Pray about everything.......

Philippians 4:6 (New Living Translation)

⁶ Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

The four-year-old son of a missionary family in Africa spotted a picture of a little pink dinosaur in a magazine and set his heart on having one. His mom knew it was impossible (the magazine was three years old), but her son never doubted God would come through for him. Ten months later, on Christmas Eve, a box from home arrived. At first glance it seemed to contain something special for everyone-except a four-year-old boy. Then they reached the bottom-and they were stunned. The lady who sent the box had no way of knowing God would use her to answer a little boy's prayer. Before taping up the box, at the last minute, she tossed in the one item impossible for his parents to provide-something so insignificant no rational adult would ever have been foolish enough to ask God for...a pink plastic brontosaurus from a fast-food restaurant promotion!

Sometimes we feel foolish bothering God with little things, but we shouldn't. The Bible says: "Pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done." God is interested in every detail of your life; if something is important to you, it's important to Him. In Bible times two sparrows were sold for a cent (on sale you could buy five for two cents!) yet Jesus said, "Not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it...the very hairs on your head are all numbered" (Mt 10:29-30 NLT). When you learn to trust God in little things, you'll be able to trust Him in big ones.

You can conquer worry........

Matthew 6:34 (New Living Translation)

³⁴ “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

Most of the stuff we worry about never happens, or turns out better than we anticipate. Worry, like faith, is a spiritual force. Like a magnet, it attracts the very things we fear, clouds our judgment and distorts our perspective.......

God never intended us to carry tomorrow's burdens along with today's........

So, here are 3 ways that helps me conquer worry.........

1) Replace it......

Telling somebody not to worry doesn't work. Worry is like an emotional spasm; the only way to break it is to replace it.

Philippians 4:8 (Contemporary English Version)

⁸Finally, my friends, keep your minds on whatever is true, pure, right, holy, friendly, and proper. Don't ever stop thinking about what is truly worthwhile and worthy of praise.

2) Dissect it.......

1 John 4:17-18 (The Message)

^17-18God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we're free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ's. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love.

Worry torments you; your imagination runs wild, conjuring up all kinds of scary scenarios. But it's also illogical; when you take it apart rationally and systemically, it loses its power to control you.

3) Rise above it........

A well-known pastor was flying over the Mississippi River one day when the sky grew dark. "We can't see where we're going!" he exclaimed. Calmly the pilot replied, "We just need to rise above the ground heat, dust, and smoke." After climbing another 1,000 feet they emerged into a clear, beautiful world.

Corrie Ten Boom called faith "the radar that pierces through the fog."

When worry tries to fog you in, you can rise above it by placing your trust in the Lord.

Isaiah 40:29-31 (New Living Translation)

²⁹ He gives power to the weak
and strength to the powerless.
³⁰ Even youths will become weak and tired,
and young men will fall in exhaustion.
³¹ But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.

He gives power to the weak: After explaining all the greatness and glory of God, now Isaiah explains another benefit we can receive from our God - He gives us His great power!

Notice who God gives power to: the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Those who are proud and confident in their own wisdom and strength will receive no strength from God.

Even the youths shall faint and be weary: Those who thought themselves strong find themselves weak. God’s strength is reserved for those who know they are weak, and know they have no might.

But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength:

How do we receive this strength from the Lord?

We receive it as we wait on the Lord. The idea behind wait on the Lord is not a passive sitting around until the Lord does something. Yes, God gives us strength; but we don’t expect it to come as if He were pouring it into as you sit passively. He brings it to us as we seek Him, and rely on Him, instead of our own strength.

If we are weak, it is because we do not wait on the Lord!

We are also told that we renew our strength. It is strength that was once received when we first came to the Lord in weakness and no might. Then, that strength is renewed as we wait on the Lord.

Renew is “from a basic meaning ‘to change’ . . . [it] comes to mean ‘to put on afresh’: here, ‘keep putting on fresh strength.’

They shall mount up with wings like eagles: This is the measure of strength the Lord gives us - strength to soar above everything else.

They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint: This is the purpose of the strength the Lord gives us - strength to move forward and progress for Him. It isn’t strength to show off, but strength to go forward in.

Weak in Isaiah 40:29 and faint in Isaiah 40:30 are the same Hebrew word, which means “failure through loss of inherent strength.”

