what you are doing when you follow Jesus. Picture a road with white solid lines on both sides. Look into the horizon and see trees, millions of trees. Your path disappears but you can see something in the distance that looks like the foundation of a building. It is huge but there is no floor, walls or roof. Your first question will be, âHow do I get to that place?â The answer, âFollow Jesus.â Your second question, âHow can I get the actual building above the foundation?â The answer, âListen to Jesus.â Your path is of Jesus, for Jesus and with Jesus. When you are walking on gravel, not knowing your direction, look to Jesus because He has already paved a path for you to travel. It is all about listening and following but if you lose sight of Him there are three ways to get sight of Him again, His Words, nature and humans.
Way One: Words
We know that Jesus speaks because we have evidence of that in the Bible. He spoke the Heavens into being, this world into being and He spoke us into being. He may have been speaking a different language than us, but He was used Words that can be translated into our language. He doesnât just use His own voice but He used breath. He breathes out what He wants us to know. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17). He speaks so you will be equipped to do His work. His purpose for speaking is you. His purpose for speaking is them. His purpose for speaking is Jesus. The plan of the Father is forefront in His mind when He speaks. He never says anything the Father hasnât told Him to say (John 12:49). He leads us into the plan the Father has for us and for Him. He manifests Himself in the Word of God (Holy Bible), so when He manifests Himself through nature, we know it is Him.
Way Two: Nature
From the Word of God we know the Father manifested Himself as clouds, fire, wind, rain, storms, and many more. When Paul tells us, in Romans 1:20, Jesus reveals Himself through nature giving us no excuse for not knowing Him we too must look for Him in nature. My description of following Jesus is following Him through nature. It is the best way to describe the things of God. Even Jesus used nature to describe who the Father was. Natural disasters come to speak to us. If you are unclear about how the Father uses nature you need to read the Bible more often because He uses natural things to speak almost as much as He used words. His words move mountains. His words flooded the earth.
I live in an area that feels all the seasons. It is winter right now and we have 14 inches or 35.5 cm of snow on the ground. It is cold outside so when spring comes I appreciate it more than if it was warm all winter. I live in the most Southern part of Canada. My back deck is my favourite place to be because it is like being in the forest. I love to see the creatures God created coming through my yard. We have no domestic creatures to allow Godâs wild creatures to roam free unhindered. If I sit still enough a squirrel will get within inches of me before it sees me and scampers away. When you know Jesus you know His nature speaks to us. The beauty of it speaks to us. The stillness of it speaks to us. The volatility of it speaks to us. Nature speaks to us of the power of the Father. He uses that same power in people.
Way Three: Humans
It is the job of every person on this earth to do the will of the Father including Jesus. Jesus, who is God Himself, said, âI can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.â (John 5:30) If Jesus can do nothing of Himself then we can do nothing of ourselves. It is our job to follow Jesus who tells us what the will of the Father is but He is not just leading us He is leading every believer on this earth into the will of the Father. The Father will use both believers and non-believers to get us into His path. He uses believers to sharpen our character and non-believers to show us the world to drive us back to His character. The Father send Jesus to us and unbelievers so we stay on task. It is our character that drives us to the work of the Lord. It is that work and the character behind it that draws people to Jesus.
The building that goes on the foundation are people. The Father will send people to you to sharpen you and for you to serve. We erect the wall of our ministry with the people we serve. Every time we serve someone in the capacity we are assigned they are changed. That change establishes us as a servant in that ministry. The foundation begins to be enclosed by our works. He is sending us to help people speak His word, teach His word, and act out His word as an example to others. We do not have Jesus walking around as our example but we do have humans who are capable of having the character of Jesus on this earth. Many have done it and so will I.
The only way we can follow Jesus is through His manifestations. If we cannot see or hear him, we will get lost. We can only see and hear Him when we love Him because that is the only way He will manifest Himself to us. We see him more from love to love. One day you will discover your love for Him has grown beyond what you could ever imagine you could love. You cry at the hearing of His name. You smile at the sight of Him in nature. You want to serve His people out of love for Him. You love because you know what Jesus is doing in other peopleâs lives. He is manifesting Himself to them in the same way He manifested Himself to you. He is breathing His life into them with His words. He is showing them the beauty of the nature of things. He is sending people to them to serve and be served. His plan for us is remarkable and irresistible. Once you start seeing Jesus every day you will start going through withdrawals when you donât and need to get Him back in your sight again. He has this effect on everyone who loves Him.
