4GIVEN

Never underestimate God’s ability to pull you out, pick you up, or see you through! God has called his children to live life by faith. Sure, life can get difficult and things may not always go as we plan. However, ultimately God has the final say. Living life by faith is not an easy task because it’s difficult to believe what you can’t see. Christopher Columbus said, “You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.” In the book of Hebrews we learn that faith is evidence of things yet seen and evidence is the proof, confirmation, and affirmation that God is in control!! Charles Spurgeon said, “Faith obliterates time, annihilates distance, and brings future things at once into its possession.” I am of the conviction that life is not suppose to make ‘sense’, rather it is suppose to make ‘faith’!

God never ceases to amaze me! Sometimes it’s difficult to trust Him primarily because it’s uncomfortable to trust what I don’t know nor understand. However, one thing is certain, He always knows what’s best and He never will leads us to destruction. Romans 8:27-29 (Msg) put it this way, “He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him.” So be encouraged today and know that God always has your best interest in mind. We may never understand God’s wisdom but we simply must to trust His will!

Most people work for retirement. However, I work to leave an inheritance and I am not only referring to money or material possessions. As you know all these things are temporal. The thing of value, I am leaving behind is the importance of knowing Christ and making Him known. 1 Peter 1:3-4, “Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.” Yup, our inheritance in Christ is imperishable, unspoiled, and unfading. That’s right, what we have in Christ is an enduring possession. As creatures of this world, it is hard for us to imagine colors that never fade, excitement that never flags, or value that never depreciates; but our inheritance is not of this world and its glorious intensity will never diminish. John Calvin writes of our inheritance, “We do not have the full enjoyment of it at present. . . . We walk . . . in hope, and we do not see the thing as if it were present, but we see it by faith. . . . Although, then, the world gives itself liberty to trample us under foot, as they say; although our Lord keeps us tried with many temptations; although he humbles us in such a way that it may seem we are as sheep appointed to the slaughter, so that we are continually at death’s door, yet we are not destitute of a good remedy. And why Seeing that the Holy Spirit reigns in our hearts, we have something for which to give praise even in the midst of all our temptations. . . . [Therefore,] we should rejoice, mourn, grieve, give thanks, be content, wait” (from Calvin’s Ephesian sermons, delivered in Geneva, 1558—59).

Lord God, I am praying for revival and spiritual reawakening. Lord, today move every believer from a state of dormancy or stagnation. Help us to to embrace the resurfacing of our love for You, and to appreciate Your holiness. Give us a passion for Your word and Your church. Instill in us convicting awareness of personal and corporate sin. Pour in us a spirit of humility, and a desire for repentance and growth in righteousness. Reinvigorate and deepen every believer’s faith, opening our eyes to the truth in a fresh and new way. Give our nation a fresh start, a clean slate that marks a new beginning of a life lived in obedience to You. Father, break the charm and power of the world, which blinds the eyes of men, and generates both the will and power to live in this world but not of this world. Thank You Lord for the great outpouring of Your Holy Spirits in our hearts, homes, communities, cities, and nation. In Jesus’ name, amen and amen!!

We can choose to be either spiritual thermometers or spiritual thermostats.
Spiritual thermometers generally requires very little power to operate however, it can only read situations. 
Spiritual thermostats are always plugged into a power that is greater than itself. Not only can it read the situation, it has the ability to change the situation. 
This power Source is able to change the atmosphere, environment, situation, and all circumstances.
Spiritual thermostats are able to tap in to the source of its power through prayer and supplication. James 5:16 says, “Prayer is Powerful and Effective.” 
Beloved, when we are connected to the Source of our strength we are able to focus on the promise rather than the problem, the Savior rather than the situation, and the conclusion rather than the circumstance.
Let me ask you this, is it time for an upgrade?

The vehicle that God uses to accomplish his will on earth is the body and the body is made up of many parts. (I Cor 12:12) The body functions much like an automotive engine and each part is independently responsible for performing it’s own task. However, each part is equally codependent and works collectively with all of the other parts in the engine. One of the most important part used to drive multiples peripheral devices in most automotive engines is called the serpentine belt. In order for the engine to work efficiently all of the other parts must work in unisons and the serpentine belt pulls this parts together. When one part fails to perform it places strain on the serpentine belt eventually the engine will most likely burn out or die. My point is two fold; A.) In order for the body to be effective we all must do our own part in the ministry and B.) The agent that binds us all together is the serpentine belt aka love. Unity begins with love and it’s love that keeps us going when the enemy in this world tries to steal our joy, kill our testimony, and destroy our ministries. Colossians 3:14 says, “And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

Men, lets be honest! When life hits the proverbial fan, the first thing we do is try to fix it. For example your wife says, “Hunny, I need to call ARS because the kitchen sink faucet is leaking.” How do we respond? “You don’t need to call a plumber…I will fix it.” Sure enough we go in with all we got and 3 days later we end up calling ARS to fix the leaky faucet. Ultimately, God is the fixer! Some situations are too big for us to fix and God is saying in those moments to surrender it to me and He will fix it! Rick Warren put it this way, “You know you’re surrendered to God when you rely on God to work things out instead of trying to manipulate others, force your agenda, and control the situation. You let go and let God work.” So, my brothers and sisters, grab hold of faith – believe God to absolutely change and transform your life. If He provided for the destitute widow, for the demon-possessed boy, and for Jairus’ daughter, he can provide for you. Surrender and turn it over to God; He can fix anything.

We become victorious when we pulverize our horizontal problems with vertical praises! Known for his evangelical zeal and his commitment to the word of God Adrian Rogers once said, “God is ready to move on your behalf in victory but He will not do one solitary thing until you praise Him. Sadly we secure our defeat by our lack of praise. Prayer infuses us with the energy of God and confuses the enemies of God. If you know your problem is caused by the enemy, then praise the Lord! It doesn’t fit the devil’s grid of how we are to attack problems.”

*Failure is not final, it’s only temporal. Often times we find it difficult to rise from the ashes of failure because we focus more on being disappointed rather than getting back up and pressing on. Have you ever considered that failure may be part of God’s plan? After Jesus’ crucifixion and death, the disciples thought that all of their hopes and dreams had come crashing down. They had lost all hope because the Lord of Glory was put to death. What appeared to them as a gigantic failure was actually the most incredible victory ever. Romans 8:28 says, ” For those who love God ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER…” Maya Angelou poetically proclaimed in her poem entitled, ‘Still I Rise’: 
Out of the huts of history’s shame

I rise

Up from a past that’s rooted in pain

I rise

I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,

Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear

I rise

Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear

I rise

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,

I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I rise

I rise

I rise.
*Failure is merely a stair step away from another soon to be claim victory!!