There’s something important about noticing God’s handprints of Grace in our lives and the little God winks he leaves sprinkled in the midst of our storms. They remind us not only is He still there but also He is still Good.
The reason I share my heart and words is because I want us to know God. I want us to remember God. I want us to know who we were created to be in Him. This is why I keep showing up in my real life and this space.
One of the greatest lessons I have learnt is the coexistence of my faith and how layered it has all been – it has definitely tendered my heart and humbled my soul. Looking from the outside in we don’t see God’s inside plan. But we know it is good – and God overrules our plans – ooof! I legit cannot…
Life is all a matter of perspective. Scripture reinforces God’s Word regarding perspective through the delivery of His Truth, which is all truth and more than perspective. Let’s unpack this… ~ Lisa Blair
There are two types of perspective. Perspective according to Dictionary.com is, a mental view or prospect. What are the two types? There is the carnal perspective or truth and the spiritual perspective or truth. Prior to being saved, we knew if spiritual perspectives or truths but had no relationship with it, we were looking from the outside.
The Living Tumblr. Wiirodocu.tumblr.com
As born again Christians, the perspective and truths are no longer intellectual ideas. They are engrained in our new fabric. The truth feeds our perspective on life as seen through the eyes of Christ. It governs our actions, weighing heavily on our conscious acts.
The Word instructs us to trust the process, not the expectation of our desires. You see, the expectation is carnal, the process is living by faith and not by sight. It is our choosing, we were endowed with free will. We were also endowed with a heart understanding of the Word which is ALL TRUTH. Free will nudges us toward the perspective of now and us the architecture of failure.
God not only gifted us with free will, He gifted us with Christlike virtues. If we apply His virtues in our daily living we will reap the desires of our heart if they fall within His Will. I say, reach for the sky, stay within His Will meaning apply His truths to your life and will succeed. Will you have setbacks and disappointments, yes. Tell yourself you live by faith and not by sight. You are gifted new mercies everyday.
When we stay locked into prayer. We benefit from our relationship with the Lord. We experience comfort and peace in the middle of sprinkles through the worst of storms, knowing we are covered and never alone. Seek His peace, wisdom, knowledge and purpose. Shift your perspective. Seek His truth and grow your relationship within the context, His perspective, not your own. Carnal perspective is shortsighted, it focuses on the here and now, not eternity.
CourgeousChristianFather.com
Proverb’s 2:6 describes the feeling of being part of the Lord’s family and the benefits of the relationship. We no longer ascribe to the perspective of earthly wisdom and knowledge, we transcend to the truth of wisdom, and knowledge and its application in our life.
And, since the Bible is replete with truth, Paul also shares that as humans we will doubt. We will loose hope. We will suffer, but through it all, we receive the Lord’s comfort that provides hope and the will to move forward despite what may lie before us.
When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer. ~ Psalm 94:19 NLT
Other Verses reflecting new life in exchange for human/carnal perspective: 1 Peter 1:3; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 3:16
Once upon a time I was in a ministry program. One book on our reading list was, Can You Drink The Cup? By, Henri J.M. Nouwen. The introduction of the book reads, “When Jesus asks his friends James and John the sons of Zebedee, “Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink he poses the question that goes right to the heart …”” In each instance Christ is asking us to give up our lives and surrender our lives for Him. Are you willing to take up His burdens, and if within His Will, die for Him?
The Ultimate Requirement As a Christian, God expects you to order your life.
First, you should live in expectancy of Christ’s return as Jesus tells you to “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). Second, you should treat all people with honor and dignity as Jesus instructs you to, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39).
Third, you are to pray to God daily as Jesus urges you to “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). And, of course, there are many more ways in which you are to order your life as a child of the King.
However, Jesus has one ultimate requirement for you: that you be willing to die for Him. Does this surprise you? It shouldn’t; it is clearly presented in Scripture. Why would…
When our life goes sideways, we are generally under spiritual attack.
I have studied spiritual warfare for over 12 years, and this is the best video I have seen. I found it on Facebook by a renowned Christian author, McDaniel. If you are FB members, you can also access it at RspH@K7CdEC
Debbie McDaniel, Facebook TAP ABOVE ARROW TO VIEW
Dear Lord, I pray that you cover each person that ruminates and ponders over spiritual attacks and begins to identify past attacks against them. Stand with them, alert them of current attacks, and give them wisdom in casting them away from their families, friends, associates, and careers. In Jesus Holy Name, Amen.
I pray the prayer for protection, the 91st Psalm, over them and encourage them to begin their days with this prayer.
“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him. With long life, I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”” Psalms 91:1-16 NIV https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.91.1-16.NIV
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I am listing several posts from my Youngchristianwarriors.com acct on this subject. Visit this site for additional posts.
You pray and pray and pray, and God blessed you within His Will. Did He bestow a blessing that mirrored your prayer?
My husband and I lived in the Midwest for ten years. I wanted to move back to the West Coast, meaning Los Angeles. I prayed without ceasing, with self as the center point. I wanted to move back to L.A..
My pray was not one that reflected dependence upon God. I did not ask what His Will was for me, instead I told Him what I wanted, not thinking about His big picture for my life and where I was best suited to accomplish His work.
Image – Linda Moore Curry, Pinterest
The place I would accomplish His work was not Los Angeles, as I desired. It was Oakland, a place I refused to move to earlier in life. I did not care for the Bay Area. My husband had been offered a job in the Bay 10 years earlier. He was also offered an opportunity in Kansas where we moved. I would do anything to avoid the Bay.