Recently I heard a song I want you to hear too. It is called So Will I by Hillsong United. This song speaks of Godâs manifestations to us. He is the One who never leaves the one behind so if you have not seen His manifestations and you love Him, donât worry He will not leave you behind. Your path is already paved. Your foundation is already there. The people you will serve are there waiting for you. What He speaks never comes back void (Isaiah 55:11).
For a complete teaching on this topic combine this Revealed in Me Blog post with Episode 5 of Pursuing Biblical Direction on WE Podcast.
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The 3 Ways to be Guided with His Eye
You know I believe that the Bible is the best way to find information about how to live your life, but I am especially thrilled to tell you it is excellent at helping us make good decisions. Every day we are faced with decisions, some easy some hard. What we choose to do with the power we have to decide is based on many things. Our history can play a role, our present and our future dreams and goals. The problem is we donât think much about the future when it comes to making our current decisions. We are a generation of impatient decision makers. Why should we wait when we can have it today? The issue with that premise is, what we want today, can hurt us in the future. Take some time to look around you. Find something in the room you have purchased without thinking. As I look around me, I see purchases that are wasting away. Money that could have been used for more important things for the Lord. These were hasty decisions on my part and I am sure you can see yours sitting there too.
What does our Lord have to say about this issue with decision making? Psalm 32:8 âI will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.â Jesus has an eye on the future of His kingdom, that we do not understand, nor can we see. His eye is the eye we should look through. Our decision making should always be guided by His eye, not our own. We should look through the lens of the Bible for the way to make every decision we are facing. This is not to say that we cannot make decision on our own. When we become mature in the Word, we will be able to make decisions without consulting Jesus because we KNOW what He would say. We know specifically because we have been in this roundabout before. He has showed us His way out of the ditch and we do not want to go back for this decision. We will learn to trust God, we will learn to ask for wisdom and we will watch Him transform our skills for making godly decisions. We will be changed.
Way One: Trust Him, Proverbs 3:5
His eye is trustworthy. He has guided people from the time He created us. For six thousand years He has been showing people how to live an abundant life. If an abundant life is your goals then trusting God is the only way there. Leaning on your own understanding will not lead you to the abundant life, it will lead you to the self-serving life of the world. This will make you a slave to the world always serving them from your ditch. If you have been on this roundabout before it is time for change.
Today, I want you to stop making hasty decisions and set you mind to being guided by Jesus. If that means you are not allowed to make any decision until you know they are from Jesus, then so be it. His eye has greater knowledge than yours, so look through His eye first.
Way Two: Ask Him for Wisdom, James 1:5; James 3:17
To see through the eye of Jesus you need to know His eye. If you think not making decisions is hard, at first, wait until you try to look through the lens of the Bible. Do not get frustrated because you can do this. When you love Jesus, He reveals Himself and what He expects from you. This is the wisdom we want. We want to know Him, so we can follow Him where He wants us to be.
Today, wait before you make a decision to see if you can see Jesus already there. This is he greater knowledge you want. You want to know if this decision will lead you on the path he has paved for you or the ditch beside it. His eye knows where you need to be to accomplish His greater good.
Way Three: Watch, Romans 12:2
As you begin this Biblical decision-making process you may not notice the changes happening in you. Every Biblically based decision you make may cause turmoil within you but outside you, life is changing. Jesus will allow you to see through His eye to see the ramifications of your godly decisions. He will show you how positive His path can be when you decide to follow Him.
Today, keep your eyes open to the changes going on outside of you. Those of us who are already there so we can see the changes. Donât be afraid to talk to us. We will encourage you.
The way to make better decisions is Godâs way. Time is a better indicator of our progress than anything else. We have been making ungodly decisions for many years and we will not begin to make godly decisions over night. We need to spend time talking to Jesus about how we can begin doing this today, right now. Our fervent discussions with Jesus will result in great knowledge toward becoming a decision maker He can use for His will. We need to commit our mind to change our decisions from worldly decisions to godly ones. If we do we will learn to trust Jesus, we will learn to ask Jesus for wisdom and we will watch as Jesus transforms our skills for making godly decisions. We will be changed. We can only see that change if we are looking through the eyes of Jesus. The worldâs eyes are filled with sin, but the eyes of Jesus look past sin to the abundant life. Let His eyes guide you today and see the future of good making good decisions.
Combine this blog with Episode 3: The Future of Making Good Decisions podcast on WE Podcast.
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You may not be Certain, but God is!
