Sunday, January 28, 2018

GOD WANTS YOU BACK by Nina Keegan

GOD IS CALLING YOU BACK TO HIMSELF...BE RECONCILED TO GOD.. HAS THERE BEEN A DISTANCE BETWEEN YOU AND GOD..?

Isaiah 59:2
But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.

Faith is something we must fight for...The Bible says the violent will take it by force… We cannot just stand around and let the enemy trample and steal what Jesus died for us to have anymore… It’s time to fight the good fight of faith! The enemy temps us with sin and iniquity… We get tricked into believing that times have changed and that what we are doing,(disobedience and sin) is really not that bad… we get wrapped up in the chains of our sinful nature and before long we have drifted so far from the Lord...we can’t hear him.. we feel alone.. afraid...distant!  

Yes God forgives all of our sins when we repent and turn away from them… But if you feel distant from God, search your heart and see what God has been asking you to give up and to walk away from....

 Colossians 2 :23
DO NOT drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the good news..

Before salvation we were all once very far away from God. The Bible says in Colossians that we were once his enemies, separated from him by our evil thoughts and actions. But he RECONCILED us to himself through the death of Jesus Christ and his physical body. He brought us to himself to be his own children so we could be in his presence, made holy and blameless as we stand before him without a single fault.. all through the precious blood of Jesus.

Psalm 51:12
RESTORE to me the JOY of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.

Does it seem like you have drifted from the joy you once had in the Lord… Are you weary in well doing and does it seem like no matter what your prayers are never answered? The enemy is constantly trying to discourage us and whisper words of failure and defeat.
We give up and we feel that God‘s not with us so we might as well live in the world… We allow sin in our lives..

But we must remember that through salvation  and the amazing gift of God’s grace; God has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his dear Son who already purchased our freedom and forgave our sins… There is no condemnation in Christ, Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.

This Scripture on restoring our joy clearly shows that from time to time we do need to be restored to the joy we once had through the salvation of Jesus… The scripture is in the Bible for a reason… God knew it would be hard to stay the course… God knew we could drift and become   Tempted, complacent and distant… When we read the Scriptures, we realize that we are not alone, that God knew there would be times when we would suffer because of our distance from God.. We are never alone! God knew we would need to be restored to the joy of our salvation.

God has made a way and given us a word for everything we could possibly ever go through… Even a struggle to fully depend on Him!
He knows we are human and he knew every struggle we would face, it is no surprise to him that you have drifted away or that you’ve been tempted to give up... sometimes it seems it’s easier to live in the world than to fight for hope ... 

We must get our hopes up!

 We must encourage ourselves in the Lord… We must stir up the gifts of the Spirit.. God is teaching us to war… Nothing worth having is ever easy… But it is worth it… A relationship with Jesus Christ is absolutely worth it!!

The apostle Paul says in Colossians 2, that we should have COMPLETE CONFIDENCE and understand God’s mysterious plan which is Christ himself and in him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

God’s secret plan is “Christ lives in you!” And if he lives in you, then we never need to be distant from HIM! We will never be separated from Him again, we have the Holy Spirit in us to help us, to guide us, to comfort us ..to bring us back to that first place where we experienced the joy of our salvation. Repent! Turn back to Jesus!

Just because we feel distant from the Lord doesn’t make it so… We have to stop relying on our feelings and trust in who our creator is… and His word is truth in our lives. When God says he will never leave us or for sake us… Then we can take that to the bank and count on it no matter how we feel! 

Hebrews 13:5 Amp.
Let your character [your moral essence, your inner nature] be free from the love of money [shun greed—be financially ethical], being content with what you have; for He has said, “I will never [under any circumstances] desert you [nor give you up nor leave you without support, nor will I in any degree leave you helpless], nor will I forsake or let you down or relax My hold on you[assuredly not]!”

We can pray and we can ask God to give us complete knowledge of his will and to give us spiritual wisdom and understanding... we can ask him to help us stay on track so that our lives will always honor him and be pleasing to him, and then our lives will produce every kind of good fruit so that we will always grow as we learn to know God and his character more intimately.

These are the things we must seek God for right in the middle of our “feelings” of inadequacy and our thoughts of failure and defeat ...

Feelings are not reality… 

We must get a grip on our feelings… And pray through it and yes fight, fight the good fight of faith!!