Looking back, God planted me in Kansas to prepare me for the position as administrator at a charter school in, of all places, Oakland, Ca. Life was not easy in Kansas. We were in a recession and our jobs did not materialize as planned and offered. The state froze government jobs, i.e., the University of Kansas. I scrambled for employment and ended up taking two part time positions and a quarter coordinator position, yes that is equal to a full time plus job. We were also raising three sons who needed our attention. The jobs kept me going, made ends meet even though I was a college graduate and felt under paid with little to do with my degrees. Crazy right? Amazingly to the untrained eye, these experiences did not mount up to the reality. It turned out to be my training time in the desert. Each position offered experience in some component needed to succeed in my next task God was preparing me to undertake.This season was actually a blessing and also served to advance my husbands career.
All to often we can not see the forest for the trees. The trees are in our line of scope. Similarly, our prayers are in our line of scope. The forest is where God chooses to plant us to acquire the skills and knowledge to accomplish His work. The next time you feel you are in the wrong place, take time to recognize God has you where He wants you for that period in time. We are His apprentices. Apprenticeships often feel demeaning, without purpose or cause. But, within the context of doing things you feel require little of your abilities are the nuggets, the diamonds, that once connected prepare you for your next step.
I like the NLT version of Isaiah 55:8-9 because the message is clear –
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” https://bible.com/bible/116/isa.55.8-9.NLT
The Living, Tumblr
God chooses us and prepares us to do His work, His Will. In the case of Paul, (I am not implying any of us are Paul’s in the truest sense), we are God’s ambassadors on earth, sent here to accomplish His Will.
In the article, The Preparation of Paul, the writer shares: “Paul said that when Christ called him, he did not go to Jerusalem to receive instruction from the apostles. Rather, he retired into Arabia for a time and not until three years later did he go to Jerusalem… It has often been remarked that Paul clearly implied that he spent three years being taught by Jesus Himself (1:12), either directly or (perhaps more likely) through the study of the Word. Thus, like the other apostles, Paul studied with Christ for three years before beginning his ministry (compare Acts 1:21). Ligonier.org. March 19, 1992.
Paul spent three years preparing for his mission, career if you will, before God placed him in the role.
David is also a good example of how God applies His Will.
David did not become King over night. David was the youngest, least hardy and not handsome like his brothers. His father taught him a skill because there was little hope of him becoming anything more. But it was precisely the skill, being a good sheppard, that was needed for him to become a man of God and a great king.
Did you know that God sent Samuel to tell David that he would be king when he was just 15 years old? At that time, David was just a shepherd boy who was always overlooked by his older brothers. But God had a plan for David’s life, it just took a while for it to happen. David had to be patient and trust that God would do what he promised. David had to run away from King Saul who hated David. When King Saul died, David was finally made king. In total, David had to wait 22 years to be the king of all of Israel! Have you ever had to wait for something that you really wanted? If you have, you know how hard it is to be patient. But, maybe you’ve only had to wait a few days or a week…maybe a month. David had to wait a lot longer than that. So kids, here’s the lesson. Sometimes God will make us wait. He may not answer every prayer just how we want or he might take longer to answer than we like. But, we can trust God’s timing because he’s God and he knows what he’s doing. His timing is always perfect. Be patient! (David Becomes King. Pursuegodkids.org)
When David was a teenager, he was anointed as the next king of Israel. It was then that he faced Goliath, was banished by Saul, hid in the desert, lived on the run, forced out of the nation, and fought many battles. It was nearly 15 years between the time that he was anointed king and actually became king. He was tested, just like Joseph, so that God could convert him from a shepherd into a king. (Quota.org Gert Britz)
Paul and David are great examples of how God prepares us to accomplish His Will. The Bible is our manual, our guidebook. If God trained them, placed them in desperate situations, sent them places he would not have chosen on their own, why would it be any different for us today?
God also chose women to accomplish His Will, in a time when women were second class citizens if you will. He chooses the unlikely so the world will know it is not our doing. In fact, the vast majority of the hero’s and heroines throughout history were ordinary individuals who God planted a seed in before they were born. What is the proof, read Jeremiah 1:5 where he penned God’s words, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.”
We should always dig deeper when we are in situations that feel leads no where, or in a direction not of our choosing. There are hidden gems, lessons, skills, knowledge and wisdom that is being imparted in those moments, times, seasons, and years.
Again, our time is not His time, nor our thoughts His. We are His and He has plans for our future. Jeremiah 29:11 poignantly states:
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” https://jeremiah.bible/jeremiah-29-11
Peaceful Home
I wrote this post days ago and my Pastor’s Daily Devotional focuses on this topic. Amazingly, we both spiritually matured in, that’s right, Oakland, Ca.
This is a call for continuous prayer throughout this school year. Our children go to school every day and the parents wonder, are they going to be safe. Being safe was not a daily consideration earlier in the decade or in times past, but now it seems people are intent on harming and killing children in schools. We all need to pray for school safety this year.
Dear Lord,
We are praying that you keep all school children and schools under your protection this year. Don’t let any hurt, harm, or danger affect them. We know you are our refuge, our shield, and our strength and our ever-present help in times of trouble. We come to you know in prayer, asking for your blessings.
Please protect our children, and allow them to remain children with gleeful eyes, always questioning and believing the best about people. We know you can turn anything around, and we pray that if it is within your will, let no instances of school shootings occur this year. We praise you for who you are. We thank you for a violence free school year. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. (L. Blair)
God, thank you for being a mighty warrior and a strong protector. You call us to stand firm, not in our own strength and might, but in Yours. Your power has no end and your authority demands even the demons to obey Your will. Help us, O God, to rely on your matchless power to stand firm. Grant us victory rooted in Jesus. (Paraphrased, City Life Church, Standing Firm In The Faith, August 15, 2022)
Lisa’s Daily Inspirations 