Weary in Isaiah 40:30 is a different word, which means “exhaustion because of the hardness of life." If we are worn out for either reason, God is here to give us strength - if we will wait on Him!

First we mount up with wings like eagles. Then we run. Finally we walk. Does it seem out of order? Not at all.

First, we recognize that we soar up into heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Then we set ourselves on the course to run the race (Hebrews 12:1).

Hebrews 12:1 (New Living Translation)

¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.

Then we are in the good place to walk the walk.

Colossians 2:6 (Contemporary English Version)

⁶You have accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord. Now keep on following him.

Matthew 6:34 (New International Version)

³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.

Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Dry bones

Ezekiel 37:1 (New King James Version)

¹ The hand of the LORD came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones.

Maybe you are looking around your life and finding yourself right in the middle of a valley of trouble, valley full of dry bones! Everybody's valley is different.......

Maybe your valley experience is a troubled marriage, dissatisfaction with your job or a struggling church. If you're not in a valley today, you'll get there. We all go through valleys and we all have times in our lives when we feel like dry bones of despair and gloom surround us. When I am going through a valley, I sat down and I read this story. This is a story that will give you hope. (Ezekiel 37:1-10)

I believe God wants us to believe for a miracle, but I also believe that His purpose is in your valley experience.......just like with Ezekiel.

God had amazing plans for Ezekiel in the valley. But he first had to get Ezekiel there. According to Ezekiel 37:1, the hand of the Lord took him to the valley. He was carried there in the Spirit.

Maybe you don't think God understands what you're going through today, but He knows every step you make.

Psalm 37:23 (New Living Translation)

²³ The Lord directs the steps of the godly.
He delights in every detail of their lives.

Ezekiel was in the midst of a spiritual experience. The presence of the Lord came upon him and the Spirit carried him. If you are coming out of a great spiritual breakthrough or experience, don't expect to be left on the mountaintop. God plucked Ezekiel up and placed him in the valley full of bones......very dry bones.

Why??? Because that is where the miracle could happen.........

God has a purpose for it........

Meditate on God's Word

Psalm 119:15-16 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁵I will study your teachings

and follow your footsteps.

¹⁶I will take pleasure

in your laws and remember your words.

Meditate literally means to "self talk."

When you face the toughest seasons of your life, get in the Word and repeat the promises of God.

1. Remind yourself of God's goodness, love and power.

2. Fill your mind and heart with God's voice.

3. Talk about the victory and blessings that are yours as a child of God!

4. Repeat blessings instead of curses.

5. Remind yourself that God is in control and that you won't always be in this struggle.

6. Listen to encouraging teaching and preaching from God's Word.

7. And most importantly, learn how to encourage yourself by the instruction, blessings and promises found in God's Word.

When you bury yourself in Scripture, you'll get a new perspective on the problem------God's viewpoint.

Trials look different when you see them through the lenses of God's promises and God's Word. Get a new vision by focusing on God and not on the problems around you.

No matter what you feel......no matter what your mind tells you....no matter what the voices around you say, the Scriptures are reliable and true.........

A prayer of blessings over you......

I speak peace to your mind, in Jesus' name.

May the Holy Spirit soothe and minister to you.

May you hear the power of a whisper.

May your ears be open to His still, small voice.

May God's strength, rest and peace sustain you in the middle-of-the storm.

Amen

God will be there for you!!!!

"He leadeth me beside the still waters." Ps 23:2

Philip Yancey says, "Faith means trusting in advance,

what will only make sense in reverse."

Lately, I have been thinking God what do you have in store

for me in the future???

God knows the "big picture" of every facet of our personal lives......

I see the "BIG PICTURE" and I want to do everything possible to get that done........I'm a person that if something is wrong I want to fix it. If something is not working, I want to find a way to make it better. Unfortunately, sometimes it is not in my control or even my place to do so......

I know that God is in control of everything in my life and my family's life.

I read in a article, "If you fear the future, just look back and see how God took care of you in the past."

This I call to mind and therefore I have hope:

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed,

for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness...

The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him"

(La 3:21-25 NIV).

Maybe you want to know everything too soon.

God will give you wisdom-when the time comes.

The key is to meet today's problems with today's strength,

and leave tomorrow in God's hands.