Let’s be thankful for Salvation and ask God to strengthen our faith so that our lives will be forever changed regardless of the current circumstance… so that we will remain in Perpetual Peace and in joy!
“The joy of the Lord is our strength!”
Nehemiah 8:10 

In your prayer time ,boldly approach God 
With these requests… Make them part of your daily prayer time, make this part of your arsenal of strengthening your faith.

Ask God to help you know his will, ask God to give you spiritual wisdom and great understanding, ask him to help you live honorably and pleasing to him, ask him to deliver you from all evil, ask God to give you knowledge more and more of himself, ask God to give you strength and endurance and patience while you wait,  always ask God to fill you with joy, peace and gratitude.

We must continually believe the truths of God‘s word and stand firmly in them. We have been reconciled to God through the death of Jesus.. we must continually remind ourselves of that so that we can have the complete assuredness of who we are in him, so our lives will be holy and living examples of Christ in us ..let us continue to follow him so closely with our roots secured into the depths of who He is and let our lives to be built on this Rock, this solid foundation..Pray your faith grows so strongly in these truths that we were taught, that they will overflow in our hearts with Thanksgiving and peace
PERFECT PEACE...
Which means mature and complete, not flawless.. but we should each grow and become more and more spiritually mature. We must train like an athlete and strive not in our own strength but in the power of God’s spirit working in us.. we can learn and grow each and every day, we can be unshakable and immovable in him....motivated by love and not by fear, or pride ,knowing that God is right there and available to us through faith in our one and only Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
God forgives, God restores!

Colossians 1:11-1(NLT)
11 We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, 12 always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light.13 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son,

Matthew 11:12
From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. 

John 14:27 
Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid
1 John 5:14 We have courage in God's presence, because we are sure that he hears us if we ask him for anything that is according to his will. 
Philippians 4:6-7 Don't worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart. And God's peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus.
Isaiah 26:3-4 You, Lord, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever; he will always protect us.
Matthew 24:4
And Jesus answered and said to them, "See to it that no one misleads you.

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TRUST GOD’S WORD by Nina Keegan

THE WORD OF GOD IS GOD BREATHED... WHAT DOES GOD’S WORD SAY? 

Three times Jesus spoke to Satan: “It is WRITTEN!”, and Satan's schemes were defeated. There is great power in the spoken word of God. Words have power when they are God's words spoken in faith through your lips. ... He quoted the Scriptures (so should we), because the bible is the living word of God.

It’s time to stop being our own masters of disaster! Often it seems like we run from one crisis to another and are constantly expecting the other shoe to drop.. Fear, anxiety, doubts guilt.... TORMENT... 

GET IN THE POWER OF THE WORD!

Do you think that God would make you to be a failure? God has never made us to fail, it’s not a option ..we are made to be victorious in him. He made man to be his children; to walk the earth with an absolute power to do great and mighty exploits for the Lord.

God has put in us unique capabilities that are supernatural!  Our abilities in Christ have the capacity of controlling and bringing everything into subjection. We have complete authority and dominion over every scheme of  the enemy !

Luke 10:19
I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.

Yes there is a supernatural capacity in the power of Christ dwelling in you... power to bring every evil thing under you until you can put your feet up on it and be master over all evil!

 Nothing can ever rise up and magnify itself against the power of God, the power of God’s Word!  God wants us to be his disciples, his army, we are not frail, we are not helpless,
We as born-again believers, are filled with the Holy Spirit.. What does that mean for us? We are to be filled with the fullness of the power of God, we are equipped pioneers, kings and priests… we are Completely furnished and supplied with all we will ever need to be witnesses and examples of God’s glorious mighty power, his love, mercy and grace! We are to be living moving and walking evidence of God‘s love on earth!

The Word of God is pure holiness… It shows us the way to walk in examples of pure holiness… We are to replace worldliness with holiness.. how do we do that?
 We live in the Word of God, we live in the Bible and not the world… We bring the truth of the word of God with us everywhere we go as we supernaturally walk it out. The power of God can remake us, it can mold us, and shape us and change us it to be reborn... a child of God... Made new in every way! 

 God’s word has the power to transform us ..it can make us hate sin, but love the sinner and love righteousness… After all we are all sinners, there is no ranking system for sin, it is all sin to God.

