The Russian Connection

Ever Been Told You Don't Listen..........?

In a world full of Facebook, texting, phone calls, e-mails and Ipods,

attention spans are dwindling. Needless to say, there always seems to be something distracting us. But if we get involved in other things while someone is talking to us, it's like saying your only worth half of my attention...

It's most often the people closest to us that we end up tuning out and hurting more than others. I believe that's because we buy into the lie that they'll understand, or still love us no matter what.

• Being present means both mentally and with our body language.

Romans 12:9-16

"Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality."

• We are all busy and have things to do, so respect people when you DO get the chance to spend time with them by being fully present. 

Don't ever underestimate the value of listening to someone.
God has put them in your life for a reason. Just because we don't think they have anything to offer us, doesn't mean we can shut them out. Show yourself sincerely friendly to everyone and listen carefully when people talk! ESP. family & friends who are very close to you!

TODAY:

Honor God by honoring people.

'AND SURVEY SAYS.............'

 

If we want to operate at our maximum potential and produce the best results in our lives, it happens by careful planning and dedication....not just on accident.

Every so often we should do internal evaluations.

Which include checking:

                                                        [] Habits (good vs. bad)
                                                        [] Thoughts
                                                        [] Relationships (Friends)
                                                        [] Family
                                                        [] Time Management

                                 Check up on what you are investing yourself in.

• Is your time schedule designed in the most efficient way possible?
• What actions are you taking to attain your goals?
• What friendships do you need to invest more into, and others, pull away from?
  
• Keep your mind renewed. Don't let your thoughts run rampid, unsupervised.
• Reconnect with family. It's the most important thing God has ever given us.
  

EPHESIANS 5:15

"Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil."

PSALMS 139:23

"Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts"

TODAY:

Honor God, by honoring the time He has given you!

We are Spiritual people, but don't ever overlook the importance of preparation & care in the natural. God's Word deals with both aspects because we live in a natural world!

DARE Yourself

I wonder,

How many people haven't given up living for God

because they feel like a constant disappointment?

came across this scripture last night-

Lamentations 3:21-23

"I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still DARE to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore I will hope in Him!” The Lord is good to those who depend on Him."

When our hearts are aimed to please, it's easy to be extremely conscious of every mistake we make. We become so critical of ourselves that we feel like we don't even measure up. At all.

So then why even try right?

If I just keep messing up, there is no point because I only feel like a disappointment.

• Before you ever let yourself buy in to that lie, remember Lam 3:21-23. That's God's love is faithful to NEVER end. His mercies- NEVER end...they begin fresh EACH MORNING!

TODAY:

Nothing you could ever do, could seperate you from God's love. He knows we're going to mess up and that we're not perfect- that was the whole reason for the Cross! You do your part and let God do the rest. It's a journey & not a sprint. Grow in His understanding of love and grace for you today!

  IN THE GRAVEST HOUR

 

"ELOI, ELOI LAMA SABACHTANI!"

Jesus cried those words when He hung on the cross.
They exemplify one of the greatest aches of mankind.

Those words mean

"MY GOD MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?"

When Jesus hung on the Cross, He took upon Himself everything that we would carry in life, including sickness and disease.

But I also believe those words He cried out were symbolic for the loneliness, heartache and forsakenness that He knew we would face in life. He took upon Himself literally everything, including the gut wrenching ache of feeling forgotten about.

That's why in the New Testament in Hebrews 13:5 it says:

"For He Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR FORSAKE YOU"

Take heart. Jesus love is more real than any other fulfillment you could seek anywhere else. It's free of jealousy, resentment, conditions or terms. It's unconditional and everlasting.

  TODAY: 

Remind yourself that if you are feeling alone or forsaken, you don't have to-
The greatest love in the history of the world is waiting to wrap Its arms around you!

1 THING IMPOSSIBLE FOR GOD

NUMBERS 23:19

"God is not a man, that He should lie;
neither the son of man, that He should repent: Has He not said it, and will He then not also do it? or if He has spoken, will He not then make it good?"

1 thing impossible for God? He cannot lie.

Whatever doubt many come across our minds in our time of standing in faith,
I want to remind you of this today.

God. is. NOT. Schizophrenic. 

nor is He bi-polar in any way.

He keeps His promises and ALWAYS delivers on what He says. Actually, God never over promises and under delivers, I personally think that His delivery is far beyond what we can even comprehend and fully grasp of His promises to us.

He only speaks truth and His Word will stand forever. This may seem like a simple thought or "duuhh" statement, but in a world where words and promises don't seem to mean much anymore, it makes a huge difference. If even ONE statement in the Bible were false, it would give us the consent to be skeptical about everything else.

• But because it is 100% truth, we can take confidence in ever word.

TODAY:

Find a promise from God's Word today that address your situation
and refuse to doubt it! 

                    HOW TO AVOID
                    SELF-disappointment.
                                                 SELF.CONTROL.

It's a 2 part, 11 letter word, that can save us from a lot of pain in life.

It's not just about rules, necessarily, but a way of life.

• Being mindful of every action and being governed by our Spirit, rather than emotions & flesh.