A mouse is not how I would ever describe myself but I might now because our God saw fit to change me. Those who are not close to me might call me a mouse. I am passionate about my God and passionate about women. I like to have fun and be boisterous. When I am having fun, it is no place for meekness but when I am discussing our God, now that is another story. I become who He has trained me to be and I am certain you donât know the half of it or even any of it. You know what your history tells you to see.
I remember when I was first saved I was a Bible thumping Christian. When I was taught the truth I had to teach everyone that truth, even if they didnât want to hear it. I would follow then around until they said, âUncle!â If that is Godâs truth then they needed to know it too, or so I thought. I was filled with pride but now I am qualified to teach with certainty. Oh, donât get me wrong, I still get over exuberant but I never get angry at anyoneâs lack of hearing or knowledge. I know now that you are born for great things but you need to be trained to do them in your time not mine. The great Teacher is the one who will teach you. I am here to drop the seeds. This knowledge is what brought me to a certainty that I can teach women, at any time, in any situation, even if I am certain they are not hearing.
Have you ever told someone something ten times and still they forgot it? Have you ever told someone something ten minutes ago and they forgot? We are surrounded by people who learn differently than us. As a teacher, I was having a hard time with this concept because I was insecure, not my students. When I am supposed to learn something, I learn it quickly. That is a trait God gave me from birth. The quick learning trait caused me to flip from pride to insecurity and back again every minute of the day. I am also gifted with administration which did not help my insecurity at all. I could envision great plans for the future of a product, a person or a function but was halted because no one else had that vision. A woman I worked with tied up some loose ends for me. She was sent by God, for that season, to teach me what my heart did not know. The knowledge I now had, forced me to deal with my uncertainty in Godâs vision for me. Maybe He is seeing something I am not?
If I am a quick learner and had vision that no one could see, why do I feel so stupid? If I am made in the image of God, why do I think I am ugly? Can people see how insecure I am? Can God see how unqualified I am to help women? These unanswered questions were holding me back. How can this turn out for the glory of God? That is the one vision I did not have, as much as I tried to conjure it up. God knew exactly who He was training and what to do to straighten my mind out. I knew where I was going with God but I had no idea how I would become qualified. Do you feel the same? Has God told you His plan for you yet you continually believe you are not qualified or worthy?
He chose me just as He has chosen you. His plan for us is so spectacular that we cannot believe it. He takes us insecure, beaten up, drug around women, picks us up, dusts us off and sets us loose on His people. We say the wrong thing at the right time, we do the best thing at the worst time and we learn our greatest lesson at the nastiest of times. He uses each and every event to build up our faith in Him until we trust Him implicitly. Then He reminds us why He chose us, what He has planned for us and that we are perfectly qualified to do it. He puts an unshakable certainty in us. When we build up our own exaggerated plan He sends someone to us to bring us back to His plan. His plan will always prevail. His plan changes us from the inside so we can walk with certainty in His plan for the world. Certain in God and certain in me!
This certainty will not stop bad things from happening or stop people from hating us. God changing us and making us certain about who we are just makes us understand the works of God and the devil better. The devil may use people to harm us but God means if for good to save many people alive (Genesis 50:20). Because we have developed an unshakable certainty in our God and in ourselves we can walk in the character He has developed in us. We can fall in line with the plan of God for us to save many people alive even if it is outrageous and audacious. Do not let your uncertainty in your own capabilities trump His certainty in you. He is certain you can do it, so go do it! Whatever your task is from God, you are qualified, and He is certain you will save many alive, I promise.
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I Think I want that Thingamabob   Part 2
Power your Plan
In the last blog we discussed self-control. There is power in your self-control even though when we first start controlling our lives it feels like we are powerless. Matthew 5:37 tells us that anything other than self-control is from the devil. Self-control is born from being able to say âyesâ when appropriate and ânoâ when that is appropriate. We must learn to control the impulses we have, so when God speaks to us revealing our direction, we are not controlled by the world. We must be committed to following Jesus, steadfast at the cause and patient when it looks so far away. The power that sets your self-control on fire for that thingamabob depends highly on your planning skills. A goal is one thing but the plan can make or break a goal. Our God is not just about us being there He is about how we get there as well.
