God is Raising Up Eliakim's To Carry His Glory

2016 is the year of the peg, God is going to secure and fasten your life.   The things we see happening in the world around us is no reason to be in fear.    God is going to secure your life, and raise you up in His glory.   The world is shifting, times are shifting, darkness has been rising, but you have no reason for fear for this is the season that God is going to make you secure like a peg in the ground.  Unmoveable, untouchable, unstoppable, unshakeable.  

God is raising up Eliakim's in this season.   Eliakim's name means:  God will develop.    Over the past few years God has been developing people and they have been through some trials and test but they have prevailed.   There are many of you right now the enemy is just shaking his head because after all he has hit you with, you are still STANDING!   And the enemy can't figure out after all you been through how you still standing?    God is raising up an army of Eliakim's that have been through the fire but was not consummed!   God is raising up Eliakim's that have went through the flood but did not drown in their problems.   God is raising up a generation that will not bow, will not burn and he is putting his goods into their hands and they are going forth to heal the land!     Eliakim is the son of Hlkiah meaning God is my portion.  God is raising up people that he has developed and HE is their portion!    These are going to the be ones that God is going to raise up to carry his glory and his kingdom to this generation in these last days.  Who is Eliakim?  

In the Bible in Isaiah 22,  Eliakim is being raised up by God to replace a man called Shebna.     Shebna had built a monument to himself and was basking in his OWN GLORY as a leader.   These passages talk about the judgment of Shebna and the way that God is blessing and raising up Eliakim to take his place.   In this next season we are going to see that leaders and people that have misused their positions and have built ministires and monuments to themselves are going to see their blessings stripped from them and God is raising up Eliakim's to take their place!  

Isaiah 22: 20And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah:

21And I will clothe him with your robe, and strengthen him with your belt, and I will commit your authority into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.

22And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.

23And I will fasten him as a peg in a sure place; and he shall become a glorious throne to his father's house.

24And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the posterity, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of pitchers.

Those of you that have been faithful to God through everything this is your season to rise up because God is going to bring you to a place of position and authority, both on the earth and in the spirit realm.  

verse 21  Tells us four things that belonged to Shebna that God is going to give to Eliakim
1.  HIs robe.   A robe in the bible often represents your position and calling.   God is going to cloth you in HIS Glory.   Get ready to receive the robe of God's Glory.   God's glory is going to come upon your life, expect it, believe it, look for it.  

2.  His belt.  A belt is the Jewish gartel, that is used in prayer and in connecting with God.   You are going to find that those things that have hindered your prayers in the past are gone and you are experiencing the presence of God upon you.  The dry season is over, the wilderness times are over.   Prayer is going to come easier and more powerfully on your life.  

3.   You will receive the authority that you need to rise up and do the will of God.   You have authority over sickness, over pain, over any hell that the enemy throws your way.  

4.  God will raise you up as a Father (parent) to the people around you.    Not only will God raise you up to overcome the challenges in your life, but He is going to use you to help those around you rise up and overcome their issues as well!  

Verse 22 tells us two more benefits that God is going to bring our way.  
1.  The key of the house of David will be laid upon your shoulder.  
2.  Doors that open that no man can shut, and doors shut that no man can open.
The church in Philadelphia was given this key in the book of Revelation.   It is very beneficial to be given this gift because this means that God is going to advance you and the enemy will not be able to shut that door of blessing!   And the door that the enemy would try to go through to stop your progress, you will have the ability to shut that door, and the enemy WON'T be able to open it again!    GLory to God!  IN this season God is giving you the key to open doors and the ability to shut doors that should not be open.  

verse 23:  And I shall fasten him as a peg in a sure place;  and he shall become a glorious throne to his father's house.  

In 2015 so many things changed so fast, and there is pressure on Christians every where to compromise.  To let go of our righteousness and  become 'politically correct'  but God is going to fasten you like a peg, in a sure place in 2106...   You will be given the strength to stand and stand strong.   If you will say Jesus IS LORD, and MAKE him the Lord of your life without compromise God is going to secure your life like a peg that cannot be moved!  

Prophetic Word for 2016

I want to share with you some things that God has shown me about 2016.   This past year, 2015 was the year of the whirlwind.  And it certainly has been a year of shifting winds, forceful changes in the world that happened against the will of many in society.   When a 'whirlwind' comes into contact with things often land scape in changed forever, homes are destroyed, lives are devestated, changed forever.   2015 has indeed been the year of the whirlwind and things have happened through the course of this year that has changed the whole course and direction of our society, and this world.  I for one will be glad to see the end of 2015 and the beginning of a new year.   So, will 2016 be a better year than 2015?

