Whats Your Desire?

.Webster defines desire as…An emotion or excitement of the mind, directed to the attainment or possession of an object from which pleasure, sensual, intellectual or spiritual, is expected. So many have misguided emotionally driven desires basically because they are looking at the wrong things and have an appetite for less that what God desires. In the Garden Eve was shown a piece of fruit hanging on a tree and the account reads that when ” she saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.” A lot of things look good and can bring wisdom, but are they necessarily good? NO! You have to be careful what you look at and what you have an appetite for. If you acquire the wrong desire, then you will possess less than you are destined for! Desire is formed by what you see and then acquired by what you have an appetite for. What are you consuming? That’s what you desire! Whatever you are hungry for (appetite for) that’s what you desire! Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the LORD is good.

Do you really desire God? The test is in your eyes and in your appetite. Do you have eye that want to see the Lord? Are you hungry for the presence of God? Hungry for His word? Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

God really wants to give you the desires of his heart!

New Day... New Year....

Lookin' back on yesterday
There are things that I regret
But I put the past behind me
And I never will forget
You have covered my mistakes
And my broken dreams
Now over the horizon
I see the dawn is drawing near
And I realize the sun did rise
Tomorrow's finally here

Today begins a New Day.. A New year... A New Time... A New Journal... A New Decade... A New Chapter..

As this new year starts I have been seeking God the past few weeks, and fasting social media since I'm addicted to social media (facebook, twitter,ect..):-).. I began to pour my heart out to God, and telling him how I dont understand why things have happened the way they have this year and why I had to go through what I did, that thing from the year before were still haunting me, that I felt everytime I turned around that I was under attack, that I would fast and the day I came off the fast, that the very thing I was fasting over would come back and blow up in my face and I just didnt understand why???.. and that I want this next year to be diffrent that I want the past to stay in the past..

As I began just tell God how I felt he began to show me, that 1. I was holding on to the past and wouldnt let go. and give him full control, once agian he showed me the verse

"Isaiah 43:18-19 (GOD'S WORD Translation)Forget what happened in the past, and DO NOT dwell on events from long ago. I am going to do something new. It is already happening. Don't you recognize it? I will clear a way in the desert. I will make rivers on dry land."

.. As i read that verse, I started to realize that God was moving the whole time, in little ways and changing me in the progress and that yes he was moving in the situation but I was still holding on to some of that and not saying ok God this is yours. I belive many times that's what we do we look at a situation that we may have cause or that somone else cause, and we refuse to let it go. that we choose to hold on to the hurt, and we make the trial harder on ourselves. Instead of saying ok God I cant do this on my own and giving it to him. We hold on to it think about and sit there and dwell on what we cant change.
I did that I held on to what I couldnt change, even when I did everything God told me to, everything that lined up with the word, and instead of releasing it after I did all I could do, I didnt STAND. I didnt say ok I did all I could do its yours God, I dwelled.. We cant dwell on the past and think that tomorrow is going to be better the next year is going to me diffrent. if all we do is think what I could have done diffrent, how I wish I could change the past.. at the end of the day.. month.. year.. you cant change the past.. but you can change your future.

I love the song "oh how he loves us".. because there is a line in the song that sticks out to me it says "I dont have time to maintain these regrets..When I think about the way he loves us" I wish I has relazed it eariler that I dont have time to maintain the regrets of the past that I dont have time to "dwell" on them!.. because when I as God for forgiveness he foregave me out of Love,Mercy and Grace.. that all i had to do is leave the regrets behind and look at what he was doing and seeing that through the trails he was changing me that I've learned from the past so I can move on..It's a New Day....

