Embrace the Within no. 209

“For not by their own swords

did they conquer the land,

nor did their own arm

give them victory;

rather, it was your right hand,

your arm and the light of your face;

because you favored them” (Tehillim (Psa) 44:4).

Sometimes we get so caught up in ourselves and what fabulous things we think we can do without giving the victory in everything to Him. If I succeed, then it is not because of anything I have done. All glory and honor and praise are His and not mine.

I am human. And because of that humanity I am different from all other creatures. I was created in His image and that makes me different from all the other creatures. And I can also choose to forget how great He truly is when I think that I am special on my own. When I start to believe that I created me and there is no other authority greater than me, I get a distorted view of the created world and my role within that created world.

I am only another creature and not a creator. Everything that is created was created by Him and not me. His favor is what makes me special BUT that favor does not make me Him. And I think sometimes specialness, uniqueness becomes an excuse to make ourselves equals. BUT being an image of Him is not the same as being Him. And that is why victory, glory, and honor are for Him and not me.

We do like to get things twisted up in our brain when we should be working out of our heart. And in my heart I know that I need to love Him because He is the source of all things. In my heart I know that He gives me victory daily. In my heart I know that He is in control. He is still enthroned. I am His creature. The victory is always His.

Grace and Shalom to your home.

I love you. I forgive you. Have a blessed and abundant day!

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH

People are Not Easy to Love no. 20

“Trusting is being confident of what we hope for, convinced about things we do not see” (Messianic Jews (Heb) 11:1 CJB). Faith is an action. Hope is my confidence. And the most important part of my relationship with Him is prayer. People are not easy to love because people do not pray.

Earlier this year, I had a colleague come to me and discuss prayer. She said something to the effect that prayer wasn’t going to help anything. And rather than mirroring her secular thoughts on prayer, she was taken back when I affirmed the power of prayer. We have not had any further discussions on this topic BUT I always welcome these chances. People have given up on prayer. And that is because they are convinced that God does not hear. People are deceived into thinking prayer has no power. BUT there is no greater way to build our relationship with Him. There is no greater confidence and trust in His authority than affirming His power over all things. As Paul writes to the church in Corinth, “So we are always confident — we know that so long as we are at home in the body, we are away from our home with the Lord; for we live by trust, not by what we see” (2 Corinthians (2 Co) 5:6-7 CJB). I need to live by trust in what I do not see.

I cannot see God answer prayer. I have no idea how many things are going on with answering a prayer. There are so many things involved in prayer that are beyond my control. BUT the one thing I can control is my affirming His Kingship. I can act in faith by bringing my prayers to Him. I can show my confidence in Him by trusting in His authority. As He assured us, “Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, trust that you are receiving it, and it will be yours” (Mark (Mrk) 11:24 CJB).

I see it in myself before my journey today, I did not spend too much time in prayer. That has drastically changed. I am in prayer a lot. I am in prayer intentionally. I have sought out prayer groups because the Spirit moved me to do such. There is a lot of power in prayer if we take the time to work on that powerful tool we all are given open access to using. We all can pray. We need to choose to work on being people of prayer.

If we spent more time in prayer, then we would build a better relationship with Him. Spending time in prayer affirms His rule over our life. Through prayer, we become better Ambassadors of His Kingdom and show His importance in our lives. Prayer is a powerful tool that helps us love Him, our neighbors, and our enemies and ultimately makes us easier people to love.

Grace and Shalom to your home.

I love you. I forgive you. Have a blessed and abundant day!

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH