Tag: daily inspirational quotes

Overcoming a Shutdown

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Text Free Photo by Tobi on Pexels

If my computer shuts down unexpectedly while I’m online, when I sign back on, in the corner of my screen there appears a button that says “restore.”  This button is designed to take you back to the tabs and sites you were visiting or working on before the crash or shut down occurred.  It is there to bring you back to the place where you once were.

Have you ever experienced a shutdown moment in life?  A time when it seems that the walls came crashing in and you lost sight of where you were?  Has there ever been a time when you just need a refreshing?  You needed to step back, evaluate everything presently before you, and start again?  I’m pretty sure we can all raise our hand to attest to being in similar situations at one time or another.  A time when you just felt depleted and needed to be restored.

Restoration is right up God’s alley.  Everything in the Bible points mankind to His holy desire to see people restored.  God cares about us.  Not only the spiritual us, but He cares about all of us.  Every tidbit in life, He is well aware of.  Many people only look to God in the big and dramatic areas of life, but God is concerned about your well-being in the whole of your life.

John once wrote, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth,” (3 John 2).  I believe that John wanted us to walk out the restored life in our daily living.  Not just claiming it for our salvation (which, needless to say, is very important), but to have it as an active mindset that goes before us and prospers us in every part of our daily living.

Slumps are all around us, but we are not called to be slump dwellers.  We have a choice of how to handle the strains and afflictions we face in this life.  Peter gives us this advice:

“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” (1 Peter 5:6-10)

In these few verses, Peter doesn’t hide the adversities one faces, but he highlights what to do with them.  First, he states to humble yourself before God and let Him exalt you (vs. 6).  When God is the one exalting you, you are restored!  Next, in verse 7, he tells his readers what to do with all those cares that are weighing you down, all those things that are making you feel like you are in a shutdown mode.  He says to get rid of them.  And, we are not to dispose of them any kind of way.  We are to give these burdens to God because He is the One who truly cares for you.  Once again, if God is caring for you and helping you to deal with your burdens, you are in a restored position.

There are things that can try to hinder and rob you of the restored life.  Following the above two verses, we see some of the afflictions and dealing with the enemy that people face and how we are to be on guard against the advances of it and be steadfast in our faith through it all. We have a responsibility to protect our restored status while pushing forth in the faith.

And lastly, in verse 10, Peter lets us know that though there may be suffering at times, it will never compare to the glory that we inherit by our Lord Jesus Christ.  It is He that will see us through.  It is He that will make us perfect.  It is He that will “stablish, strengthen, settle you.”  It is through Him you can be restored!

In our everyday life, as well as in the time to come after we pass from here, in Christ, we live a restored life.  Once in a while, we may feel that we have been knocked off our rocker, but remember who you are and whose you are.  In Him, we don’t have to stay in that “knocked off” state.  Follow Peter’s advice and give what you are dealing with to God and ask Him to hit the restore button in your life.

God wants you to be blessed in Him.  He wants you, more than anyone else, to live a successful Christian life.  Let Him in your world, your circumstances, and your situations, and lean on Him for complete restoration and healing.  He will pick you up, polish you off, and make you like new again.

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“Take it to the Cross!”

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Every worry and every fear, take it and leave it at the foot of that blood-stained banner that was raised for our freedom.

Every doubt and every hurt, take it to Him who is stretched wide upon those old rugged beams to experience fully the troubles we face.

Every sorrow and every tear, take it to Him whose nail-pierced hands flow with a life poured out for you and me.  He that endured the pain of the piercing knows of the rejection, the betrayal, and the indecency of evil we all face in this life.  He knows this and more for in His bearing, He held the crushing weight of all sin upon those beaten and slumped shoulders even as His heart cried out to the Father the agony of separation.

There is nothing we feel that He hasn’t already felt.

There is no experience so unique to us that He has not already carried the weight of.

There is no trouble we face that He hasn’t looked in the eye and gained the victory of it on that cross.

On that cross, He became authority and victor over all.  His kingship may have been inscribed in writing by man: “And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS,” (John 19:19), but God declared Him Ruler over all through His atoning sacrifice of the blood on that cross (Revelation 1:5; Romans 3:25; Matthew 28:18).

Whatever you are facing, take it to the cross and trust Him who was hung there so that you may rise to a life of victory today!

Why take it to the cross?

It’s the place where the King would suffer for our healing: “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” – Isaiah 53:5

It’s the place where reconciliation takes place and hostility is put to death: “He did this so that he might reconcile both to God in one body through the cross by which he put the hostility to death.” – Ephesians 2:16, CSB

It’s the place where we find the truest form of peace: “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” – Colossians 1:20

It’s the place where our sins were blotted out: “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.” – Colossians 2:14

It’s the place where we are given the opportunity to lay down the dead and pick up a life of righteousness: “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” – 1 Peter 2:24

And, it is the place where we experience true love: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” – John 3:16

Take it to the cross today!

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“Embracing the Promises of God!”

