Blog Archives - The Remarkable Blog

Praise shatters "Doubt." We need bigger rattlesnakes.

1/31/2020

When we stop praising, we get stuck in the muck and mire of our own problems. All we can see is the here and now. But, something supernatural happens when you rejoice in the Lord. You are lifted out of the prison of impossibility and translated into a realm where you can do "all things through Him who strengthens me" (Phil. 4: 13). Get your praise on! Get some music pumping into the atmosphere and change the course of your day. Turn the Word on in an app. or CD, or podcast and play it in your car, in your house, at work (use earplugs, lol). There really are "Wings of Praise." I even wrote a song by the same title. The wings of praise can take us above our situation. We are never under the circumstances! We are above and not beneath. We are the head and not the tail. Satan is under our feet!

When you praise, you go into a phone booth looking like Clark Kent and you come out looking like Superman!

Mr. Jones called his pastor from the hospital one day and frantically said, "Oh, pastor come quickly, my son, John was just bitten by a rattle snake and is at the point of death." Of course the pastor hurried to the side of the worried father. "Pastor, pray for my son!", cried the father, " I have promised the Lord that if my son recovers, I will come back to church and bring my family and will again start living for the Lord."

Of course, the pastor prayed. He said, "Dear Lord, we come to you now in behalf of Mr. Jones’ son. We pray that he might recover from this snake bite. We want to praise your name for sending this rattle snake to bite John! This one rattle snake has done what I or the church has been unable to do in the life of Mr. Jones now for over 5 years. During all this time, he has not been interested in his spiritual well-being or the spiritual well-being of his family and this one rattle snake has turned his mind back to you. Lord, could it be, what we may need in the lives of many of our other church members are bigger and better rattle snakes?"

Monday, we will look at how "Praise shatters Anxiety."

ACTION STEP: Get into the Holy Ghost Phone Booth-The Word of God. When we get in the Word, the Word gets in us just a surely as the poison of a rattlesnake gets in us if we are bitten. What's in us-is what comes out of us.

Praise shatters negativity.

1/30/2020

Have you been complaining about your situation? Stop talking trash. Remember that Paul was in chains when he wrote: "Do all things without grumbling or disputing" (Phil. 2: 14). He knew the children of Israel were barred from the Promised Land because they grumbled against the Lord (1 Cor. 10: 10).

Grumbling short-circuits faith, but joy revives it. Paul always looked for the hidden blessing in every trial, to the point that he thanked God even in the midst of shipwrecks, beatings, riots, death threats and starvation. Sometimes we have to really look to find the silver lining but trust me it's there. It may take a few years even to see it but it will be revealed. Some unanswered prayers are the best answers we could have received.

People come to me and tell me about a lot of things, good, bad and ugly. Some are negative and some positive. Some tell me about stuff that seems to be a great deal to them which apparently in the eyes of others, isn’t. We are called to be sensitive and loving to everyone and be kind to others. Sometimes, when I understand the issues they are talking about it is not actually a great deal, but their focus is them and it’s about themselves--and that is why they are being negative and calling everything a big deal! Bottom line--PRIDE! God wants to destroy the pride in them because He does not want to lose them. Pride goes before a fall.

Just try to focus on others and you will see that your problems are not actually a problem, because others have greater problems than us. God is working in us for a solution. This is the time we must understand and praise God for the situation we are in. Can God be wrong in putting us in the situation we are in? Sometimes, we are where we are, because of our own choice and God has allowed it--because he wants us to learn from those circumstances. So, praise Him for His mercies. Praise Him we are alive. Praise Him for His love toward you. Praise Him in the morning and when the sun goes down. Re-joice--have joy over again. Paul said, ‘Rejoice and again I say, Rejoice.’

Tomorrow, we will talk about "Praise Shatters Doubt."

ACTION STEP: Refuse to allow the Devil to put a dog collar on you and then jerk your chain. God through Jesus Christ has set you free from the law of sin and death. This means you and I are free from the power of sin. No one makes us do anything. No one makes us mad. No one makes us lie. No one makes us do anything. We chose to sin. Chose rather to rejoice. Go do something for someone else. Go help others who are not as fortunate as yourself. You got this! God's got you.