Picture your desire (Godâs will for you) as a mansion on a hill. God has given you a picture of what that looks like. For me, it is the Hope Devoted, Life Skills Center for Women. For you, it could be the book He wants you to write, a house big enough to be hospitable, a ministry at your church or whatever thingamabob God wants you to have. Picture that at the top of the hill with nothing but trees between you and it. The only way there is a dirt road designed just for you. You get on your ATV and go praying for a safe journey. The Almighty has empowered you with His tenacious voltage (ATV) and He is lighting your way with it. As you continue you realize the road behind you has been paved. You are making it easier for others to follow the same road. What you cannot see, for the trees, is the monstrous ditches coming up on both sides of your dirt road, the absence of filling stations and the washouts. Your ATV has enough power to get through each of these but you must hold onto it.
Your Plan is your Power
The Almightyâs tenacious voltage (ATV) is your power to get to your mansion. His vision for you is what you are striving for. It is that mansion on the top of the hill you want bad. For you to reach that mansion you MUST hold fast to the ATV. There are going to be seasons of cold and seasons of hot while you are driving on the dirt road. Hold fast, for you will reap the benefits if you do not give up.
To hold fast to the ATV you must know your God. His voltage can only be felt when you are in constant contact with Him. If you do not know Him you will not feel His voltage. His voltage can be found in the Word of God. You read it. You know it. You ponder it. You understand it. You do it. You feel it. That is the order in which the voltage travels. You have this Powerful generator inside you to use but it needs fuel. The Word of God is your fuel for this generator. The less time you tap into this filling station the shorter the distance you will be able to travel. The more you more you fill the further you can go. This picture is the same for every Christian and the fuel source is also the same. Let us plan our travel down this dirty road.
Plan Your Ditch Dwelling
You are driving on the dirt road comfortably with no obstacles. You can see your desire at the top of the hill but you are still miles away. You know if you hold fast to your ATV you can make it in no time. You hit a pot hole in the road, lose control and fall straight into the ditch. You try to push your ATV up the side of the ditch but donât have enough strength. You decide to get onto your ATV and drive through the ditch. The weeds, the soupy water and the mud are slowing you down to a snailâs pace. What a nightmare? There are snakes, frogs, cattails, green goo and scanky smelling fogs along the way. You are deep in the valley.
Did your plan include ditch dwelling? There is a reason you are in the ditch. We ditch dwell to build strength. The mansion we have been given by God has to be built by us. It has to be defended by us. The Israelites spent forty years wondering in the dessert until the second generation built up enough strength to do what God has told them to do. When it was time to go into their promised land God told Joshua three times in Joshua 1:1-9 to be strong and have courage. God will keep us in the ditch until we build the character traits He needs us to have to be able to build our ministry and defend the position we have in our ministry. Our plan for what will happen while ditch dwelling has to be implemented while on the road because our overall plan is hard to see when we are in the ditch. Planning to gain enough strength to hang on to the ATV tightly while in the ditch will ensure we exit from the ditch each time.
Plan the Power Loss
You have finally exited the ditch. Your strength is gaining so maybe the next ditch wonât be so deep or so long. The road is being paved again behind you and all is well in your world. You lose sight of it. Where did it go? Your mansion, itâs gone. You have lost the power needed to stay on the road. You put your foot on the brake to stop. You look around. There are no filling stations anywhere. The filling stations are your lifeline to traveling. They consist of Christian teachings, Christian friends, and your self-help books. They are all gone. You are all alone.
If your fuel is from people this will be a rude awakening. The fuel used to power ourselves cannot be people it has to be the Word of God and His revelation for our life. If we rely on people to tell us what to do and how to get to our mansion we will spend much time in the ditch and on the wrong road. God has revealed to us the dirt road that WILL get us to His mansion. The power of the vision God gave us can fade. We will not be able to see it nor tap into it as easily as we could when we first saw it. The long passage of time and ditch dwelling can cause this to happen. If we donât plan to refuel ourselves with the Word of God we will lose our connection to the constant power source. Staying plugged into the Word of God has to be part of our plan on the road to our mansion.
Plan to Portage
You are out of the ditch and have your mansion in sight again. You put the ATV in drive to travel. You are aware of the ditches and of the chance still remains to run out of gas. You are building strength and keeping fuel in your generator. Then you see it, water over the road. The road is washed out and there is no way for you to continue unless you lift your ATV onto your shoulders to wade through it. The water is rushing so fast at times you have to stand still because moving will push you off the path. Sometimes, it gets higher than your mouth and it takes all your strength to jump up for a breath. You are drowning.
