So Much More

We can long in life to have more than we do at the present. We can want more status, recognition, fame and money. If we are not careful we can compromise what we believe for short-lived feelings than don’t produce long-term fulfilment.

We are  magnificently made by the King of the Universe. He created us unique and special,  and placed us in our time, location and circumstances. We were made to shine because everything He makes is beautiful. We just need to see who we really are and that what we have is enough. God will bring more of whatever we need in the right time.

God sees us an overcomer, someone who has everything needed to succeed. Even when we can’t see it, He does; and He never gives up on us. We can come boldly to His throne room of grace in time of need. We can seek His love and affection which fills every void and empty space.

The more time we spend in prayer with God, fellowshipping with Him and receiving His love and righteousness, the less we feel discontented. We will actually begin to be aware of how much we do have and how great we really are. As we look to Jesus, we will begin to relax into who we were made to be and step into our destiny: the “exceedingly abundantly more than we can ask or think.”

Ephesians 3:20 – Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us…

Heaven on Earth

In life we can get caught up striving to be number one. We compare ourselves to others and compete for praise and attention. We can see everyone else as the competition. So, we fight, step on and try to take others out, so that we don’t lose. If we win the rat race, we just become number one rat.

Jesus taught us to pray for Heaven to come to Earth. The Kingdom of Heaven is opposite to the ways of our world. This world says “dog eat dog,” while the Kingdom says “others first.” This world says “there’s only room for one at the top,” while the Kingdom says “the first shall be last and the last shall be first.” This world says “the one who uses the most might wins,” while the Kingdom says “the meek shall inherit the earth.”

The meek is not the weak one, it is the humble one who shows restrained force. Jesus came to earth to live a life we could not live, to die on the cross for our sin and to be raised from the dead for our justification. He did not have to die for us, He chose to. He is God incarnate with all the might and power in the universe and yet He chose to die because of HIs great love for us.

Now as we spend time with Him in prayer, we can become more like Him. As we spend time with God, we will see Heaven come to earth. We will see healing for disease, joy for pain, love for hate and strength for weakness. As we seek God first, there will always be room at the top with Him, and ultimately we will come to desire to give our lives for others too because His great love compels us.

Matthew 6:10 -‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.

 

Grounded in Love!

In life we can find ourselves looking for something to fill us. We can try many things such as  excessive food, mindless entertainment, emotional drama and even mood-altering substances. The truth is if we are love starved, nothing but unconditional love will do.

We were made for God’s love, to receive love and to allow that love to return to Him. God made us in His image for family and relationship. Even when we wanted nothing to do with God, He sent us Jesus, His very best to earth for us.

Jesus lived the perfect life we could not, died on the cross for our sins and was raised from the dead for our justification. Now we can simply receive Jesus’s righteousness by faith and have complete right standing with God.

As we receive Jesus into our heart we become children of God. We can come to our Father God daily in prayer and allow His love to pour into our heart. We can let this love abide in us, so that we are full, and are not looking for love in all the wrong places. As we become rooted and grounded in the love of God, we will walk confidently into our destiny and purpose.

Ephesians 3:17 – so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love…

Heaven to Earth

In life we can come to believe that “if only” will make us happy. If only we had more money. If only we had the right partner. If only we lived in a different place. Sadly, many people who get everything they ever want are some of the unhappiest people on the planet.

Happiness is an emotion that is fleeting. However, fulfillment will sustain through any situation or circumstance. God planned us from the beginning of time for greatness. He plucked us out of eternity and into our time, place and location. We are made for something bigger than just ourselves.

As we come to Jesus and receive His righteousness, we become children of God. We can daily cultivate a relationship with our Heavenly Father and spend time getting to know Him and catching a glimpse of what we are made for.

As we focus our eyes on Jesus and His cause on the earth, bringing life, joy and abundance, we will realize we were made to make a difference. As we constantly receive God’s unconditional love we can be empowered to love others. We can be content despite the circumstances, because we are on mission with Jesus bringing heaven to earth.

John 10:10 – (The Voice) The thief approaches with malicious intent, looking to steal, slaughter, and destroy; I came to give life with joy and abundance.

All Things are Possible

In life we can become disappointed with people and circumstances. If we are not careful we begin to expect that we will be let down or that things won’t work out. If we expect things not to work out, we pre-determine what actually will happen.

As we come to God by accepting Jesus into our heart, we come into relationship with the God of possibilities. There is nothing too big or small for God. He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we can hope, think or ask.

As we daily cultivate our relationship with our Father God, we can boldly go to the throne room of grace in prayer. When we are feeling discouraged, we can ask God for hope and encouragement. When we are feeling disappointed, we can ask God to give us a confident expectation of good; and when we are feeling frustrated, we can ask God for peace and a sense of well-being.

As we decide to put our faith in the God of the universe, we can relax in knowing that with Him all things are possible. We can start to work towards that dream we had let die. We can begin to work on health in a relationship that has become difficult. We can know that whatever God has put in our heart to do, we can do through Christ who strengthens us.

Matthew 19:26 – Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

A Positive Change!

In life we sometimes become focused on the bad and not the good in our lives. Negativity can lead to worry, worry to anxiety, and anxiety to depression. If we don’t get off the hamster wheel of negativity, we can become stressed out unhappy people.