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Are you just saying, “AMEN!” to the preacher and the message, or are you really getting into an agreement with the words coming forth from the mouthpiece of God?  Do you think the songs that are sung, which carry His good word and lift your soul, do you think they are just to make you feel good for a moment, or are they truths binding themselves on your heart because you can see with eyes of faith what God really wants to do in your life?  Do you think the words written in that Holy Bible are just a collection of tales to temporarily inspire you or are they moments in the lives of others God is using to show you that He can do the same thing for you?

It’s one thing to hear messages, read the Word, and listen to the songs about the promises of God, and it’s another thing to grab hold of them for yourself and believe with a fervent grip that they are for you, too.  Embracing God’s promises is saying, “I may not have it now, but my faith is tied to what God already spoke over my life.  With my physical eyes, it may not currently be before me, but with my spiritual eyes, I am persuaded that God will do what He said He would do, and I embrace that truth!  I choose to hold on to what God said over all else!”

Embracing is active participation in claiming the promises of God for your life.  God gave mankind a will and He won’t force you to believe His promises, but oh how sweet it is if you do.  He puts it out there, and many times He gives evidence that it will happen (and sometimes He doesn’t), but it is up to each individual heart to not only accept it but to hold on to what He spoke for dear life.  That’s why Hebrews declares, “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)” (Hebrews 10:23; emphasis mine).   The word “us” in that verse tells us that it is our responsibility to lay hold of everything concerning our faith God speaks, including His promises.  If you believe that God is faithful, then believe He will faithfully follow through with all He spoke concerning you!

God will do His part without fail.  When the unwelcome interruptions of life come, our job is to keep on embracing that truth when facing whatever is before us.  Today, get a hold of the promises of God for your life and refuse to let them go.

“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” Hebrews 11:13

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“Lead Me.”

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Lead me to the cross where
I can lay my burden down.
Lead me to Him who will
never let me drown.

Lead me to the Rock
that is higher than I.
Lead me to the One who
bottles the tears I cry.

Lead me to Him who knows
all my cares and sorrow.
Who holds my future and
all of my tomorrows.

There, I find solace in
the grip of His embrace.
So, lead me where I can rest
from this exhausting race.

He’s my source and my shield;
my covenant and mercy.
Lead me to God, whom I love
to the bursting.

When life is overwhelming and
I don’t know what to do,
Lead me to Your arms, O Lord.
Lead me to You.

“From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” Psalm 61:2

Father God, we need You.  We cannot find the strength or wisdom on our own to properly care for the things and adversities we face.  But this we do know, You are our Rock.  You are the peace we find in the midst of all that overwhelms us.  Take us by the hand and lead us to You – our safe sanctuary, our hiding place, from all these storms that blow our way.  In the name of Jesus Christ, AMEN!

“Watch What You Eat!”

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What we put into our bodies matters.  The foods we eat can either help or hinder our health.  Sometimes, in our house, we stop at fast food restaurants to eat, but it is not an everyday occurrence.  I value what goes into my body.  Is every food choice the best choice?  No, but I try to make it a point to have the majority of what I eat be of nutritional value; to be something that will build me up and not tear me down.

Our spiritual lives work in the same manner.  We are what we eat, spiritually.  If all that we ever digest is the negatives of this world then we are robbing our spirit of the vital nutrients that can increase our awareness and spiritual health.  The Bible says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God,” (Rom. 10:17).  What we assimilate in our being is what will be produced in our spirit and in our lives.

God’s word has everything we need.  A daily diet of letting Him speak to us through His word, through His preachers and teachers will enrich our spiritual lives and make us stronger in Him.  When adversity and the storms of life arise, His word, which has already been deeply instilled in us pops into action and carries us through to the other side.

We need God’s word every day.  We need it to grow.  We need it to learn.  We need it to increase our faith.  We will never be the healthy Christians that we need to be if we leave the word of God out of our daily routines. God’s word will build you up and make you stronger in Him.   Many are diligent about their natural health but watch what you eat spiritually.  It can make the difference between spiritual health and spiritual sickness.

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Pray, and Go For It!

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Pray, and go for it! If God is leading you to it, He will see you through it. “Courage is fear that has said its prayers.” – Maya Angelou

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9, NASB

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Purpose in the Struggle | Another Look at the Hardships Faced in Our Christian Journey

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Why, we may wonder, why God does not just remove every obstacle and resistance to our faith?  Why in this journey must we fight?  Why must we strive against adversity in reaching where we are aiming to be?

Can a faith that is not exercised truly be called faith?  For if the road traveled is always smooth and the pathways are always leveled plains, how then will we ever learn to climb?  How will we learn to exert our muscles and pull our weight to mount upon the top? 

More strength only comes by using more strength.  More faith only comes by being forced to use more faith.  We can only learn to climb by experience.  We can only learn to push ahead by continuing to push ahead.  We can only learn to fight by being made to fight.

There are things that God knows His people will only learn by going through them.  That’s why Judges 3:2 says, “Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof;”. 

