Be Strong and Courageos

"Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you."
Deuteronomy 31:6, NAS

One of the greatest leaders of the twentieth century thought he was a failure at the age of forty. Harry Truman despaired that he would never amount to anything as he struggled for twelve years to pay off the debts from his failed clothing business. Little could he have imagined that just two decades later, on a warm spring day, he would receive a phone call that would change his life and forever list him among the great men who would help to change the world. April 12, 1945, Truman took the oath of office and became the thirty-third President of the United States. He was quoted as saying, "I feel as though the moon and all the stars and all the planets have fallen upon me. Please . . . give me your prayers. I need them very much."
John Maxwell writes about failing backward and failing forward. Harry Truman failed forward. We fail backward, Maxwell says, when: (1) failure keeps us from trying again, (2) we become negative or bitter. (3) we make excuses and blame others. We fail forward, he says, when: (1) we learn from our failure, (2) we discover our own true self, (3) we turn everything over to God.
Our text begins with an encouragement to "be strong and courageous." It reminds us not to fear. More importantly, it teaches us to trust in God-commit ourselves to confidence in a God who is infinitely more powerful than the forces of failure. We are taught that "God is the one who goes with you." He is incapable of failure! Moreover, His perfect success is your companion. "He will not fail you or forsake you."
Take Maxwell's inventory. Are you failing backward or failing forward? We all fail. Not one of us is immune to the very "fallen" characteristic of failure.

Ministry to Men

I will start the ministry to help men beak the chains of LUST.

"I am dancing before the Lord who chose me above your father and all his family. He appointed me as the leader of Israel, the people of the Lord so I celebrate before the Lord. Yes, I am willing to look even more foolish than this, even to be humiliated in my own eyes." 2 Samuel 7:21-22

Proverbs 17:9 Lover prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends

Only God can Fulfill His Vision

Has God given you a vision that is yet unfulfilled? If that vision is born of God, He will raise it up in His own way. Do not try to raise the vision in your own strength. Like Moses, who tried to fulfill the vision of freeing the Hebrews by killing the Egyptian, it will only fail. But wait on your heavenly Father to fulfill the vision. Then you will know that it was His vision when He fulfills it in the way only He can do.
I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. - John 12:24

Trust God and His Commandments 2 Samuel 24 - if not you or your people will suffer

In 2 Samuel 24, David counts his troops to see how strong they are which God forbids him to do.God wants him to rely on God and not the numbers of troops. After David does this, he realized he sinned greatly and repented but the repercussions  were already in place - God allowed him to choose from three options to punish him and the people. Even though David realized and repented, the earthly consequences still had to be served.

Seeing the works of God - Deep Waters

Seeing the Works of God

By Os Hillman, January 27, 2010

Powered By Marketplace Leaders

 

Others went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants on the mighty waters. They saw the works of the Lord.... - Psalm 107:23-24a

When you were a child, perhaps you may have gone to the ocean for a vacation. I recall wading out until the waves began crashing on my knees. As long as I could stand firm, the waves were of no concern to me. However, as I moved farther and farther into the ocean, I had less control over my ability to stand. Sometimes the current was so strong it moved me down the beach, and I even lost my bearings at times. But I have never gone so far into the ocean that I was not able to control the situation.

Sometimes God takes us into such deep waters that we lose control of the situation, and we have no choice but to fully trust in His care for us. This is doing business in great waters. It is in these great waters that we see the works of God.

The Scriptures tell us that the disciples testified of what they saw and heard. It was the power behind the gospel, not the words themselves, which changed the world. The power wasn't seen until circumstances got to the point that there were no alternatives but God. Sometimes God has to take us into the deep water in order to give us the privilege to see His works.

Sometimes God takes us into the deep waters of life for an extended time. Joseph was taken into deep waters of adversity for 17 years. Rejection by his brothers, enslavement to Pharaoh, and imprisonment were the deep waters for Joseph. During those deep waters, he experienced dreams, a special anointing of his gifts to administrate, and great wisdom beyond his years. The deep water was preparation for a task that was so great he never could have imagined it. He was to see God's works more clearly than anyone in his generation. God had too much at stake for a 30-year-old to mess it up. So, God took Joseph through the deep waters of preparation to ensure that he would survive what he was about to face. Pride normally engulfs such young servants who have such access to power at such a young age.

If God chooses to take us into deep waters, it is for a reason. The greater the calling, the deeper the water. Trust in His knowledge that your deep waters are preparation to see the works of God in your life.

Submission to God

God does not want our praise if it is just words and we really aren't feeling it. God wants us to submit to Him and His perfect will and then receive our praise for realizing what an awesome God He is through the fruit we bare in Him. Once we submit ourselves to Him and trust Him, we begin to see things happen in our lives that would not happen no matter how hard we tried in our own might. Our works leave us empty, His work in us leaves us filled. God is an awesome God, He reigns with mighty power with wisdom we cannot fathom, with peace that is unending.

God as a special plan for us all. When we go out independently of that plan and try to fulfill our needs and desires we veer off course which results in misery and destruction. He has the perfect plan for all of us, we just have to submit ourselves to Him. Asking "What would Jesus do?" does not always cut it because we are still acting within ourselves. God wants us to say "What would you have me do?" and submit to His word, guidance and prayer.

Broke but Blessed

Praise be to God for He is a mighty fortress and my deliverer. He set me free from the chains of porn and addiction and showed me a stream of water that will always quench my thirst. I as about to give in to worldly temptation, but he put in front of me a article on Porn addiction and the statistics related around divorce, depression and destruction. Then my wife walks in and says "Hey, do you want to?" Boo-yah. Just on time and right at that moment.

He has delivered my business from complete ruin. We have made payroll some how and some way the past few months without the payments from Bruce and with a ton of other AR outstanding. I am not sure exactly what I am supposed to do with Dave P. but what a blessing for this man to come into my life at this moment. All praise and honor goes to God because he guides us and directs us when we listen.