Personal Development

Details

"As for me and my house, we're going to serve the Lord"

When Joshua spoke those awesome words, he wasn't confused, uncertain, stuck whether or not to go with God in his life, no Joshua declared: as for me, to start with and as for my house, my family and all that belongs to me, we're going to serve the Lord.
You know, we can set up our own lives for success and not only our own but also everyone and everything we produce in life, by having the heart that says to God,
'with my ALL, I'm going to serve YOU Lord.'
It's a statement of intent like that which a person makes in their own heart towards God, just like Joshua was doing here, that stands the test of time.
These words he spoke, were not the words of a wishy washy Christian but the words of a man speaking from the certainty of his commitment.
We need certainty in life, something real to stand upon. Something unshakable and certain in our own hearts.
Set your mandate… write the vision and make it so plain that it's clear and simple for everyone to read!

A lot of Christians are just not sure of what they believe, what they intend to do themselves let alone their house!!
One day they are going to live for God, then the next they want what the worlds offering.
You need to speak out your commitment to Jesus, declare it! Mean it! Do it!
We need to act upon that commitment by the way we live, the words we say, the way we think and act every day.
We are living for something, someone great. A purpose so awe inspiring that our human minds can't begin to grasp even a dim shadow of the reality. Like Paul, we're only seeing through a glass darkly but we have burning inside of us a glimpse into the reality that Jesus is the son of God and that he died for us and rose again from the dead and he has given to each of us, life eternal!!
We need to lay firmly ahold of that reality.
Eph 5:17 says to us, 'therefore don't be vague thoughtless and foolish but understanding and fully grasping what the will of the Lord is!'
We need to fully grasp these words and get them on the inside of us.
We need the Spirit of almighty God to burn them with intense clarity on our hearts so that we KNOW who we're living for and why!
Joshua knew who he belonged too.
Only you can live your Christianity and so Jesus needs to be real to you.
Jesus said he would send us the comforter from Heaven, even the Spirit of truth and he would take of mine and show it unto you!
We have the power to effect everyone in our sphere of influence.
Joshua affected his entire generation with the vision he had for God!
Not only was his own house stirred up to stay true to God but ALL the generation of his time.
You can see everything in your life go on to success and inspire those around you to want God too
NB: Joshua was the only one to get a generation after he was gone, serving God.
"as for me and my house, we're going to serve the Lord!!!”

Details

I love the idea of faith! It's such an uncomplicated word when you take aside all the messed up wisdom of mans own mind.
Faith is the pure unadulterated essence of God himself. He says to us simply believe and you will see his glory in your life.
Yet we complicate things through the restriction of our minds, the things perhaps that we've been taught at school or university, or the stuff that we hear on the box.
Before you know it, a simple statement of fact from God, gets challenged by the contraflow of the spirit of the age, ie : unbelief, doubt, scepticism, atheism.
Faith though, is very simple and clear cut, it just believes with a child like innocence, that what father God says, IS true and WILL come to pass! It's as matter of fact as that.

You see, God talks in facts, facts which although not always apparent immediately, are none the less solid, bankable unshakable facts of truth!
As long as we walk in the simplicity of faith, minus all the junk of unbelief, we move towards the promise on an even footing but as soon as you mix doubt and start to listen to all the words of the present evil age, you start to run into the challenges!
Remember, there's such a thing as 'the proving of your faith!'
That means that it's going to be challenged along the way and that's perfectly normal.
You've been given a great gift, a fabulous treasure from God and the enemy knows it and so his aim is to neutralise your faith. He uses the rational of today's supposed enlightened thinking, to blur the idea of the truth into being just mere superstition but we have not been taught empty words but the reality of the power of God at work in our lives and we understand the truth of that through faith!
There's a great need to stir the fire of faith in our lives! I’m sure we've all heard the saying about where there's no wood, the fire goes out, well I believe this saying also, that where there's no faith, the fire goes out!!
If we're going to stir up the gift of God that is within us, then that takes us to activate faith and to arise up out of sleepy thinking, the negatives we hear, the talk of people who don't know the reality of God, and to kindle a burning desire and passion towards the one who's saved us, called us, chosen us to be his!
Let the very Spirit of the living God who is in us, begin to quicken our faith once again. Simple, pure, unadulterated belief in the power and love of our mighty Heavenly Father and once again we will find the courage and the passion and the empowerment to fulfil the promise of God in our lives, through FAITH!