It's a new day
Oh, it's a new time
And there's a new way
I'm gonna live my life
All the old has, passed away
And the new has come
Thank God, It's a brand new day

So in this new year its going to be diffrent because im leaving the past behind because "the old has passed away & the New has Come". I no longer have time to maintain my regrets.. because God's doing somthing New this year in me.. and Im going to follow.. and move forward... 1 Peter 2:9 says "But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God's instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you" .. We have been choosen and we have been called. Not to dwell in the past.. but to reach the nations. And show people that even we have messed up and have a past.. but God's changed us and we all have a future in him..

Now when I wake up thinkin'
'Bout the things I've done before
Memories I could not escape
Well they can't haunt me anymore
Now I can hold my head up high
'Cause I am not the same
You've changed my whole perspective
And with new eyes I see
I've become a new creation
'Cause of what You've done for me

..Picture Grace...

Grace – Grace is God's unmerited favor. It is kindness from God we don't deserve. There is nothing we have done, nor we can ever do to earn this favor. It is a gift from God. Grace is divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration (rebirth) or sanctification; a virtue coming from God; a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine favor

If there was anyone in the bible that understood grace, it would be the apostle Paul, he started out as the chief of sinners, and he ended up the chief of the apostles. The way he made the transition from the chief of sinners to the chief of the apostles was because of GRACE.
Someone once said that if you ever seen a turtle on a fence post he didn’t get there by himself,. So if you ever seen a saint of God seating in church with there bible and there life straighten out there addictions broken and there name written in the lambs book of LIFE.. You know this that they did not get there by themselves or if you have ever seen someone praising God in freedom you know this they didn’t get there by themselves. You can know that God and his grace lifted them up to where they are at. You see Grace is a gift that gets us to the place that we could not get on our own.
The estimate of any object is determined by what a person is willing to pay for that object. When God looked at us, silver and Gold wasn’t enough to pay the price for us. That our worth was more than silver and gold that it was worth his only son’s blood being shed, and if you ever wondered if God loved you, Calvary is God’s answer. You have great worth to him.

In 2Corinthians 12:8-9 Paul is talking about sufficient grace three times he asked God, get me out of this trial, and three times God said my grace is sufficient for you, I will not remove it, because I am teaching you something I am allowing you to go through the darkness there is treasures out of this darkness, Jesus says what I teach you in the darkness you will proclaim in the light ! (Matthew 10:27). Your going through something and you don’t understand and it’s so dark and you almost want to give up and your on the brink of surrender and walking away from everything. But you have to understand Jesus said that I will talk to you in the darkness about things that you will proclaim in the light. You see the law came by Moses but the grace by Jesus Christ.
In John 8:3-11 there is this woman caught in the act of adultery, meaning since she was caught in the act she was probably barely clothed and dragged in humiliation and thrown down at the feet of Jesus, and the Pharisees said Moses and the law says stone her. Well you see one problem with judgmental people is they don’t know when to shut up. They hear something and They will text and talk on there cell phone about it until the phone is dead and than go home and get on the house phone and talk and talk, cause they don’t know when to shut up and they talk to much. You see if the Pharisees would have just stopped talking and said Moses and the law says stone her. They could have picked up rocks and been in line with the law. And Jesus may have watched it happen. But they talked to much, and they turned to Jesus and said what do you say Jesus?.. But at that moment Jesus made a transition out of the law that came by Moses, but grace and truth came by JESUS, he stepped in Grace stepped in and looked at the woman and listened to her accuser and than.. he stooped down and began touching dirt, maybe the reason he started touching the dirt was a sign to the woman who felt so dirty that he didn’t mind getting his hands dirty to rescue her, that when you cant get to him he will stoop down and touch dirty messed up shameful filthy lives with his nail scared hands that he isn’t so high and holy that he cant get his hands dirty. That’s enough but than he stood up and said if any of you with out sin throw the first stone, they all dropped the stones and walked away, and Jesus stood and he said where are your accusers now? And she said there none. The only one who could have accused her because he was the only sinless one didn’t have any rocks in his pocket. The bible said as though Jesus thought she still didn’t get it. John 8:8 says he stooped down again, put his hands in the dirt as to say to her that I don’t care how many times I have to stoop, I don’t care how many times I have to get my hands dirty , or how many times you do this over and over I’m going to stoop down and I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty Im not afraid to touch the dirt in your life because I love you so much I’ll keep stooping down and getting my hands dirty until I get you saved.
Sometimes we think God, I’ve messed up to bad you cant use me, but you see he stooped down and through his basin of mercy he has poured his grace on you to clean you up. He doesn’t care about your past the messes you have made. He is offering his grace, he paid a price for you and he will turn the bad in to good for his glory.


