The Russian Connection

In Isaiah 61: 1, Isaiah says:

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, BECAUSE He has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted. To proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners; to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.“

When the Spirit of God comes upon you,
it is always followed with a “because”.

• There is purpose in the Spirit of God, and it is not only a gift, but also a tool. A tool that is to be shared, and used to set other people free, deliver them and forever change their lives.

The Spirit carries Life, and with it….hope.

In Luke 4 Jesus said the same thing to his disciples--

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me BECAUSE He anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

There is a “CAUSE” that is put on your life when you get saved.

-You have a mandate to fulfill and a purpose for which God has intended you.

 TODAY:

If you don’t know what the “cause” is on your life, then I would say to take 10 minutes every day and pray in the Spirit. Tune your mind out from everything around you and listen to what God has to say.

When you start operating in your “because”, it will change your world.

 6 NUGGETS TO KEEP IN MIND TODAY

The Book of Proverbs is fuuuuullll of wisdom,
and since there are 31 chapters, I usually like to read 1 chapter a day.

As I was reading last night in yesterdays Proverb, August 15th I found so many great nuggets and points to live by, that I wanted to share them!

• Here are just a few- and a couple of thoughts on each to follow.

 

15:1 “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger."  –Love never fails. Ever. It’s the greatest weapon against anger. 

15:10 “He who hates correction will die” –If you  allow Godly correction in your life, it will literally keep your life. 

15:13 “A merry heart does good like a medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones”  -Proven scientific fact that those who laugh more and think positive are much healthier.

15:25 “The Lord will tear down the house of the proud” –Pride ALWAYS comes before a fall.

15:18 “The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things." –Take a second to actually think about your answer before you give it. Once words are spoken they can never be taken back.

15:33 “The fear of the Lord is the instruction for wisdom, and before honor comes humility.” –Have reverence for the Lord and walk in humility and the days of your life will be blessed.

Today, I honestly just felt like encouraging all who you who have partnered with us in prayer for Russia.

Your prayers and your time is not going to waste.

                But God hears every voice, every prayer, every outcry........

                            He has seen every tear, every dollar given, every act of compassion........

Even though the World seems to be in a rapid downward spiral, falling deeper every day in to divorce, alcoholism, pornography, addiction, immorality and drugs, God has not forsaken us, nor left us hopeless.

• He has given us His Word. It is the most powerful weapon of redemption and hope there is.

1 Peter 5:8 says that our adversary, the devil, is walking around LIKE a roaring lion, but he is nothing more than a scared cat with his tail between his legs.

-He knows the work that God is doing, and knows that he cannot stop it.

His time is short and will soon be at an end.

Russia, right now is dealing with governments trying to block churches from assembling.  It has an 80% divorce rate, extreme family violence from alcoholism and a population decreasing instead of increasing.

Yet, in the midst of all that, 100's of new churches are rising up every year. We are seeing God do such a mighty work in His people....its incredible. 

Men and women of all ages are hungry for a fresh and new touch from the Living God.  

They are simply desperate for help and for hope.......

I want you to continue to pray for us. There have been numerous doors opening in the nation of Russia for the Gospel to be shared. I am very thankful for these opportunities that is making way for the real solution to be preached. 

Thank you so much, to all of you.

 

Mikel

THIS WILL CHANGE THE WAY
::YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE::

Your life here on Earth is a temporary assignment!

David prayed: “Lord, help me to realize how brief my time on earth will be. Help me to know that I am here for but a moment more” in Psalms 39:4 (LB)

God wants us to live eternally minded, not just “now” minded.

There is a BIG difference.

The one thing that helped Jesus stay focused and really gave Him the strength to go through with the pain of the Cross, was that He was eternally minded. 

        He knew the importance of His actions and the implications they would have.

He knew that there was Life after death and that He had to make a way back for God’s people to be reunited with Him. To make a way to Heaven.

• When you stay “eternally” minded and not just focused on the pleasures of “now” and accumulating treasures on Earth, it will really change the way you live.

You begin to realize that all this material “stuff” will one day all be left behind, and the only thing you’ll take with you into Heaven is the people that you helped reach for Christ and got saved.

• Being eternally minded will keep things in perspective in your life.

It will bring you joy, because you realize that even if things might be going bad here on Earth, something far greater lies ahead that God has in store for you.

A wonderful place full of love, serenity, peace and the presence of God!!  

LIVING SUPERNATURALLY
IN THE NATURAL

The supernatural, should be natural for us.

People usually put a big distinction between the 2.

If you are God’s child, you have taken on a new nature.
Not the one of this world, but of a different Kingdom.
God’s Kingdom.

I believe that Jesus came and showed us in His life here on Earth a type and shadow of the way He wants us to live. To the extended level of greatness He wants us to live at. 

He’s given us not only a book that acts as the greatest manual ever created, but also went so far as to give us a helper that lives even on the inside of us, aka the Holy Spirit!

For most people the supernatural is far more spectacular than natural by all means. It’s more of a rare occurrence rather than a life style.

But truth be told, it doesn’t have to be.....

• We should always operate out of a position of confidence from our relationship with Christ and knowing who we are IN Him.

IF YOU ALLOW GOD, HE WILL CAN
MAKE EVERY DAY SUPERNATURAL FOR YOU.

-He will fill it with supernatural favor, promotion, healing, provision and connections.

You can also be used of Him to impact the lives of others and help bring healing, restoration and encouragement!

TODAY:

LIVE OUT OF THE SUPERNATURAL!

