Trusting God

You hear it all the time said in the Christian circles, "Trust God." But at times this can be easier said then done. If you have been on any kind of an assignment from God you know that it's going to require faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God. One tall tale sign that you are not in faith is that you are impatient. Faith is always coupled with patience. If God has ever called you to step out on faith and to trust Him for the impossible, then you know how hard it is to be patient, especially when there is a timeline involved. One thing we as sons and daughters of God need to remind ourselves is that God is in control of our lives, and that He is faithful to complete the mighty work that He started in us. He's the Author AND the Finisher of our faith.

As many of you know already, my family and I have been asked to leave everything in Kansas and to move to Arizona to help plant a church. In order for this to take place we need nothing short of a miracle. We are trusting in God that some how some way we are going to get there before September 25th. To be real honest, I don't know how in the natural. The good thing is I don't have to know how. I just need to keep believing God till it happens. One thing I like about living as a child of the kingdom is that God will always provide an opportunity for us to apply our faith. Because of this, He gave us the Holy Spirit and the Anointed Word of God to help us along.

One of my favorite stories in the New Testament is when Jesus told His disciples lets go to the other side of the lake, then He went to sleep in the back of the boat. This reminds me of where I'm at right now. The Lord said, "Eric, I'm calling you to be a part of New Heights Church. Let's go to the other side." (My wife and I have established that this is God's will for us.) The next part of the story says they (Jesus & His disciples) started across to the other side with other smaller boats following them. Then a great storm arose and waves crashed into the boat filling it with water. The disciples woke Jesus up shouting, "Don't you care that we are going to die?" Through this journey I'm on, there have been times where I have felt that the Lord was sleeping and no where to be seen. There are times that as I'm battling the storm and the waves continue to break down on top of me I've felt like screaming out to God, "Don't you care!" but I realize that He does care and that He gave His life so that the authority of the enemy, who's the source of the storm, would be stripped of his power over me, and that now because of the Blood that was shed for me, I have authority to stand up boldly and shout, "Peace! Be still!"

God's plan for them was to go over to the other side of the lake to the region of Gadarenes to deliver a demon possessed man, also, that the word that the Messiah had come would spread to that region. The enemy resisted this, and that was the reason for the fierce storm. To cause fear to come into the hearts of those going to do the will of God. Notice in that story that nothing is said about the other little boats making it to the other side? When we are on a mission from God, we are going to come against resistance from the enemy (storms). These storms are designed to weary us and to cause fear in our hearts so that, like the little boats, we would turn back and say, "This is crazy! What was I thinking?" However, the kingdom of God suffers from violent attacks of the enemy, but the violent take it by force! If we do not quit, but keep our faith in God, then we are the violent and we are gaining back that real estate which was lost in the garden and there isn't anything the enemy can do but panic when we realize Jesus is still in the boat with us, and that He has never left us.

I don't know what it is you're going through or what mission from God that you are on, but if you find yourself in the midst of the storm and the waves are breaking into the boat, remember that Jesus is still in there with you. Stand up in the name of Jesus and shout peace be still! James says resist the enemy and he must flee! Put your faith in God, and He will see you through whatever is standing in your way from obtaining His will for your life. God's grace is sufficient for whatever it is. There's power in the blood of Jesus, wonder working power!

God bless!

Love Is Our Destiny

God made the mountains and has tamed the oceans. One glimpse of Him is enough to burn our eyes for He is so full of glory we cannot bare the weight of it! Many of us have set our affection on Him and we worship Him with all of heaven because He alone is worthy of all praise. He made everything and created it just like He had pictured it inside His mind. All that we see was once a vision dwelling on the inside of the creator Himself. Then He spoke words filled with a creative force we call faith, and those words became exactly what He imagined.

In this very same way God created man, male and female. Everyone of us was once an image inside the creator of the universe. That picture He had of us contained a destiny that we were purposed for. Everyone on this earth has been hand selected by God and given a call in life, even before we were formed in our mother's womb. God knew us before we were even born because we were His idea. He has sent each of us here with a purpose and has equipped us with gifts especially for that purpose, but in order to obtain this destiny, God has purposely left out the key ingredient. Christ.

God created us to be purpose driven, and since we were His idea, He knew that we would not stop for nothing until we reach fulfilment of our destiny. So in reality we are all striving for Christ. God's plan here was to give us the choice. Jesus Christ is the key however that opens the door to God's grace, and there is no other.

Now, failure to realize that we are ALL (saved and unsaved) God's idea can be devastating to the body of Christ. This is why Jesus, the Master, gave us the great commandment to love one another. Even though some don't recognize Jesus as their Lord and Savior, they were still an image inside God and inside of them lays dormant the destiny that was formed by God. That destiny, if cultivated by Christ's love, will glorify the one we set our affection on and bring the light of Jesus Christ to many...

Love is the answer and love is enough...

God bless!

Cultivating Love

It is said that when the apostle John had arrived to an extreme old age and could with difficulty be carried to the church in the arms of his disciples, and was too weak to give any lengthy exhortations, he would say no more at their meetings than this:



"Little children, love one another."



The disciples and fathers wearied of this constant repetition of the same words said, "Master, why do you always say this?" John replied, "It is the Lord's command, and if only this is done, it is enough."



To love one another isn't the easiest thing to do, but with grace from the Lord nothing is too tough. If we are having troubles in our love walk, chances are we are not spending enough time in God's presence. The cure of course is to get before His Word and let it transform the way you think. Though your spirit is reborn, your soul (mind) must be renewed daily in order to obtain the joyful life of abundance God wills for us. The beatitudes seem like steep tasks to the unrenewed mind, but if you will renew your mind daily, they will become words of love and you will begin to crave them in your heart and for your life.



I challenge you today to start renewing your mind with the Word of God. One chapter a day in the New Testament Monday-Friday and you will have read the entire New Testament in one year. Each day you will be building a life of joy, peace and fulfilment, and you will begin to walk out the great commandment of our Lord Jesus Christ.



God bless!