Living with a gospel perspective.

1/29/2020

Acts 16:25-26 (KJV)

25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.

It was in Philippi that Paul and Silas were arrested and thrown into jail by the city’s magistrates. Yet while the two men sat with their feet fastened in stocks, they began to pray and sing hymns. Long before the invention of subwoofers, this Holy Ghost jam session triggered an earthquake that shook the foundations of the prison and shattered everyone’s chains.

Do you feel bound by your circumstances? I know I do. Sometimes I feel literally trapped in a tiny prison of limitation and delay. And because of today’s weak economy, many people who have enjoyed a carefree life in the past are facing job loss, financial uncertainty, debt and a dismal lack of opportunity. Yet when I pray about my own situation I always am led back to the ancient words of Paul to the Philippians: "Rejoice in the Lord!"

Perhaps right now, in this difficult season, you need to put Paul’s message on your iPod and play it over and over. The supernatural joy that is released in praise will do many things:

Praise shatters despair. You think your situation is hopeless? Paul was under house arrest, and he couldn’t leave his cell to preach the gospel. Yet he wrote: "Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that [my imprisonment] will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ" (Phil. 1: 18b-19). Know that God is working behind the scenes. The clouds over your head may be dark, but praise will lift you above them so you can see the sun again.

Tomorrow we will look at the second thing praise shatters, "Negativity."

ACTION STEP: Read Philippians Chapter 2 verse 14 and 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 10. Then, meet me here tomorrow as we continue to renew our minds to "Rejoice."

Look for the hidden blessings!

1/28/2020

Paul always looked for the hidden blessing in every trial. Have you been complaining about your situation? Grumbling short-circuits faith, but joy revives it.

Are you trapped in a prison of despair, doubt or anxiety? Learn to release the power of praise. The apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians is one of the Bible’s most unique books. Some scholars call it "the epistle of joy" because the word "joy" or "rejoice" appear in it 16 times. Yet what is amazing is that this letter about Christian joy was written from a prison cell!

While Paul was under the watchful eye of Roman guards, bound in chains, he wrote some of the most uplifting spiritual words ever penned.

In the letter’s four short chapters the author continually exhorts us to praise God no matter how dark our circumstances are. He writes: "I will rejoice" (1: 18, NASB), "I rejoice and share my joy with you all" (2: 17), "I urge you, rejoice in the same way" (2: 18), "Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord" (3: 1) and "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!" (4: 4).

Like a broken record, Paul hammers the same theme over and over and over. REJOICE! The word "rejoice" actually means "to re-joy." It’s like a reset button on a computer.

When any type of electronic equipment goes out of whack, a reset button will get it back online. That is what happens when we rejoice: The joy we’ve lost is restored and our feeble faith rises again.

ACTION STEP: Get yourself a "RESET" this morning and get your praise on. Then, take a praise break at lunch, dinner and bedtime. You will have a better day.

Travel day after a great Reset

1/27/2020

Today is my travel day home from Colorado, so I will catch up with you more tomorrow!! Here's a few pictures to enjoy from my trip!

Married to Christ or the world and it's pleasures and problems?

1/24/2020

As a believer we are referred to as the "Bride of Christ." Typically, when we are married to someone we spend a lot of time with them. We eat with them. We sleep with them. We even start to finish one another's sentences. We know what the other is thinking (well I do after 43 years). For me I even know where to look for my husband's car in a parking lot. I know he avoid door dings, people and likes a corner where the driver side hugs the curb. I look there first. He has my focus. I can be anywhere and pick out his voice. It is much the same with my children and others I love. They are my focus. God--He has my focus. His focus is my focus. I love what he loves. I pray to see and hear what He sees and hears. I am married to Him.

What has our focus? What consumes most of our time? What do we talk about most often? On what do we spend most of our money? What do you care about?

In my early days of ministry I use to hear, "Show me your checkbook and I will tell you what you love." Today, very few people even have a checkbook and fewer write checks. But, as world changes I would chance ti say, "Show me your cell phone history (if that is possible) and I will tell you what you're focusing on." Whatever, has our focus has us. Try passing a semi-truck while looking at it and it is very difficult because the tendency is to go in the direction we are looking. The same with snow skiing. Look at your feet and you're bound to fall. Take a golf swing and look up to see where the ball went too soon, and the ball will never go in the hole. We hit what we aim for and when we look up, the ball goes up too.