When we come to Jesus, we come into relationship with the God of peace. The word for peace in Hebrew is Shalom. Shalom can also mean well-being, prosperity, wholeness, health and success.

As we spend time with Jesus in prayer we can place all of our burdens at the cross in exchange for His shalom. Jesus made possible the great exchange when He came to earth to live the sinless life we could not live, to die on the cross for our sins and to be raised from the dead for our justification.

In this great exchange, we can give God our negativity in exchange for His positivity. We can begin to see people and situations through His eyes of grace. Even though we are imperfect, God sees us as perfect through the lens of Jesus. As we focus our eyes on Him, we will become grateful again for what we do have. We will find that the little things that once bothered us have become eclipsed by His great love for us.

Song of Songs 2:15 – Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom.

 

Passion and Purpose

It is easy to lose our passion in life, when we are disconnected to our purpose. We can go through the motions but ultimately we will have to deaden the pain just to exist. Without passion we can begin to live a small, limited, contained life.

However, we were fashioned in the image of an infinite unlimited inexhaustible God. We are made in His own image and created by Him for love. Even when we lose sight of God, He never loses sight of us. He loves us so much He sent Jesus to earth to live the life we could not, die on the cross for our sins and be raised from the dead for our justification.

Now we can receive Jesus’s righteousness by faith. We can stand before God faultless, exonerated, innocent and pure through Christ. As we receive this free gift, we can boldly come to the throne room of grace in prayer. As we spend time cultivating our relationship with the Father God, we will get a glimpse of who He is and who He has created us to be, regaining our passion.

A life surrendered to God is a life without limits. God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can hope, ask or think. So we can dream big and ask big. As we seek God and our purpose we will find that our purpose is connected to our passion and there is nothing that compares to living out the purpose we were designed and destined for.

Romans 11:29 – for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.

The Father’s Approval

In life we can seek approval from society and people. If we did not receive enough approval when we were young we can become approval addicts who are willing to compromise what we believe or try to become something we are not.

When Jesus walked the earth there were two times God the Father publicly announced His approval of Him: once at the Jordan River when Jesus was being baptized and the other at Mount Hermon where Jesus had gone to the mountain top to pray. The Father said audibly both times that this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.

Even though during Jesus’s three year ministry He often removed Himself to spend time in prayer. At Mount Hermon there were witnesses, Peter, James and John who heard the Father’s voice of approval and saw the glory that transfigured Jesus so that His face shone like the sun. Could it be that every time Jesus went aside to pray He was immersed in the Father’s love and approval in the same way?

As we come to God by accepting Jesus into our hearts, we are “in” Christ. As we seek God the Father in prayer, we can sense the Father’s approval. When we daily receive God’s unlimited, infinite, overflowing love and acceptance, we will cease striving for it elsewhere. We can bring wholeness into our relationships, and walk confidently knowing that we are loved, approved and accepted; bringing health, vitality, and success into every area of our lives.

Matthew 17:15 – While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”

Joy and Laughter

In life we can lose our joy. As we grow to adulthood we can believe that we need to be serious all the time. We can confuse seriousness with responsibility. If we lose that childlike heart, we can become callous, insensitive and down-right boring. We were made to live, love and laugh.

In the Bible Abraham and Sarah, the patriarch and matriarch of the faith, were given a promised child after years of waiting. God told them to name him Isaac. Isaac means laughter.  God’s promises bring laughter and joy.

When God created us He made us for HIs enjoyment. He created us for fellowship, relationship, and love. Even when we were distant from God He sent us Jesus. When Jesus walked the earth people were drawn to Him. No matter what walk of life people were from, they found Jesus irresistible. The only people who were against Jesus were the uptight religious elite.

Jesus is the exact representation of the glory of God. We can look to Jesus to know God the Father. God is irresistible, His love radical and relentless and His joy everlasting. As we spend time in prayer, we will sense His beautiful presence; where we will find fullness of joy.

When we seek a religion, we become serious and boring. When we seek a relationship with God we become alive and full of joy, because our God is alive and infinitely joyful. So, we can relax into the loving arms of our Father God and experience true joy, laughter, hope and and incredible destiny in Christ.

Psalm 16:11 – In His presence is fullness of joy.

The Solution

In life we can find things turning out differently than we had expected. We can wake to find that our health has deteriorated, our relationships are in trouble or our career is in jeopardy. If we focus entirely on the problem we may never see the solution.

God loves us and desires us to thrive. He sent Jesus for us. so He could live a perfect life for us, die on the cross as us, and be raised from the dead for our justification; raising us right along side Him.

Now when we face any issue, we can get into prayer and seek God for the answer. We can focus on God and receive the solution. We can lay all our problems and issues at His feet. In return we can receive His health, wholeness and well-being.

As we release all issues and burdens to our Father God, He will make all things work together for good. He will line up opportunities and circumstances in our favor. As we relax into Him and release fear and worry, we will receive the peace of God that transcends understanding and be able to soar above all obstacles and challenges.

As we receive God’s abundant supply of grace and the gift of Jesus Christ’s righteousness, we will reign in life and step fully into all that we were created to be and do.

Romans 5:17 – For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!