This includes everything from good vs. bad decisions, sin, marriage, emotions, prayer etc. It's not just about praying once or fast once to feel good about ourselves and our standing with God, but about living a fasted lifestyle and having prayer incorporated into everything we do and being a part of who we are. Even the small things, it's putting God as the center and foundation.

That in everything we do, we should do it with honor.

People who have no self-control, usually end up being full of self loathing. 

• We resent ourselves because it causes us not to have the satisfaction of accomplishment. It hinders us from reaching our goals.

TODAY:

Being in control of what you do
will help you keep your focus.

A 21 Century Jonah

I want to say thank you to all of those who have been praying for the mighty city of Kharkov, Ukraine. God is cultivating the soil and moving mightily in the hearts of His people!

Last night as I watched hundreds of people come forward to surrender their lives to God, it overjoyed my heart, because I know the power & destiny that lay behind each life. But it also reminded me of Jonah.... and how he, decided to turn away from the calling God had for him.

I always grew up thinking that when Jonah rebelled against God, he was running away from GOD. But Jonah wasn’t running way from God…. 
he was running away from what God had called Him to do.

 

Jonah was more concerned about his own will and want, rather than God’s heart of saving the 120,000 lost people in the city of Nineveh. He was scared and instead of obeying, jumped on a ship going to Tarshish, headed the oposite direction.

Even on a smaller scale of every day things, we can be running from God without knowing it by just prioritizing the World before Him.

By prioritizing our own needs and wants before others, or those of the Lord.

TODAY:

 The reward both physically and spiritually of obeying God is far greater than the benefit we think we'll get by going our own direction and doing it our way.

CAUGHT IN THE BOAT

In the well-known story of Peter walking on the water, the thing that is most remembered about him, is the criticism he’s gets by us for sinking after only taking a few steps.

But you know what?

At least Peter had enough nerve to get OUT of the boat. At least he had faith enough to follow Jesus and step out of the comfort zone of safety. Although he might have been very scared, he did not stay in fear, but chose to take action.

• The problem doesn’t come with us not being able to walk on the waves & storms of life successfully, the problems come when we get into fear and take our eyes off of Jesus.

On many occasions when we are only operating within our circumference of comfort, we are operating in carnality. Not always, but more often than not. Because it’s the mentality of, “as long as I can handle this thing and have a grip on what I’m doing, just incase God doesn’t come through like He said, I’ll be able to still cover for me and make everything look alright”

I encourage you to take that step just like Peter, wherever it is God is telling you to go, and keep your gaze set steadfast on Him and not the waves around you.

Are you brave enough to get out of the boat?

TODAY:

Waves come for everyone in life.
But only certain people ever walk ON them, instead of sinking into them.

Be one of those people today who chooses to step out of the boat and live dependent on God and not on the routine of comfort and ease all the time.

LOVING YOUR ENEMIES

1 Peter 3:8-9
“ not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead.”

Matthew 5:44 & 46
“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you and pray FOR those who despitefully use you so that  you may be sons of your Father who is in Heaven;”
“For if you only love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others?”

WHY IS LOVING YOUR ENEMIES SO HARD?

Well the word 'enemies' says it all.

If someone is your enemy, then they probably hurt you in some way or another.. So the commandment 'Love your enemies' is a lot easier said than done. It's very hard because it's very personal.

When we get angry and offended against someone, our human nature is to immediately make a note of it, harbor ill feelings and getting mad.

• But Jesus said if we do not challenge the option of hate with love, it makes us no different than the world. We are led by our emotions or 'flesh' instead of our Spirit. The wrong thing is governing our thoughts and our actions.

TODAY:

Ask God to give you the grace to love even when you don't feel like it.

It's not by your own will or strength that you'll be able to be consisten at it, but only through the help of the Holy Spirit reminding you of God's principles and the new way we've been called to live!

 

 

 

 

 

 

    from DELIGHT to DUTY to DESPISE

 

If there is no love behind our actions, it makes every process a pain.

No matter what it might be.

It’s easy to start out with good intentions or motivation, but if we don’t continually keep ourselves in check as to why and how we are doing something, the reason behind it seems to get forgotten. 

Some EXAMPLES:

MARRIAGE:
At first doing nice things comes natural. You want to show love & affections. Then over time it can become more like a chore, or duty to try and remember important dates or keep up the small things you used to. If we’re not careful, the down spiral can continue. We end up not doing anything for our husband/wife because we’ve lost all underlying acts of love in our daily relationship and it now becomes something we despise.

OUR JOB:
Getting a new job is very exciting. Everything is new and feels good. But with time, things can begin to fall in to routine and you don’t put any hard work or emotion in to it anymore. Beware of the “despise” mode. Once we allow ourselves to fall this low, we literally have to drag our selves to get up and going. Also, being late is a common symptom. Avoid at all cost!!

GIVING TO GOD:
When you love God and just want to bless Him, giving is easy. But if we forget the love aspect and just give because it’s the “Christian” thing to do, it can feel like a duty. When we completely lose sight of why we tithe and let the enemy infiltrate our minds, giving something feels like a waste. God wants a joyful giver! And a giver out of love!

TODAY:

In everything you do, do it with all you have.

Don't let it go from being a delight, to a duty to something you despise!