Take time today to honestly access what has got your focus?

ACTION STEP: Today is a new day. Today, you and I have the opportunity to RESET! If you are in the Denver, Colorado area I invite you to a conference I am speaking at The Meeting Center Residence Inn by Marriott Boulder Longmont, CO tonight through Sunday. Here is the link for more information: https://www.facebook.com/events/690096458160605/ Now, go "Focus" on what truly matters, because it makes all the difference in all you do and who you are, who you are friends with, what you eat, what you wear, how you talk and ultimately where you will spend eternity.

Death by Distraction-Get some traction!

1/23/2020

“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”
--Colossians 2:8

Luke 10:38-42
"As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one.[a] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Distraction is a curse of modern life. Between our cell phones and computer screens, not to mention our kids and coworkers, our attention is constantly being diverted. It can become difficult to focus on any one task—or any one person—for very long.

Let’s start with the definition of distraction. Distraction is “the process of interrupting attention” and “a stimulus or task that draws attention away from the task of primary interest.”1 In other words, distractions draw us away from what we want to do, whether it’s to accomplish a task at home or work, enjoy time with a loved one, or do something for ourselves.

If distraction becomes a habit, we are unable to sustain the focus required for creativity in our professional and personal lives. Worse, if we are constantly pulled away from friends and family by distractions, we miss out on cultivating the relationships we need for our psychological well-being.

In short, a distraction is any action that pulls us away from what we really want to do. Here is a short list of a few distractions that we bite on:

Looking at notifications that pop up on your phone—even during conversations with family, friends, or colleagues
Interrupting focused work to check email
Chatting with coworkers who pop by your desk when you intended to do focused work
Scrolling through your social media feeds when you planned to read a book

Distractions aren’t necessarily your fault, but managing them is your responsibility.

If you are ready to take back your life from incessant distractions, you need to follow four steps to become "undistractable":

Master internal triggers. (Hungry, cold, bored, lonely...)
Make time for traction. (Traction is any action that moves us towards what we really want.
Hack back external triggers. (Turn off TV, cell phones, close the office door...)
Prevent distraction with pacts. (Refuse to answer calls, make appointments with yourself and keep them. Stay away from co-workers or family that you know are time stealers until you are ready to deal with them and can give them your full attention.) Rule of thumb, "When present-be present."

ACTION STEP: Identify your distractions. Ask yourself what consistently gets you off course and causes you to lose traction and just slide all over the place. Using a car analogy do you need to change your tires? In other words, what you ride around on and spend time in that is worn out or out of season. If you need re-tread go to the Lord and ask Him for help. Then, when He tells you what to do? Do it! You can do this!

God is going to dig around our lives again. God wants growth in our lives.

1/22/2020

Luke 13:8 (KJV)
"But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also,
until I dig around it and fertilize it."

Frustrated, fruitless, faithless are three things that run together. This weekend I am speaking at a women's conference and the theme is "Reset." To prepare my heart and mind as well as my spirit for this time with women, I have been studying the subject of "Reset." Apostle Les Bowling, a friend of mine did a series on this subject and as I listened to the CD's, he taught "Reset" is also defined as "Replant or Replanted"

Never fear being uprooted or pruned. Never fear the hand of God working in your life. Sometimes we are rooted, and entangled with people that do not have the capability of helping us to grow and flourish. We need uprooted and dug around. We need to shake somethings loose from our roots and be fertilized, then placed in good soil and maybe even placed in the "Son-shine". The light of God will cause us to grow. Meaning the light of revelation in our life. When a tree is overshadowed by larger trees, and have the forrest (people we are surrounded by) keep us from being in the light, we don't grow properly. God tells us to be fruitful and multiply.