2016 is the year of the peg.  As in TENT PEG.  A peg is used to secure and fasten, to keep things grounded.  God is going to secure your life this year and get us rooted and grounded going a good direction in our lives and ministries.    2016 will not see as many changes forced upon society as what we have seen in 2015.   A whirlwind has a force and a direction of it's own, and this what we saw in 2015, sudden changes that came suddenly like a whirlwind.  But 2016, the year is the year of the tent peg, and what is the significance of a tent peg?

Well, a peg holds things down.  We drive pegs deep into the earth to keep things grounded, to hold things in place.   This year is going to be a time of going deeper for many people.  It will be a year of deeper commitments to God.  We are going to see some people who are going to make thier spiritual life more of a priority this year as they draw closer to God.   As the world begins to 'shake' with change, and issues beyond our control many people are going to drive their lives down deeper into God, they are going to bury their lives in God.   I encourage you today that going deeper in your relationship with God is the only way to handle the problems and the issues that we are facing in our society today.

For some people this will be a year of expansion as they 'spread out their tent pegs'   Since the mid-1990's God has tested his ministers with various challenges to see if they would stay true to the Spirit and the Word of God even in spite of persecutions and hardships.  That time of testing has come to an end, and those who have passed the test and stayed the course, and have not compromised over the course of the past 20 years are going to see promotion and expansion over the next 2 to 3 years.    God is positioning these faithful few to places of visibility where they will be able to preach to the masses.   Know this that their words are going to burn like fire, they will not be watered downed words.  And miracles will flow from their lives.  They will not flatter nor compromise to gain the favor of man but will speak the will and plan of God.   It is through their ministries that God will rise up and heal this land.

For some 2016 will be the year that God gives you victory over your enemies and those circumstances that have plagued your life.   Jael, used a tent peg and mallet to kill the unwary enemy general, Sisera. She called Sisera into her tent, hid him and fed him. After he fell into exhausted sleep she drove a tent peg through the side of his head. She was hailed as a national heroine by the pursuing Israelite forces led by Deborah and Barak.

Get ready because 2016 overall is going to be a better year for the people of God than was 2015.   2015 the year of the whirlwind is coming to a close and 2016 the year of the peg is around the corner.  That means you need to go deeper in Christ,  have the faith to expand your ministry if God calls you to it, and believe God to deliver you from your enemies and your challenging circumstances this year.
Some of you have been in a pattern of defeat since about 2012.   You have took a few steps forward and then it all falls apart again.   The past 3 years have been a particular challenge for you so much so that you almost lost hope of things getting better again.   2016 is going to be the year when God drives the tent peg so deep into the heart of those things that challenge you that those things will lose their hold on your life and the pattern of defeat will be broken and you will emerge victorious in 2016.

Also. look at this verse of interest: Isaiah 22:15Thus says the Lord GOD of hosts, Go, get you unto this steward, even unto Shebna, who is over the house, and say,

16What have you here? and whom have you here, that you have hewed you out a sepulcher here, as he that hews him out a sepulcher on high, and that carves a tomb for himself in a rock?

17Behold, the LORD will carry you away with a mighty captivity, and will surely seize you.

18He will surely violently turn and toss you like a ball into a large country: there shall you die, and there the chariots of your glory shall be the shame of your master's house.

19And I will drive you from your office, and from your station shall he pull you down.

20And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah:

21And I will clothe him with your robe, and strengthen him with your belt, and I will commit your authority into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.

22And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.

23And I will fasten him as a peg in a sure place; and he shall become a glorious throne to his father's house.

24And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the posterity, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of pitchers.

25In that day, says the LORD of hosts, shall the peg that is fastened in the sure place be removed, and be cut down, and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off: for the LORD has spoken it.

In these verses God is saying that the servant Shebna has not been a good steward over the house and has mishandled the affairs, and that he will be stripped of his title and God wil raise up someone else instead.    He will give this new servant all that Shebna had, plus the key to the house of David, the power to open and shut doors, and God will fasten him as a peg in a sure place.   So God is taking one man that was appointed out and securing another man into that place.   This year we will see ministries and ministers lose their positions and others rise up to take their place.  Those who have been unfaithful and compromised will be replaced with those who have not compromised.



Also over the next 2 to 3 years watch for more turmoil on our College Campuses as the students rise up and demand change.    Look for a redefining of Christianity to come from secular circles as well.   Relgious institutes are also going to get out their by-laws and constitution and look over what they believe and why they believe it.  Some religious bodies are going to change their beliefs that they have held since they began.   I do not believe we are going to see an economic collapse at this time.   This is the time to expand your business, let out your tent pegs this year and expand, but be careful not to build too much debt in your expansion.    Over the next 2 to 3 years ministries that have been faithful to the Spirit of God and the Word of God without watering down or compromise are going to see promotion and expansion.   But those that have watered down the Word, or have pulled back on operating in the Spirit to please man are going to find their positions taken and their candle sticks being replaced by another.