God’s power can take away bitterness, hatred, covetousness malice… He can wipe away these evils with the goodness of his pure love… We overcome evil with good!

Romans 12:21
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Through the power of the blood of Jesus we are made pure, every bit holy.. we can be pure in mind, heart and actions; wiped clean, empty vessels ready for the newness of God to fill us to the overflow of his abundance of everything good!

God gives us a new way of life through salvation.. Jesus is the best plan!

 He is the best Of everything God has for you…

 God gave his only son to be the propriation  for our sins… The sins of the entire world!

Jesus came to set the captives free, free from disease, pain..free from addiction, bondage, strongholds, abandonment, rejection, lack...free! free! free! God means for us to be so filled with him that the power of bondage and sin have no effect upon us!

Luke 4:18 
“THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, 
            BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. 
            HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, 
            AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, 
            TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE DOWNTRODDEN

We are to go.. be his Disciples…live like him and do all that God created us to do; help the needy… lay hands on the sick… Deliver those in bondage, all for and through the glory of God...
 Go and preach the good news of the kingdom of God and his righteousness... Jesus came to do this and we are to be like Jesus in the world.

1 John 4:16-17
God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 17And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.

The words of the Bible are not just dead words they are alive they are full of spirit and life and they have the power to change everything… The living word of truth, the living word of God’s supernatural wisdom and of God‘s knowledge will come forth in the power of the Holy Spirit and cut through anything the enemy brings our way.. it will break every yoke of bondage and we can receive divine revelations to carry out God’s plan and to live out our purposes and our destinies in him…

We are children of God that should never thirst or hunger for the world ...but thirst and hunger for the WORD.. GOD’S LOVE!

“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” Matthew 4:4

Jesus said, "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63). Speak His words, speak the Scriptures, because the word of God is life. Hebrews 4:12 (affirms this: "The word of God is living and active."

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
James 1:22 

How can a young person stay on the path of purity?
By living according to your word.
Psalm 119:9 

The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God endures forever.
Isaiah 40:8 

As for God, his way is perfect:
The Lord’s word is flawless;
he shields all who take refuge in him.
Psalm 18:30 

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
Matthew 7:24 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:1 

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Saturday, January 20, 2018

GOD’s Perfect Love by Nina Keegan

 WHAT COULD EVER STAND AGAINST THE POWER OF GOD’S LOVE IN US..?

Phil 1:9 
I pray that your LOVE will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.

Are we people of circumstances or are we people of faith? Do we think we have great faith until the second the wind blows in the wrong direction we get troubled and fearful? 
We must stay rooted and grounded in the word! WE MUST LET THE LOVE OF GOD FORM IN US.. his perfect love casts out all fear....
 We are productions of the love of God in us... with that perfect love God is forming in us, we can stand at the gates of hell and laugh in the face of calamity... when we are certain of the word that says all things will work together for the good to them that love God (Romans 8:28)
Then what could ever stand against God‘s perfect love and his perfect written word?

No weapon formed against us shall ever prosper!(Isaiah 54:17)


I can tell you that I have said this more times than I can even count… “God I may not understand right now but I know that this has to be used for good…” 

No matter what you’re going through God will use it for good… it’s His Word ... it’s truth!

Hindsight is 2020… We can always look back at the adversities and the trials in our lives and from our new perspective, we can see God’s faithfulness, his mercy, his grace all moving us in a direction
of unending strength, reliance, resilience, and assuredness, in who God really is!
Looking back is the easy part, but were our eyes on Jesus when we were in the midst of it?

God is in everything, everything!  He is in the depths, the heights, He is always lifting us through every circumstance, he’s restoring us through every trial.. OUR TRIUMPHANT LOVING GOD!

  Where have you been that you are now free..? What seemed impossible that is now a testimony..? Won’t He always be the same unchanging God? The one who continually loves us through every situation?… Oh to just lean on him and not our own understanding...to grab hold of the fearless faith that only comes from the love of God and daring to trust him once more... and then again once more... let trust be perpetually in motion!

Because He is able to do exceedingly abundantly more than we could ever ask or think
(Eph 3:20)

We are to have the mind of Christ filled with all the fullness of God… Our natural capacity can be supernaturally enlarged when we trust God… There is  the Holy Spirit’s power in us when we trust God with complete surrender ..The Holy Spirit is present to lead, guide, heal, and restore.