You see there is NOTHING that you can do to separate you from the love of God. And its not what you have done but its about what Jesus has done he has stepped in and he gave his life, so you may live. Don’t let your past hold you back from where God wants to take you, because by his grace we are saved. And by his Grace my sins are washed away.
God can and will move in any circumstance, just give it to him and let his grace set you free..

James 1:1-8

Going thorough the book of James notes for James 1:1-8..

James 1:1 James names himself as a servant of God & of Jesus. Let's not whiz past this. James know his place& who he is.

Before any other title or name we or the world could give us, we are servants of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. This defines us.

1:1 "2 the 12 tribes in the dispersion." 40-50 AD. This is a Jewish house church. These are children & family of persecuted church in acts.

Dispersion means: he's writing to the Jews who scattered during the persecution of the early church. This makes verse 2 more amazing

Jm.1:1 makes vs2 much more awesome. He's writing to people who are persecuted £ed on for their faith. So he meets them where they are.

some versions say in James 1:1 "bondservant" Bondservants were servants by choice, surrendering their rights to their master Slaves were often marked by an earring. When the slave became a bondservant, the earring was nailed to the master's door.

1:2 see that many of us take our "ministry" to the world when God shows us to just love people where they are. He comforts the hurting first

If we are not careful, we will think more of our ministry than the people we minister to.James didn't rush in w/agenda but loved the hurting

Vs.2 have you ever watched a suspense movie 4 the second time and still been worried for the Hero? NO! You already know how it ends!

V.2 James is showing us that as children of God we must remember that God is @ the end of our storms looking back on them and He's @ work.

James 1:4- I'm often left "incomplete" because I'm busy trying to pray my way out of God's life shaping storms in my life.

James 1:5-8: vs.5 is one of the most known yet mist ignored verses in James. We can truly pray to God for wisdom. And He gives it freely.

Yet, how many times have I asked for deliverance from my storms instead of wisdom to walk thru it, letting steadfastness finish it's work?

James 1:5-8 God is offering wisdom freely to all who ask. How many times a week do you pray for wisdom: in friendships, marriage, decisions

Wisdom is Life Knowledge. There are plenty of smart people in the world. But there is a shortage today of Wisdom.

Vs.6-8 Doubleminded: is our faith compartmentalized? We trust God w/our job but not w/our health. Our time but not our wealth. Doubleminded

The "waves" of everyday life have their way with us until we truly understand that we can trust Him. He says He gives wisdom. So believe Him

Leave The Past Behind

Stop
dwelling on past events
and brooding over times gone by;
I am doing
something new;
it's springing up - cant' you see it?
I am making a road in
the desert,
rivers in the wasteland.

- Isaiah 43:18-19

Reading this Scripture I knew that God wanted me to understand that He was indeed doing something new in my life. In fact I had heard those verses before and really liked the idea of His doing something new that He would make a way for me where it looked dry and wasted. But this time I knew He wanted me to see verse 18 and that the two verses really did go together. That got me to thinking.