When choosing multiple services in life we tend to want to choose those with experience.  Take getting a simple hair cut for example.  We want those who have had plenty of practice perfecting their skill before attempting to put scissors near our heads which could alter the way we look for good or for bad.

God has many plans and purposes for His people but what we fail to see or have the patience for is the seasoning of the saint, the molding and perfecting that goes on behind the scenes.

I guarantee no one whom you have read about or seen doing great exploits for the Lord, just fell into that role ready to go.  There was some teaching.  There was some humbling.  There was some learning along the way.  It may have been behind closed doors and away from the eyes of the public, but God takes the time to make sure His vessels are properly prepared to go forth and hold all the potential and purposes He has for them.

The children of Israel might have been concerned as to why certain enemies were left in the neighboring surroundings.  By them, God was testing His people.  By them, God was teaching those to war who had never known war before.  God was causing faith muscles to be exercised.  He was training hearts to not focus on what they see in the enemy but on what they know about their God.

“Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:” (1 Peter 4:12).  There is no struggle or contention that does not come without a purpose.  Though it may not be pleasant it is plentifully seasoning your walk with the Lord.  Like the children of Israel, it is teaching your hands to war.

One can never be a good soldier without ever facing contentions.  One can never learn to fight unless they have been made to fight.  One can never learn to pray in earnest if they never had that petition that would draw them to the knee with fervency.  And one could never learn to seek and lean on Him if their heart were never stirred to do so through the challenges faced.

“Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:” (1 Peter 1:6-7).  It may not always feel like it, and it may not always feel good, but there is purpose in the hardships we face, especially when it comes to our faith which is found more praiseworthy in the eyes of Christ than gold that will perish.

Sometimes we may not understand everything and we may ask, “Why?”  But as we journey, may our eyes never leave Him who promised and is faithful (Hebrews 10:23).  Take heart, dear friend.  Through it all, at the end of our Christian race, we may look back and see the fruit those hard times produced, and we may see the purpose in the struggles.

“But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” (Job 23:10).

“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;” (2 Corinthians 4:17).

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28).

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“GOD’S POWER IS GREAT IN US AND FOR US!”

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GOD’S POWER IS GREAT FOR US AND IN US! In Christ, you have a God-ordained strength living inside of you. And, in the power of His Holy Spirit, He is able to do exceedingly so much more than you could ever ask or think. DON’T LIMIT WHAT GOD CAN DO!

“And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power.” Ephesians 1:19

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This Was God’s Doing! | God is the Creator of All

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Image by Barbara Jackson from Pixabay

“For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water.” 2 Peter 3:5

We all have a choice in what we choose to believe or not.  God is not going to arm-wrestle someone into faith.  God has blessed every human being with free will.  With that, they choose to follow Him or not.

“Willingly,” as stated above, implies that truth or no truth, those being referenced will not comply.  Their minds are made up to purposely follow their own ideas, their own beliefs, the dictates of their own heart, and a life of sin.  Their ignorance will not allow them to believe in the order of Creation as it was written in the Bible.  For too long man has opposed God’s grand truth and has tried to whittle it down to his own finite theories and ideas on how the world came to be.

But we read in Scripture, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).  All of creation begins with God:  “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2).

Before God stepped in there was just chaos.  He is the one “who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain” (Psalm 104:2).  Can a man even fathom catching one star that falls from the sky, let alone stretching out the “heavens” with galaxy upon galaxy and universe upon universe?

God can.

In the beginning, all He had to do was speak a word and creation obeyed and came into existence.  All that is in the sky, that looks like a cosmic “curtain” twinkling above our heads is because God is the one who made it to be so.

Peter addressed this truth in a rebuttal against the voice of scoffers and those who refuse to believe that by the very “word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water.”  

This was God’s doing, he insisted!   Nothing that we see in this world today existed, nor did it evolve from some microscopic species.  But on the third day of creation, referencing Peter’s point above, God said, “Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together in one place, and let dry land appear: and it was so.  And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering of together of the waters called he seas: and God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:9-10).

Although the order of creation is apparent and evident some still choose to disbelieve and remain ignorant.  But, the apostle Paul comes in and says this doesn’t excuse them.  “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse,” (Romans 1:20).

In the book of Genesis, we read the day-by-day detailed account of the story of Creation. All life begins and ends with God.  Acts 17:24, 28 says, “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands . . . For in him we live, and move, and have our being.”  He has the power to give breath (Genesis 2:7) and He has the power to take away breath (Psalm 104:29).

All of creation, man and beast, land, and those things that are in the sea and sky, are here because God made it so.  Many may try to refute this truth and remain ignorant of the fact, but this was God’s doing and His creative credit cannot be attributed to any other, nor can it be ignored.

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Everything you need . . .

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As we are walking this day, we are walking in His might. We are moving according to God working in us and through us. Even if we feel like we don’t have it all together or are not strong enough, we are leaning on His strength. Everything that you need to help you in the fight and made it through can be found in the power and strength of our God. “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” Ephesians 6:10

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