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One way to get rid of baggage is to count your blessings! Wishes and wannabes have a way of plaguing the soul. Most of the time we have decided the order of the way we want things to be. And then suddenly we have a bag or burden filled with unrealistic expectations! It can be really heavy. Sometimes we just have to step back and count our blessings. Those blessings are meant to lift the weights, make us feel better and lighten the loads we put on ourselves.
I've been praying for a specific financial need related to my overseas ministry for several years. Missionary work is a challenge because 1) I'm certainly not a professional fundraiser, and 2) most people don't spend a lot of time thinking about needs in developing countries. Eventually I hit a spiritual wall. I was discouraged. I had prayed and prayed and prayed again. Yet it seemed like the promised provision was just trickling in. I needed a miracle, but I felt too exhausted to keep fighting. Thankfully a friend of mine who is an intercessor kept encouraging me with words of hope. I decided to fast and pray for a few days, and then my wife and a few other intercessors joined in for a time of fasting and focused prayer.
Have you ever thought about Andrew, one of the twelve disciples? Andrew is mentioned in the Bible twelve times and four of those times it was in a list as a disciple. There are six times Andrew is described as Peter's brother. So over half of the time, he is not known for himself, but in relation to someone else. After Pentecost, we do not hear another word about Andrew. The interesting point of the story is that Andrew met Jesus first and actually introduced Peter to Jesus as the Messiah (John 1:41). When Peter declared Jesus as the Christ, Jesus stated that the Church would be founded on his revelation that came from God (Matt 16:13-20). But wait, Andrew said it first.
Have you ever thought about or embraced the incredible truth that you are a child of God? You probably have no problem accepting that Jesus died on the cross so your sins are forgiven, that God answers your prayers or that one day you will go to heaven. But have you ever taken your relationship with God to the next level and actually received and acknowledged the reality that you are His child? Think about how a father or a mother feels about their child. They are so proud of their child. Their love is so focused on that child. They have such a delight in that child. Beloved, that is exactly how our heavenly Father feels about us!
I am convinced that trusting God is a lifelong journey. There are days when our faith is strong and steady and then life hits. We receive a cancer diagnosis, or a relationship crumbles, or financial difficulty hits. During those seasons we may start to wonder, "Does my faith really work?" You are not alone in your wondering. Asaph the Psalmist cried out, wondering if God had rejected him or if God was really listening to his prayers (Psalm 77:1-2,7). John the Baptist, when in prison, sent word to Jesus asking, "Are you the one, …or should we look for someone else?" (Luke 7:18-23).
Do you need to get a hold of Jesus? Do you feel frustrated because it seems like He is out of your reach? Did you realize that there is a way to connect with Him? It's by faith, and it's your faith that grabs hold of His undivided attention. Faith is your contact point with God. Even if you think your faith is little faith, all it takes is faith the size of a mustard seed and the mountains will move. Jesus says, "Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you," Matthew 17:20. Faith is your direct line to Jesus.
"He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him." (John 14:21) Only Jesus Christ is "The way, the truth, and the life." (John14:6). All "truth" is found in Christ and no 'truth' that is truth is separable from Christ (Romans 11:36). Jesus Christ is the only "way" to God and no other path can lead you there. Jesus Christ is the only true source and model for living as well as basis for understanding the process of God's ongoing activity in the "life" of one who calls upon His Name (Romans 8:29).
The Lord is looking for believers to become "Ministers of Fire" and release His glory in a time when the world is in desperate need of a spiritual awakening. As we stand in a dry and thirsty land, the Holy Spirit is about to send a wave of His presence across this nation and the world, but He needs believers to ignite this fire. He needs those with new wineskins who will be able to carry and dispense the new wine.
God has a great future planned for you, and you need to be ready for it! I meet a lot of people in the course of my ministry. Sadly, I see too many who are not taking care of themselves. Many of them clearly feel terrible. Anyone can see this in the way they look and the way they carry themselves. You simply cannot look really great if you don't feel great. How you feel will show up somewhere, in your body language, the dull look in your eyes, or even the color of your skin.
Throughout our lives we will all experience testing concurrent with the blessing of God. What rises to the surface during these tests? Hezekiah's life is an example and picture of how important it is to guard our hearts in all things. History teaches us just as if we were to watch a video replay of an event – showing us what to do and not to do. It does not have to repeat itself if we can learn to respond correctly with humility when God blesses us in extravagant ways.
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