What Is The Mortar That Holds All Things Together In Our Lives?

When you build something with bricks it is strong.  Even the big bad wolf couldn't huff and puff and knock that house down.   But what if you try to build a brick house and leave out the mortar?    That house would crumble very easy.    We are a house being built, a body so to speak.   Living cells each one ajoined to another called the Body of Christ.    Ephesians the 4 chapter tells us what God uses for mortar to join us one to another so that the body of Christ is complete and strong.    Because of lack of this mortar the Body of Christ is weak today, and without this mortar we labor in VAIN.

Ephesians 4: 15-16   Rather, yspeaking the truth in love, we are to zgrow up in every way into him who is athe head, into Christ, 16 bfrom whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, cwhen each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Love is how God builds up the body.  Love is the mortar that holds our churches together, our lives together our societies together.  Love is the mortar.   When there is a lack of love lives fall apart, churches fall apart, socities fall apart.  God IS LOVE!   And He who does not love is NOT from God, neither has he known God!  

When there is a lack of love there is always a bucket load of selfishness and rebellion.   We learn in preschool to share, to care, to help, to give, to play fair but how often do we lack these things in life.  How often do we lack these things in our homes, our churches, our societies.   God teaches us to love one another, but religion and man-made philosophies put ME at the center instead of God.  

The Bible says that in the last days that mankinds love would grown cold, and that their hearts would fail for fear.  You see even here, love is the key, because perfect love cast our fear!

Whatever you are lacking today, missing, or confused about love is the answer.  When we walk in love we walk in the Spirit of Christ, for love does NO HARM to it's neighbor!

Today ask God to renew your first love.   Ask Him to renew your first love for Him and bring your focus back on the love of the Father.  Receive the Fathers grace and mercy and than extend that same grace and mercy to your fellow man.   For he who loves much has also been forgiven of much.

The Key is to Follow God

What happens when the river of God is not flowing inside of you?   Just like a stagnent pool of water we get clogged up with things that contaminate the water.   We have been studying the things that need to be cleaned out of our hearts and lives so that the spirit of God can flow inside of us.  What does this river of life inside of us bring to our lives?  Peace, joy, gentleness, kindness, patience, long suffering, goodness...all the good things of God.  Even if  you know Christ Jesus as your Savior if the flow of the Spirit of God is locked up inside of you it will block the good things of God from reaching your life.  These things are all delivered to us by the HOLY SPIRIT that dwells inside of us, but the enemy wants to block that flow.   We have studied these six things thaat will block that flow.

1. Guilt and shame.   We must learn to forgive ourselves
2.  Condemnation.  We must let go of our past mistakes and realize that God loves us and has forgiven us too.
3.  A Lack of Love.  Hurts and painful experiences can make us withhold our selves from reaching out to                 others in love.   Love can hurt, but if we do not love, than God cannot flow through our lives.
4.  Illusions and lies.  The worse kind of lie is the lies that we  tell ourselves
5.  Aggravations and frustrations that steal our joy and peace.
6.  Overcome our Fears

Today we are going to conclude this study with the seventh thing that I have found that will block the flow of God and that is a heart that goes after worldly things.  

Matthew 6:25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

That sounds like Jesus is talking in riddles, but he is not talking in riddles but giving us the key to life.  He is laying the principle foundation here that if you lose your life to the cause of God, you will find life has found you.   But if you hang onto your life, you will find that true life has passed you by.   It is really simple to understand.   Some people go through this life without really living.  

You must let go of your life, your worldly attachments, your people, your plans, your likes and dislikes, your ways.   We must lay those things down for spiritual enlightenment, God's people, God's plans, God's likes and dislikes, and God's ways and then you will find life.

I have walked with God long enough to experience this Scriputre in my life.

I let go of career, the pursut if money, the pursuit of happiness, the pursuit of wordly possessions to do the will of God when I was young.   I pursued him with all my heart, all my soul, and all my strength.

It was difficult when all my friends were out partying and 'enjoying' life and making plans to be richer and following the desires of their heart.  It was difficult to lay down my life to pray, fast and do only the things that God wanted me to do.   But I did those things anyway.  I remember when I was 28 years old I was on an extended fast.   During this fast the enemy came to me and said, "You are young, why not go out and enjoy your youth?  Why do you want to deny yourself and suffer like this when you could be enjoying your life right now?"   It took me back a bit when the enemy said this to me.  But, a few moments later I responded, "I am living the life I want to live, I am laying down my youth and my strength to do the will of God."