WHAT MAKES YOU.....YOU.

You are full of God given gifts and talents.

They’ve been in you since the day you were born,
just waiting to be cultivated.

You are unique, intentional, and full of purpose and specific design.

Because we all crave to be accepted and welcomed in our society, sometimes we compare our gifts to others’, attempting to measure if we belong, but that’s like trying to reshape your fingerprint to match someone else’s –impossible.

• When you try to be just like someone else or adopt their road map for your life, it will limit where you’re gift will take you because you are not operating in it’s full potential of specifically being designed for you!

• Nor can you ever grow in to the fullness of your gift if you live in constant fear or self-conscious denial of it.

The only way you can truly find out what you’re gift is and what you were created to do, is ask the Creator Himself. 

You must ask the Inventor what the specific purpose of the invention is, not the invention itself.

TODAY:

Be who YOU were created to be. Nobody else.

Ask God what he wants you to do with the gifts that He's placed on the inside of you!

CONFESSIONS…..
ARE THEY REALLY THAT BIG OF A DEAL?

I bet you've probably heard that word a lot.
But let's see what it really means!

Webster’s Dictionary defines the word CONFESS as such:

“To tell or make known, to declare faith in or adherence to and lastly, to give evidence to.”

• When we make confessions, which are verbal utterances of our beliefs, we remind ourselves of our state of position and our beliefs.

So to answer the question…..YES. They are a very big deal.

• Because words carry such weight, they can never be spoken without some type of consequence or reaction.

They can either encourage to propel you forward or hinder your own growth.

Some things that you need to hear yourself say every day:

1.   I am a child of God!
2.   I am loved.
3.   I am creative.
4.   I walk by faith and not by sight.
5.   Whatever I put my hands to prospers.
6.   I am a blessing to all those around me.

 Compare that to.....I'm a nobody, I always messed up, nothing ever works out for me, I'm so sick of my job, my life is such a bore....... so many times we go through our day unconsciously speaking junk over ourselves without even realizing we're doing it, because it's become such a habit.

That was just a general example, but you can figure out what you need to encourage yourself with in this season of your life and tailor your confession in the Word to exactly what you need!

  WHAT NAMES DO YOU GO BY?
 Your life has a calling attached to it and you are called by God’s name.

“My people who are called by My name……”
2 Chronicles 7:14 

Along with your natural name, there are other names that God has designated just for you!

Some of those are:

REDEEMED!

HEALED!

BLESSED!

OVERCOMER!

HIGHLY FAVORED!

 NOT depressed, hopeless, sick and poor.

• Which names do you respond to?

You’ve been fearfully and wonderfully made!

-- START CALLING YOURSELF WHAT GOD SAYS ABOUT YOU. HE ONLY SAYS THE BEST, AND WILL ALWAYS SPEAK GOOD THINGS OVER YOU.

You have the power to decide what you are going to believe and you are going to think about yourself. You have to take initiative of your own thoughts and your own words if you're ever going to truly make a difference in the way you view and value yourself.

It starts TODAY.

Only YOU can make the decision to change yourself for the better!

Just like an echo, what you say comes back to you in life!

NEVER BEING SATISFIED WITH YOURSELF

 

"LET US RUN WITH ENDURANCE THAT IS SET BEFORE US, FIXING OUR EYES ON JESUS, THE AUTHOR AND PERFECTOR OF OUR FAITH, WHO FOR THE JOY SET BEFORE HIM ENDURED THE CROSS." --Hebrews 12:1,2

Life is not a sprint, it’s a journey.

It’s filled with greatness and failure. Let downs and accomplishments, reached goals and hardships. But all of it is what makes life so beautiful.

Sometimes we can feel like things are moving too SLOW, and we wish we could just hurry up and get to the next season of our lives.

But today I just want to encourage you, that no matter where you find yourself,

enjoy it while you are there.

Perhaps they call it the “Human RACE” because we're always in such a hurry to get somewhere.

Nothing, however, as I could only imagine, would be worse than getting to the end of your life and realizing that through it all you were just rushing to be someone else, go some place elsewhere and do things differently instead of just enjoying who you are, and where you are!

"When you have God in your life, you can have Heaven on the inside of you even if you're standing in the midst of Hell."

• Because peace is not the absence of trouble, it’s just the presence of God.

TODAY:

You will never get today back, so don't rush through it!

CAN PEOPLE SEE IT IN YOU?

GALATIANS 5:22-23

The fruit of the Holy Spirit is.....

LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS and SELF-CONTROL.

When we are filled to the overflowing with the Holy Spirit, we should see His fruit manifested in our lives. 

It becomes noticeable to people around us.

 Jesus made the fruit of the spirit all apart of receiving the spirit because He wants us to be able to bless and impact the people around us and do good.

The people of the world are hungry for love and something good.

They need to see that God really can change people and they need to see His love in action in order for them to become hungry for more of Him and who He is.

The world can be a very dark place sometimes, but Christians are meant to bring life and light with them wherever they go.

• We have a big job to do in reaching people, but we can't do it if we are not sensitive to the Spirit or operate in the fruits of the Spirit.

GOD IS IN US, MAKING HIS APPEAL TO THE WORLD THROUGH US; WE ARE HIS PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVES. (2 Cor 5:20)

• We have to grab a hold of what has been offered to us, and work with the Holy Spirit to develop our fruit to a full measure so we can behave in such a way that draws people and glorifies God!

 TODAY: 

Pick a way in which you can practice each one of these characteristics in some way!