We should remain so close to God and draw so near to him and seek his presence in all we do so that we can receive that power  that is perpetually lifting and carrying us to a constant place of REST AND PEACE! Is there anything better than rest and peace in Jesus?


Acts 1:8
But you will receive POWER when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere.

We must surrender all and live completely for the glory of God… Our Lord, it is love in him that establishes us, strengthens us and upholds us, making us strong when we are weak and enabling us to continually stand in the difficulties of the day-to-day battles. God is with us… Emmanuel… He will never leave us… and  yes he will do  exceedingly abundantly above all we could ever ask or think!

When we are in the presence of the Holy Spirit, could there ever be a prayer that His power could not answer?
How big is possible?  What are the glorious works that could be done through us when we are one with Him? His perfect love, that perfect love knows no limits, has no boundaries, can break every yoke of bondage, can heal every infirmity, and can restore every hurt..

We must give ourselves to the new order, receive the manifold wisdom of God where we will have boldness and access with complete confidence by faith of him(Eph 3:12)

We must draw near to God.
We must seek him in all things through prayer, worship, meditating on his word, and  allowing the love of God to penetrate every inch of our being.
 The Bible is God’s word, His love poured out to us, when we use it every day, God will draw nearer to us and we will draw nearer to him. 
Let God finish what he has started in you… He who began a good work will complete it… Let’s let his PERFECT LOVE do a mighty work in us! 


Phil 1:3-11
Thanksgiving and Prayer a letter from Paul 
3I thank my God every time I remember you. 4In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
7It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. 8God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
9And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

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Tuesday, January 16, 2018

GOD IS A MAN OF HIS WORD..by Nina Keegan

 BE CONFIDENT IN WHO GOD 
 IS AND WHAT HE CAN DO!

1 John 5:14-15
And this is the CONFIDENCE THAT WE HAVE IN HIM(GOD)
That, if we ask anything according to HIS WILL, he hears us, and if we know that he hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we shall have it..

When our lives are pleasing to God… We can live in such a bold confidence. When Daniel‘s life was pleasing to God, no lion could come near him in the lion’s den… Daniel 6:22  (paraphrase)

You cannot ask or trust God with perfect confidence until you are in a perfect union with God… (WE MUST KNOW HIM AND FULLY RELY ON HIM)

Apart from Him we can do nothing...John 15:5

There was always a perfect union between God and Jesus when Jesus was on the earth....
He would ask of the Father and God would give him what he asked ..the moment Jesus prayed, he knew, ( had confidence) that the Father would open the heavens for him…

What makes us lose our confidence in all that God can do…? Is it disobedience that distances us..? When we step outside the will of God and harden our hearts towards the things of the Lord, it’s hard to hear from God... it’s hard to discern… Sometimes it’s been a slow drifting away… and before we know it, we have turned away from everything we know God is calling us to do. Our feelings, our emotions, they all get in the way and they tell us it’s too late to get back on track…

Unbelief brings brokenness and sadness to the heart of Jesus…

The shortest verse in the Bible is “Jesus wept” John 11:35

This was concerning the death of Jesus’s dear friend Lazarus..  Jesus had such a love for him… But why would Jesus cry when Jesus himself knew that His friend would rise up and live again…?
 Jesus wept because he knew that the people who were standing around the grave, even Martha, Jesus’s close friend,  had not come to the realization that whatever Jesus would ask of the Father, he would give him… They had unbelief in Jesus.. even though they had seen the many works that he had done… This was the cause of Jesus’ sadness...
Unbelief in all that’s available to us as born again believers is still a cause of sadness to the Lord… Why do we have such a hard time believing that the word of God is alive and true and available for us if we dare to believe…?

And Jesus was amazed at their unbelief. Mark 6:6

Jesus did not have a confidence issue, He was bold in his asking and confident in the answers…He knew who his Father was and because he knew this, he had a confidence that his Father would always hear him and he knew that when he prayed Lazarus would come forth.
There was an absoluteness to the prayers of Jesus!
It wasn’t a question of maybe… It was with absolute assuredness of faith that his prayers would be answered.