     Now that I am older,  many of my friends have had their lives fall apart over and over again, but God has added back to me everything  that I laid down.   Career, possessions, wealth, peace of mind, and my children have all matured and served the Lord.   I didn't pursue happiness, I laid down my life for the purposes of God and it was hard to do.   But now happiness pursues me, wealth pursues me, peace pursues me.  Everywhere I turn and in everything I do I am blessed and prosper.    Plenty of storms have hit my life, but God has brought me through each one more prosperous.  Instead of my life falling apart, each storm has made me stronger!

What do you do if you are older now and you have never really laid down your life like that, and everything is a mess?   It is ironic but this is true.  The more mess your life is in the harder it is to lay  it down and have faith that God will build it back up again!  Why?  Because if you quit living for your life now and live for the will of God most of what you have now will fall apart comepletely.
And that is difficult to live down.   And it will feel like you are losing your life that you have  built.     You have to trust what Jesus said, "If you LOSE your life, you will find it again.  But if you hang on to your life you will LOSE it."    The only way your are ever going to find peace, and prosperity and the good life is to lay your life down, but to lay it down you will lose everything.  It is difficult to understand, but the way out is down,   full surrender to God is likely to stip you of all you have now, but with God you will receive back far more in the end than what you have lost.

The Steps To Overcoming Your Fears

For several day we have been talking about the things that can block the flow of God in our lives.    This is so important because healing comes from this flow.   Prosperity comes from this flow.   Blessings come from this flow.  Joy, peace, life, patience...all that we need from God comes from the flow of God that resides in us through the Holy Spirit.   Jesus said rivers of living water would flow from the person that believes upon him, but we have to make sure that nothing can block that flow.  I have identified seven things that will try to stop up the flow of God in your life and hinder his promises.    We have studied 5 of them.  They were...

1. Guilt and shame.   We must learn to forgive ourselves
2.  Condemnation.  We must let go of our past mistakes and realize that God loves us and has forgiven us too.
3.  A Lack of Love.  Hurts and painful experiences can make us withhold our selves from reaching out to                 others in love.   Love can hurt, but if we do not love, than God cannot flow through our lives.
4.  Illusions and lies.  The worse kind of lie is the lies that we  tell ourselves
5.  Aggravations and frustrations that steal our joy and peace.

Who you handle these five things will determine your attitude in life.   A bad attitude will keep you in darkness even if you know Jesus as you Savior.   When we come to Christ and we trust Him and obey His Word it will being light into our lives.  Joy, peace, security, trust.    But, when we allow things that shouldn't be in our lives to drive our lives we are blocking the flow of God from manefesting in us.  This keep us in bondage and in darkness as well.  

The last two things are the most important things.   They are overcoming our fears, and letting go of this world.   Today we are going to talk about overcoming our fears.

Look at the first five things we talked about primarily our fears come from these things.  We feel fear because of our past and it brings condmnation and guilt.    We fear we are not loved, or appreciated and we hide behind walls of suspicion.   We lie to ourselves and create illusions where we do not see our need to repent and then our bad actions come back to haunt us and we think we are receiving bad things that we don't deserve.    It makes us feel like a victim in which we have no control, as if we do good, but only bad comes to us in return.    This makes fear rage out of control in our lives.   We become aggrivated and frustrated that things and people are not what we want them to be, and we fear we will never find what we are looking for in life.    FEAR hides behind all of these things.  Other sources of fear come when we don't have enough to live on, and we aren't sure what we are going to do.   Or fear that the worse will happen instead of the best.  

Fear precedes tragedy, follows tragedy and is found in the middle of tragedy.  So fear is past, present and future and in some people it controls everything they think and do. 

Here are some steps to overcoming fear

1.  You must face your fears.  Hiding from them only makes them grow larger.

2.  Never act of fear, always act on faith.   Someone may say, "What about fear of God?"   Better to act on your faith in God than on  your fear of Him!     The fear of God is just the beginning of widsom, so we need to grow up in our relationship with God and act on faith in him which is much better than acting on fear of him.   Here is an example of that:   God is always offering reward for obedience and punishment for disobedience.   It would be the same as you saying, "Clean your room and we will go to McDonald's, but if you don't clean it, you are getting grounded."  Acting on faith is when you clean the room because you are confident of the reward.   Acting on fear would be cleaning the room because  you don't want grounded.   Don't allow punishment to rule your life always being afraid that God will strike you.  Keep  your eyes on his rewards and act in faith and your relationship with God will be a much more postive and rewarding experience.  

