April 2016: Monthly Motivation & Encouragement


96lioness

QUEEN LIONESS!!!
Hello everyone! It' almost May, but I do have April's monthly motivation. So much has taken place in life these past few weeks; God is so very good and so worthy to be praised! :)

I apologize for my lateness, but I promise I never forgot about this; I'm just posting this now while I have time. I pray that you all find this motivational and inspirational and encouraging. Again, it's lengthy, but it's definitely worth your time.

Enjoy
 
A young woman & her father were traveling home from a nearby town. They had been in town to visit a local church where her father, who was a pastor, preached at the church’s anniversary. Her father was much anointed; he was compassionate & loving to his members, and very obedient to the calling the Lord had given him. He was a dynamic preacher, impacting the lives of many with his Holy Spirit filled sermons that had led many souls to Jesus Christ. His daughter loved hearing him preach, and would often accompany him on his out-of-town trips to hear his sermons. She also served as “chauffeur”, as he was pretty elderly & didn’t drive much.

It was a beautiful sunny evening as they headed back toward their hometown. It had been a long day, but a Spirit-filled day of worship and praise, and now the young woman relaxed, taking in the scenery of the journey home. She was so engulfed in the peace and quiet that she didn’t notice that the blue sky started to dot with thin clouds. Yet, midway through their journey, the clouds thickened and were now gray, and the sun was darting in & out of them. “I think it may rain,” she said to her father. Her father didn’t answer, so the young woman just guessed he was asleep. Undeterred she kept driving.

All too soon the sky turned gray with matching clouds, and rain began to fall. It was a steady rain so the young woman kept driving. But as she drove on she noticed the rain beat hard on their car. It was now dark, so she turned on her lights. “I didn’t know it was supposed to storm. It seems like this came from out of nowhere,” she said. But again her father didn’t answer. “He surely must be asleep,” thought his daughter. Still not shaken, she drove on, but slowed her speed.

As if on cue, thunder boomed and lightning lit up the sky. A little shaken, the young woman slowed her speed drastically. “Daddy,” she said, “it’s storming pretty badly. I think I should pull over.” Her father didn’t answer; at first she thought he was sleeping so soundly he didn’t hear her. Just as she started to repeat herself, her father, in a clear & calm voice answered, “Keep driving”.

The young woman bit her lip, nervous, but she continued to drive. The rain continued to fall, harder and harder with each mile; soon it was as if water was being poured from buckets. The thunder grew louder and the lightning became fiercer, and now the wind began to howl. It was so dark that she could only see the hood of the car. She had to slow down to the point it seemed the car was moving at a crawling pace. She was now very shaken; she had never driven in conditions like this. As she crawled along, she was able to see dim lights on the side of the road; passengers pulled over the side, hoping to wait the storm out. Thinking it was a good idea, she said again, this time in trembling voice, “I really think I should pull over, Daddy". Convinced that her father didn't hear her, she began to sob quietly. But again, in clear, calm voice, her father answered, "Keep driving".

The young woman was beside herself with fear and anxiety. “I want to pull over; I should pull over. I can’t see anything. I don’t know if it can get worse than this” she thought. Her nerves were completely shot, but she drove on, straining her eyes for a focal point in the darkness. A few seconds later, the rain began to lighten up, and soon after it began to fall lightly. As the car picked up speed, the rain became a drizzle, and the dark sky was now gray and more visible. The young woman was ecstatic! She could see the road. As the wipers worked across the windshield, she watched as the clouds began to roll away, making room for patches of blue sky. And as the car moved ahead, the sun even peeked in and out from the clouds. After a while, she heard her father say, “Pull over. I can take it from here”.

The young pulled over into an empty lot, parked the car, and turned off the motor. As she turned to face her father, tears fell from her eyes as the rain had previously fell from the sky.

“Daddy”, she sobbed, “I don’t understand. How can you do this to me? You want to drive now? I couldn’t see where I was going! I was scared! I told you I needed to pull over! But you made me keep going! I needed you and you just told me to keep going like nothing was happening!” she said hysterically. She put her face in her hands and wept profusely.

Her father put his hand on her shoulder. “Child,” he said, “I love you very much, and would never tell you to do something I know you can’t do. Yes, that was a very bad storm, but I knew you could get through it, which is why I told you to keep driving. Those cars you saw pulled over. Right now, they’re still stuck in that storm because they quit and pulled over. But I didn’t want you to be stuck in it, so I told you to keep going. And if it got too much for you, I was right by your side to take over when you couldn’t” he said. “Child, you’ve done an excellent job. Now take your deserved rest while I take the wheel.”

His daughter looked up at him, with tears in her eyes. She threw her arms around her father, and sobbed. “I love you, Daddy”, she whispered.

“And I love you, child” he immediately answered.




..........to be continued............
 
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We all face situations, moments, circumstances in our lives that are challenging and sometime beyond. Life has a way of throwing the unexpected, un-sudden, and un-invited at you, and no matter how well prepared or well planned you may think you are, it rocks you when it does hit. One day you could be sitting on top of the world, and in the twinkling of an eye, the weight of the world is now heavy on top of you.