Details

What a week! Ever felt like your rushed? Ever felt that there just isn't enough time or days in a week to fit everything in that you'd planed to do? Well if your like me and constantly on the go, then it's important to just slow the pace down every once in a while and try and chill out. Relaxing can actually seem like an effort all by its own. I'm fairly sure that's not how it's MEANT to go, but in our busy lives, finding ways to chill out is very beneficial for our physical health and also our spiritual. Let's face it, when we get busy, one of the first things to suffer is our spiritual health. We effectively begin to ignore the care of that most important area. Once we lose our inner peace and contact with God, everything else suffers. Being a complete man or woman requires a cared for soul!! And no matter how much emphasis we put on our physical self (e.g. cleaning, clothing, feeding, preening), we must remember that when we stop taking care of our inner man, or woman, we are not doing ourselves any favours. Remember that God made man a living soul as he breathed life into us, and it was to save our souls that Jesus came. Our flesh is temporary, but our spirit is eternal, and God, though interested in everything about us, wants to make sure the eternal bit gets some attention. So there's a need to relax not only our physical body's by slumping into an easy chair with a coffee, (actually that may wind you up) but there's a great need to spiritually detox, unwind and chill out in Gods presence and allow him to clear your head (so to speak), from all the noise and junk that our poor souls are bombarded with every day.

Let's face it, there's a lot of things that go on around us every day that can produce stress within our hearts and create negative effects that we can well do without. Fortunately for us though, Gods Spirit gets to work to undo the harmful effects of the world upon us, and he feeds us and strengthens us with his word. Cleansing and detoxing our soul from things that if left, begin to bring us down. So like me, take a time out and get refreshed in Gods presence! Feel his joy, regain your peace, understand afresh the love he's got for you. Know the cleansing effect of his word over the areas that have become muddied up by enemy action, and all in all, just chill out and relax into the warm embrace of his spirit within us!

Boy it's so good to get into Gods presence and just to soak up his life and the freedom his anointing brings! Gods good and he's waiting to share that goodness with YOU as you chill in his presence!

Have a good one.
Dade

Details

1 jn 2:14 "You are strong and the word of God abides in you and you have overcome the wicked one!"

We need the word of God abiding, living and dwelling on the inside of us.
This scriptures talking about the impact Gods word has upon us and our ability to OVERCOME!
We are a people who were created by God to overcome the wicked one.
Not in our own strength or power but because of the word of God that lives and operates by the Spirit of God in us.
You and I need to be meditating and receiving Gods word everyday. It's as vital to our spiritual health, as eating is to our physical.
The word of God keeps us spiritually alive and growing as we allow the Holy Ghost to teach us and reveal Jesus to our hearts.
Being in a world where everything about truth and what's good or right, is being systematically attacked, it's very important that we're hearing the truth of the word of God EVERYDAY!!!
To fight effectively against the pull of the lie, you need the sword of truth that is the word of God.
There is a great need for you and I to go armoured in the word and spirit of God, as we fight our daily fight. We have a very real adversary who's only aim is to pull you away from the truth on which you stand.
It's important therefor to know how to be an overcomer and how to implant Gods word in our hearts!
This verse in 1 john 2:14, talks about Gods word abiding in our hearts. Abide means to remain constantly there, to live and to dwell with someone. This is what Gods word should do, it should not be snatched away from us by the devil. We should hear it and receive it deep inside our heart.
That word is the key to overcoming the wicked one, which is why he hates the idea of us connecting with what Gods saying!
Jesus came as the living word, just like he put it. "my words, they are spirit and life" (or full of life)
It's the living word of God that we're talking about. The word that gets written on the fleshy table of our hearts. Words that hold power and victory against the enemy.
I pray God stirs your heart this week to not only hear the word but to have it implanted deep within you, so that it becomes the genesis for victory in your day to day walk with him!

Page 2 of 4