3.  Don't base you decisions on fear.   People are afraid to give, afraid to love.  afraid to move. afraid to climb. afraid to trust God and take him at his Word.   Come on now, God has not given us a spirit of fear but of Love, peace and a sound mind!  

4.  Keep your heart and mind on the good things, and don't think about the bad.   Whatsoever things are good, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever ever things are of a good report...Think on these things!

5.  Let faith arise in your heart.   TRUST in God and having enough faith to OBEY HIS WORD are the things that will allow you to overcome fears.l

And remember that fear can also be a spirit.    And spirits of fear must be broken off your life.  

Let's pray.   IN the name of Jesus I bind and break that spirit of fear off of your life.  Lift off of them now in Jesus name.   Every anxiety, stress and fearful spirit will leave you NOW in Jesus name.  I pray the peace and faith of God to rise up in your heart and life right now, today, in Jesus name.  amen.  

The w

Having the Mind and Attitude of Christ Jesus

Is there anything more important than the flow of the Holy Spirit in your life?   There shouldn't be anything more important than this.   We have been studying the seven things that I have found that will block the flow of the Holy Spirit in your life.  When the Holy Spirit moves like a river through your life it brings life, health and peace, all the abundance of God.    When that flow is blocked you will feel alienated from God, dry, empty as if God is a million miles away.  

So far we have studied five things that will stop the flow of God inside us

1. Guilt and shame.   We must learn to forgive ourselves
2.  Condemnation.  We must let go of our past mistakes and realize that God loves us and has forgiven us too.
3.  A Lack of Love.  Hurts and painful experiences can make us withhold our selves from reaching out to                 others in love.   Love can hurt, but if we do not love, than God cannot flow through our lives.
4.  Illusions and lies.  The worse kind of lie is the lies that we  tell ourselves
5.  Aggravations and frustrations that steal our joy and peace. 

Today we are going to look at the attitude or our minds.   Whatever attitude we have impacts our whole life and the wrong kind of attitude will block the flow of God in our lives.

What are some of the wrong attitudes that are prevalent in society today?
an unthankful attitude, a bitter attitude, resentful, unforgiving, full of revenge,  offended attitude, take offence easily, looking for reasons to find fault, selfish attitudes

What attitude should we have?   We should have the same mind as Christ Jesus, though he was entitled to everything, he laid down everything to love others and save them from destruction.

Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not a thing to be grasped to be equal with God:

7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

9 Therefore God also has highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;


11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The number one attitude in people today is a prideful attitude.   Look at the attitude Jesus had, it was an attitude of humility.  If the KING of KINGS and LORD of LORDS had to humble himself why should we  think that we do not have to do the same? 

Our stresses, anxieties, fears, depressions, fights and quarrels often is rooted in pride.   We must choose to trust, forgive, love and give.   Whatever we have done in the past, or others have done to us that keep us from doing these things will block the flow of God in our lives.   I must choose to trust God, I cannot take on a self sufficient attitude.    Why would I think that my plans, my worries, my fears and my efforts could make things work well in my life?   Yet, so many people want to 'handle' and 'manage' their own lives instead of turning them over to God.  

A wrong attitude will stop the flow of God in  your life every time.  But how do we get a right attitude.   There is only one way to have a correct attitude and that is to trust God and let go of your worries and fears.   Forgive yourself and others and let go of the past and all of it's mistakes.  Love deeply from the heart and give freely to your fellow mankind.      If you look at what I am taking about ATTITUDE, what makes up our attitude?   Your attitude is made up of how you handled the first 5 things we talked about.   You attitude is made up of how you handle guilt, shame and condemnation.  How you handle Love and forgiveness and how heartily you give to your fellow man.  Your attitude is determined by how well you handle challenging things in  your life that tend to aggravate and frustrate.    If we overcome these things we will have a correct attitude and then the flow of God will flow through our lives more freely. 

A bad attitude is like a dam.  It blocks the flow of God in your life.   Surrender your life to God and allow him to work on your attitude so that the flow of God can move through your life. 

How To Overcome Frustrations and Aggravations in Your Life!

We have been talking about the things that will block the flow of the Holy Spirit to your life.  Jesus said that if we believed in Him that out of our inner most being would flow rivers of living water.   But this flow can get blocked off and when it does we feel like God is a million miles away.  I have identified at least seven things in my life that can hinder that flow.   So far we have talked about four of those things:

1. Guilt and shame.   We must learn to forgive ourselves
2.  Condemnation.  We must let go of our past mistakes and realize that God loves us and has forgiven us too.
3.  A Lack of Love.  Hurts and painful experiences can make us withhold our selves from reaching out to others in love.   Love can hurt, but if we do not love, than God cannot flow through our lives.
4.  Illusions and lies.   The deception that we tell ourselves will keep us in darkness and only the truth will set us free.   We must be truthful to ourselves about ourselves.  How can we be honest with others if we are not honest with ourselves?