During WWll, Arthur Sulzberger, publisher of The New York Times, found it hard to sleep or rid his mind of fear until he adopted these words from the hymn "Lead, Kindly Light":

"I do not ask to see the distant scene; one step enough for me."

And God isn't going to let you see the distant scene either.

No, He promises a lamp for your feet, not a crystal ball for your future.

"He leadeth me" and that's enough for today.

And tomorrow? "We will find grace to help us when we need it"

(Heb 4:16 NLT)

Elijah the prophet told King Ahab that the drought in the land was over and the rains were coming. Then Elijah told his servant, "‘Go up now, look toward the sea.' So he went up and looked, and said, ‘There is nothing.' And seven times he said, ‘Go again.' Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said,

‘There is a cloud, as small as a man's hand, rising out of the sea!'

So he said, ‘Go up, say to Ahab, prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you'...in the meantime...the sky became black...and there was a heavy rain"

(1 Kings 18:43-45).

Notice, seven times Elijah said, "Get up and go again." You must persist!

If you don't, you'll miss what God wants you to have. Furthermore, if you don't recognize and celebrate small miracles "the size of a man's hand,"

you'll miss the bigger ones so essential to your future.

Beth Anne DeCiantis had to complete a twenty-six-mile marathon in less than two hours and forty-five minutes to qualify for the Olympics. She reached the final straightaway at 2:43, with just two minutes left. Two hundred yards from the finish she stumbled and fell.

Dazed, she stayed down for twenty seconds. The crowd yelled, "Get up!"

The clock was ticking-less than a minute to go. Beth Anne staggered to her feet and began walking. Five yards short of the finish,

with ten seconds to go, she fell again.

As the crowd cheered her on, she crossed the finish line on her hands and knees. Her time? Two hours, forty-four minutes, fifty-seven seconds.

So the word for you today is "Get up and go again."

The essence of God's picture for us in the Bible is to give us the answers. We need not stay in the dark. There is every evidence God wants us to know the answers.

"I am...discouraged, but I will remember you."

Ps 42:6 NLT

Max Lucado says, "When God doesn't do what we want it's not easy; it never has been, and it never will be. Faith is the conviction that God knows more than us...and he'll get us through. Disappointment is caused by unmet expectations...and it's cured by revamped expectations...

Don't panic...don't give up...be patient...God's in control.

So, when you're disappointed:

(a) Look inward

David asked, "Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad?" (Ps 42:5 NLT).

You can't deal with what you don't acknowledge. Ask God to show you the root of the problem.

Is it pent-up anger? Envy? Unforgiveness? Pride? Physical and mental fatigue?

Be open to what He reveals.

(b) Look upward

David said, "I will...hope in God! I will praise him" (v. 5).

Instead of focusing on your discouragement, focus on the One who knows the way out.

(c) Remember God's past faithfulness

David said, "I am...discouraged, but I will remember you."

Through every trial Joseph clung to the assurance that God still controlled his destiny. Recalling God's faithfulness builds your confidence that He'll continue to provide.

(d) Remember, you don't have to understand.

Just because you can't figure out what God's doing right now, doesn't mean it won't make sense later. He "causes all things to work together for good to those who love [Him]" (Ro 8:28 NAS).

(e) Don't give in to bitterness

When your hopes are dashed, resentment can set in.

"If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Ro 8:31 NKJV).

Regardless of how deep the pit may seem, God is on your side!

What's required???

You have what's required!!!!!

This last week, I had the honor to begin our 2nd year of Merge College. It was a nice start to a new year. I have been praying for a situation for one of the students, and I believe I witnessed a miracle. We should never be amazed, when God answers our prayers. I am so excited to see the journey for each one of them this year.

I was reading, when David first arrived at King Saul's palace he was a simple, unknown shepherd boy. But he had an impressive resume'! And God, in essence, said, "I saw you kill the bear and the lion; I was watching when you didn't realize it."

Solomon wrote, "A man's gift make the room for Him." Proverbs 18:16

David's gift may have been only a slingshot, but it opened the door to his future as Israel's king. So even though what you've got doesn't seem like much--give it to God. Then step back and watch what He can do with it.

All God requires is that you show up, say yes, and make yourself available. When you give God what you've got, He gives you what He's got; that makes your odds unbeatable. You can never say, I don't have the right credentials or the right training.

