My Confession...

I am alert and active, watching over my word to perform it.  Jeremiah 1:12

One of the most powerful things we can do as believers is to confess God's Word.  His Word is truth, and when He hears us speaking His truth and living our lives according to it, great things happen.  I encourage all of you to confess the Bible-based truths below repeatedly, so they can become part of the foundation of a strong self-image in your life.

1.  I know God created me, and He loves me.

2.  I have faults and weaknesses, and I want to change.  I beleive God is changing me little by little, day by    day.  While He is doing so, I can still enjoy myself and my life.

3.  Everyone has faults, so I am not a complete failure just because I am not perfect.

4.  I am going to work with God to overcome my weaknesses, but I realize that I will always have soemthing to deal with;  therefore I will not become discouraged when God convicts me of areas that need improvement.

5.  I want to make people happy and have them like me, but my sense of worth does not depend on what other think of me.  Jesus has already affirmed my value by His willingness to die for me

No matter how often I fail, I will not give up, because God is with me to strengthen and sustain me.  He has promised to never leave me or forsake me.  I like myself.  I don't like everything I do, and I want to change but I refuse to reject myself.  I am right with God through Jesus Christ.  God has a good plan for my life.  I am going to fulfill my destiny and be all I can be for His glory.  I have God-given gifts and talents, and I intend to use them to help others.  I am nothing, and yet I am everything!  In myself I am nothing, and yet in Jesus I am everything I need to be!  I can do all things I need to do, everything God calls me to do through His Son Jesus Christ.

I am who He says I am......Not who everyone, including myself thinks that I am!!

True Forgiveness

I discovered something very powerful this past weekend about the power of forgiveness. All my life I have been willing to forgive, or so I thought, and to forget instances where I had felt that I had been wronged. I felt in my heart and in my soul that I truly did forgive people who had hurt me and was a bit arrogant that it seemed to have come so easily for me. Since I have been forgiven of much, why not forgive others. I watched unforgiveness rip apart the lives of other people around me and decided that I wouldn't allow that to happen to me because after all my unforgiveness would only hurt ME in the long run. What about those who have hurt us? They know that they have wronged us in some way....what feelings do they have...how do they react if they pass us in the grocery store or when we see them at the doctors office? What do they feel inside their hearts? This never concerned me before until now. My vision was clouded by the thought that they went along living normal lives not caring whether or not they hurt me or not. This is true for some, but not for most! We all want love and harmony. No one wants discord and bitterness or wrath. To let someone who has wronged you know that you forgive them and love them no matter what they may have done allows "them" to be free from the weight of unforgiveness and not only us. After all this walk in life is not about us! ME ME ME ME!! It's about us connecting to and being transformed in our hearts, minds, & bodies. To hear the words, "Thank you for forgiving me," and seeing their heads rise and the smile on their face is one of the greatest rewards for us as children of the Most High God. #justathought

Get the devil back!

If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for in doing so, you will heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord will reward you.  Proverbs 25:21,22

on the way to work this morning, part of my morning ritual is to stop at the store and buy something for me to drink.  This morning while I was in line this older woman was fumbling through a change purse trying to get enough money to buy herself a cup of coffee.  I felt the Holy Spirit tell me to buy her the coffee, so I informed the cashier that I would get it to put it on me.  The woman turned and gave me a disgusted look, and I said "it would be a privilage for me to buy you a cup of coffee." She again looked at me harsh and flatly refused.  Actually, she made a big scene so much that it embarassed me, and at first I thought, Lord, I know that didn't come from you telling me to buy her a coffee and I won't do that again ever! The Holy Spirit rose up within me that instant and spoke, "that is exactly what the devil wanted you to say," so I changed my mind.  That was a very difficult moment, but it made me sadly aware of how many people don't know how to receive a blessing-probably because it never happens to them.

Each act of kindness is my way of obeying God and overcoming the evil in the world.  I don't know what bad things happened to people, and perhaps my acts of kindness will help heal the wounds in their souls.  I also believe that kindness toward others is a way for me to get the devil back for the pain he has caused in my life.  He is evil to the maximum degree; he is the perpetrator of all the evil we experience in the world, so every act of love, goodness, and kindness is like stabbing him in his wicked heart.  If you've been mistreated and wished you could get back at the devil for the pain he has caused you, then be good to as many people as you can.  It's God's way, and it will work because lover never fails.  Don't get discouraged like the devil would want you to do...just press on and keep being nice anyways.  What is that old saying after all, you can get more bees with honey than with vinegar!