Today we are going to be looking at another thing that can block the flow of the Spirit in your life.   Frustrations and Aggravation!     We must have the determination and faith to rise above them.   I capitalized those two words for a reason!   Most of the time these two things come at us from our contact with someone else.   How many times have you got frustrated or aggravated with the people and everyone around you and just plain give up.   Oh this happen a lot, and the moment we give up is the ONLY way the devil wins in our lives.    We lose by forfeit because we were too aggravated and frustrated to keep RUNNING THE RACE!

It reminds me of the little widow in the Bible that kept going to the wicked judge for justice.   He refused to give her any justice at all.  Did she give up?   Did she quit going back?   Did she go into a rant and lay down and quit.  Absolutely not!   She kept running the race for justice!   She kept going back to the wicked judge each day asking for justice.   And what happened?  In the end even though the judge did not fear God or care about mankind, he gave her justice.   The judge said I will give her what she wants least she wear me out through her continual coming.  She flat out wore the judge out asking for justice until he gave it to her.

This is how life is most of the time.   Aggravations and frustrations will ALWAYS block the flow of the Spirit of God in your life and STOP UP the blessings of God.   So what do you have to do?   You have to learn to let go of your own understanding and trust that where there is something that isn't right that God is going to make it right IF YOU DON'T GIVE UP AND LOSE FAITH.   Often our wrongs are never righted because we give up, we get a bad attitude, we rant and rave instead of speaking words of faith and hope!  And sometimes it isn't other people that frustrate us but our own circumstances.   If you lack provision, don't let the frustration of that rule your heart and life.    If you lack health don't let the aggravation of that give you a defeated attitude.  If you lack good relationships in your life don't allow that to dominate your thinking!    You cannot allow anything to replace faith and hope inside of you.  Hang on to faith and hope with all you got, because even if you should lose everything else you have everything you need to rebuild when you have faith and hope and Love (which is God)    On the other hand, if you lose faith and hope, this will block the flow of the Spirit in your life and cut off your access to God.  When that happens, it doesn't matter what you have, it will not satisfy or prosper in anyway.

Words of faith and hope in GOD will change any circumstance you are facing.  If you want the Holy Spirit to flow in your life you just LET GO of aggravation and frustrations and press forward toward the mark, run the race, keep a good attitude, and trust that God is making a WAY!

Peace, Security and Contentment Found In One Small Verse

Frustrations come.  But just because you feel that way doesn't mean you have to stay that way!  

We have been talking about the things that can stop the flow of the Holy Spirit in our lives.   Today I feel lead to share something else with you.  And later we will return to our teaching on the flow of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  I feel lead to share with you today out of Psalms 23.

Psalm 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

People are lost today.  They are at a loss with their relationships.  At a loss with their finances.  At a loss with their direction in life.   Just simply lost.    God compares us to sheep in the Bible.  We need  a Shepherd or we tend to get very lost.    The thing about sheep and their shepherds is that the sheep must learn to follow the voice of the shepherd so that they don't wander off and got lost.   Even is we accept Jesus as our Savior, we can get 'lost' in this life and confused, going the wrong direction because we did not obey the voice of God our Shepherd.    You have a Shepherd, listen to His voice.  Someone said to me, "I can never hear the voice of God."  I put a Bible in their hand and said, "Read this, it is the voice of God."

The psalmist went on to say, "I shall not want."   Well, there you have it.  The secret to life, happiness, love and living all in a nut shell...I shall not want.    People who are full of wants, always wanting this, that and the other thing are the most miserable people on the planet.  The key to life, and happiness is to learn to be content with what you have in this life.   Always wanting, and wanting and wanting more is called coveting.   Most of our wants stem up out of what we see other people have in their lives.   The Bible warns us not to covet.  It is one of the ten commandments which means it is important that we listen.  