The world is one weight on our shoulders and to lift the will of God up there too is enough to make us feel like we are drowning. Sometimes, the will for God for our lives feels like a burden to us. The dirt road looks good to us compared to this washed out road covered with rushing waters. We compare the burden of carrying the world on our shoulder with carrying Godâs plan for us too. There is no comparison. Godâs plan for us is self-sufficient. He planned it for us and He will bring it into fruition. He is filling in ditches, revealing the fuel and parting waters for us to get to that mansion. We donât have to pick up the ATV it is already on the other side waiting for us.
The Power in the Plan
There is no work we can do to get us closer to our mansion before God wants us there. The mansion we see at the top of the hill is the desire God has for our life. It is not our desire or someone elseâs desire for us. The Almightyâs tenacious voltage is our power to get there. The road is being paved to our mansion. To pave a road it first has to be made level and graveled. Ditches need to be dug and rest stops with filling stations added. Drains need to be placed in low lying areas to avoid wash outs. The fulfillment of His plan for your life is what paves the road behind us. Others may travel on our paved road for a time but they have their own dirt road to travel, their own ditches to get out of and their own water to wade through on the way to their own mansion. The generator used by us is not the same one used by others. The dirt road we travel is designed specifically for the windy, hilly path to our mansion. It is designed to make sure that by the time we begin building our mansion it is built on a sturdy foundation. The foundation must be on the Rock, Jesus Christ. The path that is being paved must always lead people to Jesus. We are preparing the way to Jesus, for many people, by obeying Godâs will for our life.
We need not wonder why God tells us where we are going but doesnât show us the whole sorted path. Learning to believe Him and trust Him will always put us on the path of teaching others to do the same. If you want that thingamabob, you shall have it.
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Know Your God
When I was first saved I was ignorant of the power of God in my life but I could see it in othersâ lives or at least I thought I could. My ignorance resulted in my belief God was under our control. I learned all manner of lies and believed them. The biggest problem with that is I could not predict what God would do next. I was always surprised by what He was doing. God can surprise us but that is not what He wants to do. He wants us to know Him well enough to know what His next move will be. The reason we are living such unspectacular lives is because we are controlling God, He is not controlling us.
The maturity of the skills we use to get what is available to us through the Father is concurrent with our knowledge of Him. For example, when setting a boundary regarding a person who is toxic to you (Christian or non-Christian) an immature in knowledge of God (IK) Christian would just stay away from that person based on their out of control reaction while in their presence. A mature in knowledge of God (MK) Christian would be seen in their presence but have a boundary to mind their own business while talking to them. The difference is striking between the two. The power is different between the two. The knowledge is different between the two. How they control themselves is different between the two. How they manage the life God has given them is different between the two.
In the example above the immature in knowledge Christian will avoid those she does not get along with and blame it on them. When we argue with a fool we look like a fool as well. Although the IK Christian doesn’t know that yet because she is not in the know with Jesus. Her life skills are lacking because she has absolutely no idea yet the Bible is an encyclopedia of knowledge in how to improve our life skills. She continues to avoid the lessons therein because she thinks the world has all the answers. She cannot manage the little number of gifts given to her by God; they are being managed by the world still. Day by day the Father teaches her about how to manage the life He has bestowed upon her. He buries a dream deep in her that He puts on fire every so often to draw her to Him. She continues to wonder how she will have the dream burning within her. She works hard to get it with worldly skills but all of her work fails. She continues to lose control of her emotions, she continues in debt, she continues to argue, she continues to set goals that will fail and she continues to think like the world. In her personal time with God she is learning the dream is God’s not hers. She is losing the fight to control her life. She is relenting more each day until one day she becomes an MK Christian.
The mature in the knowledge Christian faces the God she knows constantly because He speaks truth into her life. She gives her heart to Jesus over and over again until He does what He wants with it. Her actions reflect His way and her thinking His thoughts. She begins to manage her goods for His glory and she sees the dream He has planted in her as hers to live. Everything she does is toward that dream. She begins to control her behaviour when in the presence of those she previously had lost control. She thinks about the souls of others before her own because her hope is established within her. Knowing Jesus has freed her to work toward her dream knowing He will establish that too. She praises Jesus for who He is and burns to introduce Him to other people His way. She is different from everyone else. Her life is salvaged by our God and she knows it. Her knowledge keeps getting deeper of her God through His Words to her. Her life has become skills the Biblical way.
Our life skills will never improve without our God to show us how to improve them and for what reason. He burns a dream in your heart and it is for that reason you will improve every life skill. Knowing God is the only way to find the answers. His knowledge pours out over us like a drip at first then He floods us with His knowledge as we use it to mature our skills to His glory. We have to search for people who have mature skills and ask God to explain it to us. We tolerate being in the presence with those whose skills are set against God and ask Him to explain it. We must be with those who know Jesus because they know how to be different. Being with them shows us how to be different. The difference is simply in our education. I want the whole world to say there is something different about me and I want that for you too. Don’t let the prospect of being different scare you, educate yourself and know your God!