To my Daddy!

Dad, there are not enough words to express
How much I have longed for you
and tried not to be depressed

Many years have passed us by,
But God has given us time to really see
what matters most and that is
you & I

I no longer look at us with hatred in my heart
I am so very thankful for we've been given
a brand new start.

We will talk about the things that fill
a life with love and pain
but through timeless golden time
the unspoken still remains

Remembering the way you would hold me
and sing sweet songs of Jesus

A little girls needs her daddy
for many many things

Like holding me high up off the ground
Where the sunlight sings

Like being the deep music
That tells me, all is right

When I awakens frantic
with the terrors of the night

Like being the great mountain
that rises in my heart
and shows me how to stand up tall
when all else falls apart.

Like giving me the love
that is my sea & air
So diving deep or soaring high
I'll know you always care.
I want to get to know you more, your thoughts and your desires
and share with you my love
For you are my daddy, NOW
Thanks to God Above.

I love you James Dennis! Happy Fathers Day!!

A Father's Love

Throughout the Bible a person is always identified as the son—or daughter—of a certain man. This is expressed also in many English family names, such as Williamson, Jackson, Thompson. In each case, a person’s identity is derived from a father. The breakdown of the family in many nations today has produced what has become known as “generation X.” X represents the unknown quantity. Many young people in this sad generation have no significant relationship with a father. Consequently they have an identity crisis. They do not really know who they are. The unspoken cry of their hearts is for a father. I believe that if the Christian Church of today can effectively communicate the reality of God as a Father, multitudes of young people will run into their Father’s arms. We can do this in the same way that Jesus “manifested” the Father’s name to His disciples: by demonstrating in our daily lives the reality of our own personal relationship with the Father. Picture a little child held securely by his father’s arm, with his face pressed against the father’s shoulder. There may be great confusion and distress all around. The world may seem to be falling apart. But the little child is totally at peace, unconcerned by what is taking place all around him. He is secure in his father’s arms. We, too, are securely held by our Father. Jesus has assured us that our Father is greater than all that may surround us and no one is able to snatch us out of His hand. To His disciples Jesus also gave this assurance: “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”We may be just a little flock, surrounded by wild beasts of all kinds. But if our Father has committed Himself to give us the kingdom, there is no power in the universe that can withhold it from us.

Rejoice!!

One of the most important lessons we can ever learn is to enjoy every day of our lives as we look forward to the future. One of my greatest desires is to see people thoroughly enjoy the quality of life Jesus decided to give us- not to just read about it or talk about it, but to walk in it and experience it as a daily reality. Many people, including myself are extremely goal oriented. We are so focused on tomorrow that we often fail to appreciate and enjoy today because we are always thinking ahead, looking to the next event, working to complete the next assignment, and seeing what we can check off of our to-do-lists. Our fast-paced, high pressure society urges us to accomplish as much as we can as quickly as we can-so we can then accomplish even more. Over the years, I have learned that the intense pursuit of one goal after another can cause us to miss out on some of the enjoyment life offers us. God does have purposes and plans He wants us to fulfill during the course of this life but He also wants us to enjoy and make the most of everyday we live. I thank you Lord for reminding me this morning to recognize the small things and take joy in each moment. I repent for letting it all rush by me and not noticing the importance of each moment that you have blessed me with. Today is the day You have given me and I will rejoice and be glad in it!

VICTORY IS SWEET!!

I am part of the "Fellowship of the Unashamed". I have Holy Spirit power. The die has been cast. I've stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus. I won't look back, let up, slow down, look away or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I am finished with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chancy giving and dwarfed goals!

I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded. I now live by presence, lean on by faith, love by patience, live by prayer and labor by power.

My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road narrow, my way rough, my companions few, my guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, diluted or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the image of mediocrity.
I won't give up, shut up, let up or slow up till I've preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up and stayed up for the cause of Christ!

I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops.

And when He comes to get His own, He'll have no problem recognizing me...my colors will be clear!

Author Unknown
  

2 Timothy 1:12 (NKJV)
For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.

Romans 1:16 (NIV)
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.

Serving Christ Together,
Trish Maddox
Worship Leader
Triple Crown Cowboy Church