Sometimes it feels when we pray as though there is a stone wall in front of us, we have no feelings…it feels as though we are praying empty words and no one is hearing them.. We feel no Holy Spirit and it causes us to lose our confidence. But the Holy Spirit will never leave us or forsake us and because of this knowledge.. we cannot fail...
 We will never get anywhere if we continually depend on our feelings… The word of God is infinitely better than our feelings!  It is alive… And it should  be our source of bold and unlimited confidence.

The Bible says that the just shall live by faith.. many times abundant faith comes from experience… When we have gone through the trials and have come out the other side knowing God‘s faithfulness, this has been a training process that stretches our faith.

We cannot talk about the things of God that we have never experienced, Experiences give us testimonies… it seems to me that everything is a training ground for the love of God to present itself and to build our faith!
 We cannot take other people into the depths of God unless we have been broken ourselves… Isn’t that the very reason for the trials,  to make us stronger and to strengthen us in the reliance on our heavenly Father and who he is…! HOW BIG IS OUR GOD?

We must praise God in the good times and in the bad and as apostle Paul said,”count it all joy
 when we go through many trials… “God never promised us an easy road, but He did promise us that he would never leave us on that road alone.

God’s promises never fail, Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God
Romans 10:17

We must always realize that we serve a God of unlimited measure… God’s supply and abilities can never be exhausted… It pleases him when we ask for everything we need..How much more?...What do you need..?  It is always so much more that God inevitably shows us…
Eph 3:20
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.

He has a plan of healing, he has a plan for restoring, he has a plan for redeeming, he has a plan for prospering, he has a plan for everything we could ever think of… And his plan is already in place and we can have it just for the asking…

Get in fellowship with Jesus, call on his name.. take time to be with Him, to meditate on the word of God... these things are life to us all!

May God awaken us to the fact that this is the only place where there is any ministry of power… Steeped in the Word of God through salvation and in complete confidence and reliance on Jesus as our Lord and Savior and the written Word of God as our blueprint! There is power... Power for us who dare to believe! 

Acts 1:8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere-

God’s word never fails!!
You could have complete confidence in this! 

 Joshua 21:45
Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass. 


Jeremiah 1:12
And the LORD said, "That's right, and it means that I am watching, and I will certainly carry out all my plans."

Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock. Isaiah 26:4
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1
This God–his way is perfect;the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him. Psalm 18:30
Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. John 14:1
Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. Psalm 37:5




Saturday, January 13, 2018

THINK BEFORE YOU ACT by Nina Keegan

  THINK, THINK, THINK, BEFORE YOU ACT...

  I was reading in Proverbs today about the wisdom of thinking things through… As we know  King Solomon was a very, very wise man… He wrote such Godly  and Holy Spirit, filled wisdom in these proverbs, truths that are every bit as relevant to our lives today as they were when they were penned...

 This scripture below teaches us about thinking things through, pondering and giving careful thought to the things that you will do… Don’t do anything rash, no knee-jerk reactions….. We must ponder the path, think deeply about the path God has for us and stay as closely sealed on God’s path as possible.

Proverbs 13:16
16 Wise people THINK before they act; fools don’t—and even brag about their foolishness. 

Proverbs 4:26
Ponder ( THINK CAREFULLY) the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure.( secure)


Ponder: meditate, to consider or examine attentively or deliberately. ponder implies a careful weighing of a problem or, often, prolonged  thinking about a matter. ⟨pondered the course of action⟩

We must make time for the things of God, we must meditate on his word and seek him first before anything else and let him dictate our paths. We must not let our feelings, our fleshly desires or others influence us.
When we spend time with the Lord, He gives us an armor of protection… He gives us wisdom to know what to do in all situations. 
 Time in the word prepares us for every circumstance in advance… It makes our footing secure and gives us peace.

I heard a quote once that says “if you want to kill a man‘s vision, give him two.”

What does that mean?

We never want to get sidetracked on a vision or path that is not from the Lord, we don’t want to go down another    dead end road and miss out on the amazing divine plan that God has for us… The enemy will always dangle the bait, the enemy will be ready with the enticements of the world… He will be ready with anything that can distract us and get us off the path God has ordained for us!

John 16:13
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

When there are too many things occupying our attention, we lose our focus on what the goal really is… We lose our peace and we can get ourselves in a crisis mode, confusion sets in… We lose our way and many times we give up… 

But God is not the author of confusion ... When we focus on and meditate on his word, we can zero in on his divine path.... stay focused on Jesus!