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Awareness Makes us Abound Part 1
There is no way to improve any of our life skills until we are aware of the actions we are taking to create our issues. There are general reasons such as the people we keep company with, where we choose to spend our nights or our environment. This is not an exhaustive list by any means but the point is still the same. General reasons for our life not being as abundant (John 10:10) as God has told us it could be are the âapparent to allâ reasons. Anyone can guess these reasons therefore you are already aware of them! If you live in a crime filled neighbourhood I can guess you will either have crimes committed against you or you are committing them. If you keep company with drug addicts I can guess you will become a drug addict too. If you are spending your nights with a man not your husband I can guess you are committing adultery. Â These are not the deeper truths you need to know to improve your life skills. How did you get to this place in time starting from where you are now?
These issues are the result of the deeper lies causing you to be where you are today. We have done and thought many things up until this point to lead us to where we are. It is these lies we need to become aware of. Sometimes it takes effort to become aware of the lies we believed but I think we have to take the time to discover them. If we do not we will always be in crime, always fall into addiction or adultery and always fall into sin. What is worse than that is we will never see it coming therefore never be able to avoid it. We have buried them so deep only the Holy Spirit can make us aware of our deep lies leading us into sin. The Word of God gives us the way out because it is filled with the truth that can go deep. It is the Life Skills Encyclopedia I use for every lie I found myself believing. Let us go to the Life Skills Encyclopedia for awareness of the lies and to find the escape (1 Corinthians 10:13). When we become aware of the lies we have believed and our behaviour resulting from them we will either abound in foolishness or we will abound in knowledge. The Life Skills Encyclopedia has a lot to say about both. We will only discuss a few therefore I challenge you to search for more in your private time with God.
Abound in Foolishness
If you choose to remain in your lies even after you have become aware of them the Life Skills Encyclopedia has some pretty dire advice for you. Heeding it will change your life, ignoring it will cause you great harm. Proverbs 9:13 tells us âA foolish woman is clamorous; She is simple, and knows nothing.â Foolish women make a lot of noise to draw attention to themselves because this is the only way they know how to get it. Why? They are simple and know nothing about what they need. Knowing not what we need is detrimental to our health because we grab at anything including things that will hurt and destroy us. We will abound in foolishness throughout the whole day.
We are also told that the foolish woman pulls down her own house with her hands (Proverbs 10:14). Imagine taking the time and effort to build your house (figurative) then setting to work tearing it all down with your own bare hands. Destroying everything you have worked for, knowing your actions will destroyed, is painful and causes undo heartache. We donât wake up in the morning with the intention of destroying yet when we continue to believe lies that is exactly what we do. We believe the lie, wisdom is well beyond us, and therefore we cannot attain it. We then continue to abound in foolishness throughout the whole day.
The last point, our foolishness does not just affect us it has a ripple effect. âFor the foolish woman will speak foolishness, and her heart will work iniquity: To practice ungodliness, to utter error against the Lord, to keep the hungry unsatisfied, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.â (Modifications mine, Isaiah 32:6) Our family, friends (Saved and unsaved) and co-workers are watching us act like fools even after we call ourselves âChristianâ. Foolish behaviour hurts people by our words and deeds. We set out to hurt people. We are loud and obnoxious tearing down every ounce of good works we have done in the past causing the alienation of the people around us. Abounding in foolishness has made our friends and family think us a fool.
Stop the Foolishness
We need to stop the foolishness by becoming aware of our lies and come to the knowledge of God which is truth which will allow us to avoid our destruction from lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). Too often today we are subjected to fools who think what they are saying is right, let us not be one. I want that we should live a life filled with abundance but if we spend every day tearing it all down abundance wonât last long. We can have abundance with little and we can have it with a lot. We can be foolish with a little and we can be foolish with a lot. If you are suffering from foolishness stop it now. We were fools before we knew God but now we know Him we need to put foolishness off. Do what you need to do to become aware of it this week (talk to a friend, journal or read the Bible to get revelation about it). Next week we will learn what it takes to abound in knowledge from the Life Skills Encyclopedia.
You can email me at kathleen@thelifeskillsstrategist.com anytime to ask a question or you can post your question in this comment section.