FRUSTRATIONS often come up out of our wants in life.  We were helping a guy who had gotten out of jail one time, we gave him a job, and we were riding down the road together.   Everywhere he looked and everything he saw he wanted.  If we passed a boat, he would start in, I wish I had a boat like that, and then he would explain for a few minutes what he would do if he had a boat like that one.   Then we would see a nice car, and OH he wanted a car like that, and then he would expound on what he would do with a car like that one.  Then he would see a house, and of course he always wanted a house like that.   The next  thing I know he is frustrated and upset.   "What's wrong?" I asked.   "Oh, everything!" He replied.   He had talked about the things he wanted and didn't have until he talked himself into frustration and misery.  He had a wife who had patiently waited for him to get out of jail.  He had a house.  He had a car.  He had 3 beautiful children.  None of that satisfied him, he craved MORE, he was miserable.  He was full of covetousness, and he could not be satisfied.  He had more than most to be thankful more, yet, here he was full of wants.

Here in the first verse of Psalms 23, the LORD is my SHEPHERD,  (remember you must follow the voice of the shepherd and be obedient to HIS words)  I shall NOT want!   (remember you must learn to be content with what you have and not always be wanting all the time what you don't have)  If we can put this one verse into practice we have found peace and contentment and security all in ONE small verse.  Apply this verse to your heart and life today.

In closing, think about this for one moment.  That little sheep out there in the field, what makes it wander off and get lost in the first place?  It is all the things that little sheep thinks it wants that it don't have right there in front of it.   IT goes off looking for a bigger clump of grass, a greener neck of the woods.   A place of greater abundance than the field of the shepherd.   Don't let you WANTS lead you, let the SHEPHERD lead you today!

No More Illusions!

Today we are going to talk about how lies will block the flow of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  It hurts when someone tells a lie about us, or to us, lies are destructive because they block the flow of truth, and truth is what sets us free.  Lies are keep us in darkness and bondage.  This is why it is so important that we do not lie to ourselves.  The worse kind of lies are the illusions we tell ourselves.   Illusions are the things in life that hinder us from fulfilling our dreams.

When we envision ourselves failing and always failing we have sealed our own fate!

When we do what is illegal and we think we won't get caught we set ourselves up for a fall.

When we violate God's Word and then we don't understand why our prayers are not answered we have robbed ourselves of the greatest blessings.

When we cheat on the people around us and then tell ourselves it is OK as long as we don't get caught we are going to see our it come crashing down around us eventually.

When we do what God says is wrong and tell ourselves it is OK, we are living a life of illusion and eventually reality comes crashing in and our world falls apart.

We keep ourselves in bondage when we begin living a lie.   It is the truth that will set us free.

John 8:31-32 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;  32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."

Please hear me today.   We know the hurt and the damage that happens to us when other people lie to us, imagine the hurt and damage that we do to ourselves when we fall for an illusion and lie to ourselves!

1 John 2:21 I have not written unto you because you know not the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

When we are living a life of illusion we block up the flow of the Holy Spirit in our life.  And often people who are around us can see the lie that we are living.   We must have truth in our inward parts, and live the truth through our lives, so that we can prevail.  The deception and lies that other people tell us are not as damaging to us as the lies we tell ourselves.

Carrying the Cross of Jesus

We have been talking about things that can block the flow of the Holy Spirit in our lives.   For Jesus said that whoever would believe in Him that out of His inner most being would flow rivers of living water.    That flow can be blocked and when that happens it feels like  our connection to God is broken.    So far we have studied two out of seven things that can block the flow.  First is condemnation.   We have to let go of our mistakes and short comings and accept ourselves, and value ourselves JUST LIKE WE ARE.    The second thing we studied is guilt.   We must move past carrying blame and shame and accept the grace and forgiveness of God.  If you spend a life time blaming yourself, non of that will change one thing.  Let go of the blame and shame and walk in the newness of the grace of God.  Today we are going to look at love.    A lack of giving love to others will block the flow of the Holy Spirit in your life.

1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love; and he that dwells in love dwells in God, and God in him.

God is love.  If we stop up the flow of love to our fellow man we have just dammed up our whole inner being so that God can no longer flow.  What are some of the things that cause us to withhold our love?   HURTS.  Hurts are the main reason that people stop the flow of love out to their fellow man.    The world understands this, songs talking about "love hurts" and "breaking hearts" and the disappointment and pain of relationships.   When we open up our hearts to others, it leaves us vulnerable, and there are many people that will not accept this.  They close their hearts, close their compassion, and refuse to let charity flow to their fellow man.   They become afraid to love.

1 John 4:18 
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.


It was love that compelled Jesus to the cross.   And we are commanded to take up our cross and follow him.  Don't you think that Jesus was exposed and vulnerable while on the cross?  Yes.  He was all that and more.   It was a painful, terrible experience for sure.    What does it mean take up your cross and follow Him?   Does it mean to be killed or crucified as He.   It could come to that for some people, but for most of us it simply means to obey His Word, to love others as Christ loved us.