I didn't need to ask if I really was dwelling on past events. I was the queen of brooding over times gone by. When the God brought this to my attention there were a few things that I found interesting. First of all, whenever I would start dwelling on past events, on wrongs done to me or on wrongs that I had done to others, I would start to relive the feelings of the past and get angry, depressed, you name it. If I had either forgiven or asked for forgiveness, then I was purposely going back to the filth of those sins and wallowing in them probably not such a good thing to do. Then there's the word "brooding." Now, some folks use that word to mean fuss or fume over something, but this is the same word that the God uses in Genesis when He says that the Spirit of the Lord was brooding over the face of the deep during creation. There is a sense of care and nurturing attached with this word. Was I really caring for and nurturing my feelings of pain and frustration that are attached with those times gone by? You bet I was! Lastly, if I really was dwelling on past events and brooding over times gone by, if my attention was focused there, could I really see the newness that the Lord was bringing to my life? Very simply, it was extremely difficult to do so because my attention was not on the Lord.

God is indeed doing new things in our lives. He wants to bring us to new places of intimacy with Him. He wants to heal us emotionally, physically, and spiritually. But we have to cooperate, let go of what lies in the past, focus our attention on the Lord, and be amazed at what He does for us!

Through the Red Sea..

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“Tell…[your children]…the mighty things I have done.”

Ex 10:2 NKJV

It’s not enough to escape your past, its power over you must be broken; otherwise it’ll chase you the rest of your life. When you break away from something that keeps trying to recapture you, it’s crucial to get victory over it; otherwise you can’t move forward and enjoy the blessing God has in mind for you. It’s jarring to think something’s over only to find it isn’t. But remember, it was God who permitted Pharaoh to pursue Israel all the way to the Red Sea. Why? For two reasons: (1) “That I may show [you] these signs of Mine” (Ex 10:1 NKJV). God wants you to see that when you put your trust in Him, obstacles and opposition mean nothing. He wants this experience to be a ‘“landmark memory” you draw faith from when you face your next problem. (2) “That you may tell…[your children]…the mighty things I have done.” You don’t have to live under Pharaoh (Satan’s rule) any more. Like the Passover, when the blood of Jesus was applied by faith to the doorposts of your heart, your status changed. You’re no longer a slave but a child of God. The generational curse is broken. Your children can now grow up under God’s blessing. Abuse, alcoholism, anger and abandonment may have been the story of your past, but it’s no longer the truth about your future.

God can solve your problem in different ways, but sometimes He takes you through the Red Sea so that when you get to the other side you can look back and see Pharaoh and his armies “dead on the seashore” (See Ex 14:30) and know the battle is over!

Facing YOUR Giant..

All of us face "giants" from time to time. These "giants" try to do the same thing to us that Goliath did to the army of Israel to intimidate and bring fear. When the giants come we have to make a choice are we going to let them make us afraid or stand up to them through the power of the God?. David made the choice to not look at the size of the giant, but at the size of His God.So instead of running away in fear, he went out to meet his enemy.

You can't run from your giants, you have to face them. If you keep running from them, they will keep taunting you, and you will not have any peace.They will be out there every morning waiting for you, just like Goliath was there every morning. "in their face". If your knees are weak because of the giant that keeps oppressing you, if you are feeling the urge to run, if you are wanting to go and hide somewhere from it, the word to you this morning is the same one that David spoke to Saul, "Let no man's heart fail because of him.". Actually, it's your word from God. Don't let your heart fail because of it. Because the GOD is with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you. You aren't facing it alone, "Lo, I am with you always." God will fight your battle for you just like He did for David if you will put your trust and confidence in Him instead of fleeing in fear. The Lord hasn't given you a spirit of fear, but power, love and a sound mind. Do what David did, look at the size of your God instead of the size of your giant. When you do, you'll discover that your God is bigger. If the earth is His footstool, then in proportion, how big is that giant now? Besides, if God was big enough and powerful enough to bring down David's giant, He's still big enough and powerful enough to bring down yours today. He hasn't changed!!!!. So, be strong in the Lord and the power of His might, because God in you is greater than any giant.



"And David said to Saul, 'Let no man's heart fail because of him: thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.'"1 Samuel 17:32