When we do this, our ways will be sure, and secure, we must think before we act!
This is wisdom from the Lord!

Think, think, think!…

Often times we let the things of the world, and our feelings dictate our steps .. we let greed, wants, and desires for the things that the world deems important dictate to a great extent how we live because it seems we always find the time to do the things we enjoy; the things we want to do even if it’s a sin...and we can’t find the time for God...

But the Scriptures tell us to guard our hearts above all else.  We always must check ourselves; make sure that we concentrate on those things that will keep us on the right path… God‘s path! We must make sure our attentions lead us in the right direction through the word of God and spending time with the Lord. 
We can put boundaries on our own desires, we don’t have to go after everything we see, we don’t have to keep up with the Joneses, we don’t have to be like everyone else, we can look straight ahead and keep our eyes fixed on our goal in Christ… His plan for our lives, pray against all sidetracks and detours that lead us to sin!

If you want wisdom, you must decide to go after it, this will take resolve, this will take determination not to abandon the search once you begin. Ponder..THINK! 

Philippians 4:8King James Version (KJV)

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, THINK on these things.

 Yes..think on the things that Jesus has done for you, think and meditate on the word of God, seeking God‘s clear direction for your life.

This is not a once-in-a-lifetime step but a daily process of choosing between two paths.. paths of good and evil...nothing is more important or more valuable…

Proverbs 4:14
Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers.

Many people who are led astray, who have gotten off the right path and have gotten into sin can always look back and find a fork in the path… A crossroads… Where they chose the wrong way… When you are sealed in the word of God, you will make wise choices and be able to stand against the wiles and tactics of the enemy and his temptations to take the wrong road!

There is victory in wisdom, there is victory in pondering the word of God and knowing what the word says for you... there is victory in obeying those words of wisdom!

Guard your heart with all diligence, even so-called friends and family members who are not doing God’s will can Lure us off the path and to do wrong things… People who want to be accepted will end up going down the wrong path; many people can’t see ahead..where the road of distraction is leading them and how their actions could lead to trouble.. Sin is fun for a season… There are often times not immediate consequences for sin but rest assured there will be consequences, we mustn’t  mock God!

Proverbs 4:7
Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do! And whatever else you do develop good judgment.

David taught Solomon as a young boy that seeking God‘s wisdom is the most important choice he could ever make.

 Solomon learned this lesson well, and when God appeared to Solomon to fulfill any request,  the new king chose wisdom above all else. We should also make God‘s wisdom our first choice through seeking him and thinking on his word and pondering his will for our lives. 

We don’t have to wait for God to appear to us like Solomon; We can boldly ask him for wisdom today... we can spend time with him in prayer and meditation on  think on his will for our lives. 

James 1:5
Assures us that God will always grant our request.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

Ecc 5:2-12
2 Think before you speak, and don't make any rash promises to God. He is in heaven and you are on earth, so don't say any more than you have to. 
3 The more you worry, the more likely you are to have bad dreams, and the more you talk, the more likely you are to say something foolish. 
4 So when you make a promise to God, keep it as quickly as possible. He has no use for a fool. Do what you promise to do. 
5 Better not to promise at all than to make a promise and not keep it. 
6Don't let your own words lead you into sin, so that you have to tell God's priest that you didn't mean it. Why make God angry with you? Why let him destroy what you have worked for? 
7 No matter how much you dream, how much useless work you do, or how much you talk, you must still stand in awe of God. 

Proverbs 2:6
For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth comes knowledge and understanding.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
1 Corinthians 10:31
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
2 Corinthians 6:14
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?
Proverbs 22:7
The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.
Philippians 4:8
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.



Wednesday, January 10, 2018

A Road In The Desert by Nina Keegan

A ROAD IN THE DESERT!


 "Forget about what's happened; don't keep going over old history. 
Be alert, be present. I'm about to do something brand-new. It's bursting out! Don't you see it? There it is! I'm making a road through the desert, rivers in the wastelands.
ISAIAH 43:18-19

What does God mean when he says he’s making roads through the desert…?

In my time with the Lord I feel like he was showing me that when you’re looking at a desert, it’s an extremely vast and open wasteland with no roads, no landmarks, there is nothing to point the way…every where you look it’s empty.. it’s endless... If we were set down in the middle of a desert; we would had absolutely no way of knowing which way to go… We could be aimlessly walking in an infinite circle without really even knowing it...going absolutely nowhere...