We can be destroyed by distraction. The word distraction comes from an old word meaning torn apart. A tree will grow deformed trying to get to what it needs. You have probably heard someone say, "I feel torn", "I feel like I'm coming apart." These terms are usually spoken when a person becomes distracted from their purpose and calling of God. It is a rootless season in our life. Many places in scripture we are referred to as the trees of the Lord. We must die to what we want. We need to focus on what God wants. Focus is what we get closest. What has your focus?

"The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar in Lebanon" (Psalm 92:12)
"The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted."
(Psalm 104:16 NRSV)

ACTION STEP: God is about to jerk some of us up by the roots, not to destroy us but to insure we grow and flourish. God is going to dig around lives. God is demanding it is time to be fruitful! Learn from the fig tree (Mark 11:12-25). Get in the sun (Son). Spend time in the Word of God. Disconnect from those who are choking you from growing. Embrace the hand of God in your life. Get planted in the courts of our God. When we get planted properly we will produce.

Moments of refreshing. Seasons change when we change.

1/21/2020

Acts 3:20 (ESV)"
"that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,
and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus,"

God is a God of the suddenly. I recently read a post on Facebook that said:

One season David was a shepherd, the next season he was a king.
One season Ruth was working in the field, the next season she was owning the same field.
One season Mordecai was sitting outside the king's palace, the next season he was inside the palace!
We serve a God who turns things around, the God of unmerited favor!

When I read this it reminded me once I was lost, now I am found. Once I thought serving God was loss and now I know it is gain. Once I worked for God and now we work together. Once, I thought I was owed something, now I realize everything is a gift.

Seasons change when we change.

ACTION STEP: You can not out give God. Go ahead give Him all you have. Give Him your life. Give Him all your energies. Give Him whatever He asks. Then, God will give you times of refreshing. He will reward you with things you didn't ask for. He will take you places you never knew existed. He will feed you with food, and take care of you even in a sun parched land. God fulfills dreams and keeps promises. Take Him at His Word and be refreshed!

God is with you wherever you go.

1/20/2020

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

Today, I am in Colorado. I left after our normal Sunday morning services to head out to the airport. People ask me if I mind traveling? My answer? I love it. No, I don't particularly like packing and unpacking. I dread long flights and uncomfortable seats. I get a bit dehydrated. But, I know God goes with me. I know where I am called to go. I know that to say, "Yes" to the easier life is to say, "No" to God. I'm not going to do that knowingly. If God calls you or I to do something, then He will give us the grace to do it! God is a BIG God. He sees the BIG picture. You are in His picture, in fact if He has a refrigerator--your picture is on it! No matter what your profession there will always be parts we love about the job, and things we wish someone else could do. Right? I hear you. Could God just translate me? I'm still believing for that! Could an angel just come do our filing? Housekeeping? Dishes? Laundry? Emails? I wish! We know that to say, "Yes" to anything is to say, "No" to a lot of other things.

I believe if you are reading this Blog you want what God has for you. You want to be used of God. But, maybe you're unsure of what God is wanting you to do? Well, start with what was the last thing He asked you to do? Did you do it? No? Then, why would He ask you to do anything else? Yes? Then, be patient He will give you your next assignment.

What is your heart's desire? If you truly desire to do something for God then I don't believe you will be disappointed. Warning here. If you try to make it happen or compromise in any way to get what you want, it will never happen with peace. It will come with a price that will be way more than you could ever imagine. It will take God to fix a problem that should have never occurred. If you are there? Repent. Tell God you are sorry. Ask Him to get you back on track. He is faithful to forgive and restore.

When God calls you, you may feel like you're not ready. Welcome to the crowd. No one feels ready when it's time. Ask a pregnant momma if she's ready when labor begins? If you would have asked her yesterday she would have said, "Yes." But, seriously when it's time to step out and do this thing? It's scary. Do it scared. Do it not knowing what will come next. Do it when you're not sure how you will get it done? How you will finish? Just do it. God is with you wherever you go.

ACTION STEP: Live ready. By this I mean live a life filled with the faith that comes from reading and hearing the word of God. Get in a good church where the Word of God is preached. Do what is asked of you no matter how insignificant you might think it to be. God prepares before he promotes. God makes the man/woman before He sets them in position. He fills a vessel before He pours it out. Get ready. Live ready, set, go! God is with you wherever you go.