Benjamin Franklin had less than 2 years of formal schooling. Yet at 25 he founded the America's first library, at 31 he started its first fire department, at 36 he designed a heating stove that's still in use today. At 45 he founded the nation's first university, and at 75 he invented bifocals.

He was economist, philosopher, diplomat, inventor, educator, publisher, and linguist who spoke and wrote in five languages.

Chances are, you already have more education than he had when he was your age. Add to that these 2 promises, "The Lord is my helper" (Hebrews 13:6), and "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," and you have what's required!!!!

Always keep moving forward and not backwards.........

Merge students your future looks extremely bright and exciting!!!!!

"CORE Strengths"

"Bring me seventy......who are known.....as leaders."

Numbers 11:16

Sometimes when I can't sleep which is quite often........I find myself just channel surfing.

There is a lot of informercials about everything throughout the night.

When I was turning the channels one got my attention,

it was a exercise program that works on your CORE.

As I laid on the couch, and as someone who needs to work

on my CORE (stomach muscles).

I watched it for a few minutes and even felt like I should get up

and exercise BUT........that motivation lasted for about 1/2 of a second.

Then the word "CORE" got inside of my head.

One of the definitions of CORE is - the central, innermost, or most essential part of anything.

"What if we spend so much time on our weaknesses,

and never develop our CORE strengths."

Then I recalled this story:

A group of neighborhood kids built a tree house and formed their own club. When the grownups were told who had been selected for which office, they were astonished to hear that a 4 year-old boy had been elected president.

"He must be a born leader," one dad observed. "How did it happen that all you bigger boys voted for him?"

His son replied, "Well, he can't very well be secretary because he doesn't know how to read or write. He couldn't be treasurer because he can't count. He would never do for sergeant-at-arms because he's too little to throw anybody out.

If we didn't choose him for anything, he'd feel bad. So we made him president."

Life usually doesn't work that way!!!!!!

You don't become successful by default,

you must work from your God-given strengths.

In life, your purpose is always connected to your giftedness.

God doesn't call you to do something you've no talent for.

God told Moses, "Bring me seventy...who are known to you as leaders."

You cannot grow to your full potential if you continually

work outside your CORE strengths.

Improvement is always related to ability.........

Do you know what happens when you spend all your time

working on your weaknesses, and never develop your strengths?

You will work really hard and claw your way up to mediocrity,

but you'll never get beyond it...........

Economic pressure and family responsibility may require you to work

for a season outside the area of your CORE strengths,

but don't settle there..........

We should always seek guidance, sharpen our gifts,

be patient (which for me is hard in some situations),

and God will open doors for you................

So, for myself these are 4 qualities could strengthen my CORE............

1) Submission

Only a leader who has followed well,

knows how to lead others well.

"Connecting" with people becomes possible

because you've walked in their shoes.

Leaders who've never submitted to authority tend to be proud,

unrealistic and high-and-mighty.

2) Self-discipline

To make consistently good decisions requires character

and self-discipline. To do otherwise, is to lose control of ourselves.

British writer, John Foster wrote,

"A man without decision of character

can never be said to belong to himself.

He belongs to whatever can make a captive of him."

3) Patience

Leaders look ahead, think ahead, and want to move ahead.

That's what makes them leaders.

But the true goal of leadership is not to cross the finish line first,

but to take as many others with you as you can.

For that reason you have to deliberately slow your pace,

stay connected to your people, keep them informed and inspired,

enlist the help of others to fulfill your vision, and keep going.........

And you can't do that if you're running too far ahead of everybody.

Solomon writes:

"Finishing is better than starting. Patience is better than pride." (Ecclesiastes 7:8)

4) Accountability

Many people feel that accountability is a willingness to explain your actions. Real accountability begins long before you take action.

Most wrong actions come about because we are

not being accountable early enough.

So, besides needing to exercise and work on my CORE (stomach)........

These 4 CORE qualities is something to think about

to make us stronger leaders........

Probably, the number one CORE is learn to VALUE others -

the "salt" and "light" principles that Jesus taught calls for us

to INFLUENCE and ILLUMINATE others for GOOD and for GOD.......

"You must earn and grow, in order to give and guide."