So many people are going through right now so much right now. Struggling with a prodigal child, dealing with a bad marriage, hurting over the loss of loved ones, starting over in the aftermath of a stroke or heart attack, trying to live from to check-to-check in a world of financial and economical mess, coping with hurt, depression, addiction, living life as a victim of senseless and cruel crimes in a world that no longer values justice.....and just when you think you have just the tiniest ounce of strength left to hold on, the devil shows up, and whispers in your ear, "This is too big for you", "You'll never make it through this", "You can end it all and be at peace", "Where is this God that you worship and pray to so much? Does He even hear you?" , "You did all this praying and worshipping, and look at what it's gotten you; this isn't for you", "You're already in a mess, you may as well have fun in life". And when the devil gets in your mind, he has you imprisoned and bound.

We as Christians and Believers must know that, yes, in life, there will be storms and trials that will test our faith. But please know that hard times, down times are the wrong times to doubt God and His word. It's easy to praise God when things are going well, but what about when the challenges and crises come? What about when the job layoff comes? When the foreclosure happens? When the drugs take over a loved one? What about when your husband/wife tells you it's over and leaves you? No matter happens in our lives, we must use the measure of faith God has given all of us and keep on living! It hurts, but we have to keep on going, we have to keep pressing on. Things will get dark, and sometimes we can't even see how we'll get out of it or even see our way through it, but that when that faith has to be activated, knowing that Christ Jesus has overcome this world and gone before you and made your path clear. When we give up, we say that God is not trustworthy and is not who He says He is; we stay stuck in our storms when we give up. But if we keep on moving in faith and in prayer and in praise & worship to God, our faith is activated and we eventually move out of the storm toward our breakthrough.

So, don't give up! Take comfort in knowing that God will never bring you to what He cannot deliver you through. Take comfort in knowing that Jesus Christ, our Saviour, is bigger than this world and any problem we'll ever have. Take comfort in knowing that the Holy Spirit is there to guide you and direct you through your storm, telling you to "keep going". God has you through this, so He's not worried about your journey, but is concerned about your destination. Keep going, knowing that your development, growth, and maturity in Christ is happening during your storm. And rejoice knowing that when it gets to be too much for you, God is right beside you, ready to take over.

Be blessed and be at peace, my brothers and sisters.

References:

Romans 5: 3-4
I Corinthians 9:24
Philippians 3: 13-14
James 1: 2-4; 12
I Peter 5: 10-11

Story taken from a sermon of:
Bertrand Bailey, Jr, Pastor of Greenwood Baptist Church
 
.....and when you are done praying, learn how to "speak" the word of God over yourself and your loved ones. When the enemy came to temp Jesus, Jesus simply spoke the Word. Too often we are waiting on God to deliver us when He has already given us everything we need to defeat the enemy. The question is do we believe we are who God says we are. In a nutshell, we are to hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering. The word profession can also be defined "confession", which means "to say" (to speak). To "hold fast" means to keep saying/speaking the Word. Just as Jesus spoke "It is written....", we are to do the same. When you "speak" the word out of your mouth, you release the power of God into the spirit realm. Ephesians 6:12 tells us we wrestle not against "flesh and blood" (aka...people), but against pricipalities, powers, rulers of darkness and spiritual wickedness in high places. Whatever situation you find yourself in, find out what the Word says about it and begin speaking the promises out of your mouth. Don't speak the problem or the circumstance, speak the solution, the Word of God. Job 22:28 says that you can decree a thing and it shall be established unto to you. To "decree" simply means "to say or to speak". If you are speaking your problems, they will be established unto you. If you are speaking the promises of God, the promises of God will be established unto you. What are YOU speaking about yourself?
 
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.....and when you are done praying, learn how to "speak" the word of God over yourself and your loved ones. When the enemy came to temp Jesus, Jesus simply spoke the Word. Too often we are waiting on God to deliver us when He has already given us everything we need to defeat the enemy. The question is do we believe we are who God says we are. In a nutshell, we are to hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering. The word profession can also be defined "confession", which means "to say" (to speak). To "hold fast" means to keep saying/speaking the Word. Just as Jesus spoke "It is written....", we are to do the same. When you "speak" the word out of your mouth, you release the power of God into the spirit realm. Ephesians 6:12 tells us we wrestle not against "flesh and blood" (aka...people), but against pricipalities, powers, rulers of darkness and spiritual wickedness in high places. Whatever situation you find yourself in, find out what the Word says about it and begin speaking the promises out of your mouth. Don't speak the problem or the circumstance, speak the solution, the Word of God. Job 22:28 says that you can decree a thing and it shall be established unto to you. To "decree" simply means "to say or to speak". If you are speaking your problems, they will be established unto you. If you are speaking the promises of God, the promises of God will be established unto you. What are YOU speaking about yourself?


AMEN!!! We're about to wrap up our series in Bible Study on "Refocusing Your Priorities"; my pastor asked the question just 2 weeks ago, "How do you successfully resist the devil?" The responses were the same: Jesus used the Word of God, and we must do the same!

Not only has God given us the tools we need to defeat the enemy, He has also given us the instructions on how to successfully defeat the devil. God has given each of us a measure of faith, and I tell everyone who's going through, that if you profess faith, you better be prepared to walk in it! Besides, "without faith, it is impossible to please God, for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder to them that diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6)

Thank you for sharing this!
 
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