  But God always makes a way!  When he says he’s making a road through the desert… That is him giving us a highway, a path to follow, he’s giving us a way out of desolation ..he’s giving us a plan and a road to follow that leads towards victory.. a road that leads us out of our aimless meandering, one that gives us  clear direction and it gives us a purpose!

  The Bible says that God will make our paths clear, God says he will direct and order our every step, he says that he will make the crooked places straight… 

 When God gives us a road in the middle of nowhere… When he gives us the clear and definitive direction when we are lost, we will never have to wander aimlessly again!

What causes our aimless wandering?  Are we continuously going over old history… Are we rehearsing the bad things, the old memories, the old hurts, and pains from our lives… The Bible says we are to forget about what has happened in the past.. leave it all behind and do not look back!  

God is our Almighty God and Father, He knows the wrongs that we each have suffered, he knows the ones that have caused us pain. He understands the hurts of our hearts and souls. He knows the injustices we’ve endured. God knows the memories that we rehearse and play out like an old movie or a broken record… He knows that we long for justification, He knows the reminding of the hurtful words that the enemy keeps whispering in our ears.
He knows the minimizing and dismissiveness of another person towards us… He knows our besetting sins...he knows it all! guilt, shame, condemnation..

We must forgive, forget, and surrender ... ALL!

The ought and bitterness is causing us to wander aimlessly, to lose our direction and focus on Christ Jesus,  it causes our footing to slip and we subsequently veer off the right path! 

The Bible says to release it all...we can give it all to God, we can cast our cares and be fully free to see what God is doing; the brand new thing he longs to do in our lives!  We must ask God to interrupt our thinking patterns and our meandering..We must decide that we indeed have the mind of Christ and through him and the authority he has given us, we have the power to stop rehearsing and regurgitating old history!

We must be determined to think on the things that God thinks, our thoughts should be his thoughts ... when we are tempted to complain, let’s praise him and thank him for healing up our past hurts and wounds… say things that aren’t as though they are until what we are standing for has manifested! Speak life! 

 God wants to do a new thing, he wants to give us a way out, he wants to give us a clear path and a new roadway in the middle of our vast desert’s… It’s time… It’s time to start declaring victory.

The Bible says it’s bursting forth can we not perceive it… It is not God’s will for you to miss the target...

We are to be polished arrows in the hands of the Lord… We must ask God to set us down on the roadway that he has made clear for us to have a way out, this road way to victory, this road way to success and freedom from all of the past hurts.. this road way that leads straight to the purpose and will of God for our lives… 

It’s time for “necessary endings”!

It’s time to put the past in the past where it belongs, it’s time to leave it all behind... it is necessary for all the old ways to end so that we can see and obtain the brand new thing that God is doing!

It is a new day..behold, behold! what we used to find esteem from (in the flesh) will fade away..our past sins and failures have no authority to identify us any further.. we can release both of these false identities today to our Lord and Savior..it’s redemption time! 

  The Bible says in Philippians that we must press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God through Jesus Christ is calling us…...

We can never even be participants in this race unless we are on the road… The right road God has made for us in the middle of our deserts.. the road that leads us out and straight towards the finish line…

Are you on the right path..?

Heavenly Father in the mighty name of Jesus we ask you to help us to be released from the past.. prune from us any and all attachments to past hurts, failures, and sins. We release our past to you and turn towards our futures in you, we will reach for what lies ahead, show us the vision and the road you have for us ... we thank you father.. in Jesus powerful name we pray! 
  God bless you all!



Psalm 25:4-5
Make me know Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; For You I wait all the day. 
James 1:5
But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him
Psalm 5:8
O LORD, lead me in Your righteousness because of my foes; Make Your way straight before me. 
Psalm 27:11
Teach me Your way, O LORD, And lead me in a level path Because of my foes. 
Psalm 31:3
For You are my rock and my fortress; For Your name's sake You will lead me and guide me. 
Psalm 61:1-2
Hear my cry, O God; Give heed to my prayer. From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. 
Psalm 86:11
Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name. 
Psalm 143:8
Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning; For I trust in You; Teach me the way in which I should walk; For to You I lift up my soul. 
Psalm 43:3
O send out Your light and Your truth, let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your holy hill And to Your dwelling places.