1 Peter 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:


Opening your heart to love others, forgiving others, helping others, even though you know they are going to stab you in the back in the end is the same as carrying the cross of Jesus.  Yes, love hurts.  Love makes us vulnerable.   Giving love and compassion to others requires us to lay down a portion of our lives for the sake of others, but this is our cross.

Luke 14:27 And whosoever does not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

As long as you are closed up, bitter, critical of mankind and unwilling to serve and help others you are blocking the flow of God from your life.

Open up the flow by forgiving, caring, reaching and giving.   amen.

Blessing Flow From Faith and Confidence In God!

We have been talking about the things that can block the presence of God in your life.    There are seven things specific that I have found in my life that can block the river of God from flowing in your inner most being.

First we talked about condemnation, and how we must forgive ourselves, and then we talked about guilt and how we must love ourselves in spite of our mistakes and short comings.    Today we are going to look at how FEAR can block the flow of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

First of all not all fear is bad.    When we have the fear of the LORD this actually helps us line our lives up with the truth, that is a healthy dose of fear.  But when fear gets out of control in our lives not only does it block the flow of the Holy Spirit in our lives, but it cripples us and hinders our faith so that we are unable to step out and do the will of God.

Job 28:28 
And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

Fear causes us to lack confidence and the number one thing that hinders the flow of God in our lives is the LACK OF CONFIDENCE.
 Now look at these Scriptures, some of you are going to get a key revelation here that frees up the flow of God in your life.

Ephesians 3:12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in him.

Look at the above verse.  The result of our faith will be boldness and confidence, and this helps us to have access to the throne of God, and the presence of God.

See the verse again.  We have boldness ad access WITH CONFIDENCE through faith in him.

Fear hinders our confidence.   I operate in all the gifts of the Spirit, preach, teach, pray intercessory prayer, sing worship, play instruments, prophecy, and I can tell you that when my confidence is shaken that impacts the flow of the Holy Spirit in my life more than anything else.

Now look at Hebrews 10:19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,

We have CONFIDENCE to do what?   To enter the most HOLY PLACE.  This is where we come into contact with the very presence of God.   Lack of confidence will hinder you from entering into God's presence, and fear opens the door to our lack of confidence in life.

Now look at Hebrews 10:35  So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.

Are you just struggling to get by?   What will be RICHLY rewarded?   YOUR CONFIDENCE!

Unless you get a confidence in God.  Confidence in His Word.  Confidence in His love and provision, you are always going to struggle to make ends meet.   What does that mean?  It means that when your provisions are gone and you are running in the negative, and there is no end in sight in the natural you don't lose your CONFIDENCE in God.    You keep praising, your keep believing, your keep fear from controlling your life.   We don't give because we afraid we can't pay our bills.  That mentality will keep you in the slums for your entire life.  You see, I have CONFIDENCE in God, and so must  you have confidence in God!

Hebrews 3:6 But Christ is faithful as the Son over God's house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.

Now don't miss this one right here.  What does it mean we are HIS HOUSE?  It means you are the temple of the Holy Ghost.  And where does the presence of God reside?  In his temple.   Yes, the river of God and presence of God can dwell inside of you day by day.    And Christ is what?  A faithful SON over God's house.   Christ is going to be faithful to you, to protect you, to help you, to prosper you if you are the temple of the Holy Ghost!   And what are the conditions?  It says we are his house, IF INDEED we hold FIRMLY to our CONFIDENCE and the HOPE in which we glory.  Without confidence and hope you are going to struggle with feeling the presence of God in your LIFE!  And without his presence, we miss his blessings!

As long as you are uncertain of what to do, what to say, where to go, how to live, where to work, where to live, who to date,  it LEAVES ROOM FOR FEAR to get out of control.   And fear out of control will lead to anxiety, panic, worry, anger, depression, and eventually defeat.

Fear will cause your 'survival instinct' to kick in.   When we go into 'survival mode' it is hard to walk in faith and confidence towards God, and without that faith, it is impossible to please him.

After the children of Israel had crossed the Red Sea.  They had went 3 days into the wilderness and had not found any water to drink.   Now they had their herds, their children, their elderly.   Do you know what happens to a child when they have went three days without water?   They are close to death, very close.   They complained and grumbled because their 'survival instincts' kicked in.    You would think that going three days without water would be a good reason to grumble.   Who could blame them for being upset and angry?    Yet, God was upset with them because they grumbled and complained.  No matter how bad you have it in life, it is never OK with God that you grumble and complain, there are NO EXCUSES for not being and living in FAITH and confidence  towards God.    

There are those of you today, you have been in survival mode for so long.  You go from fear to fear, from worry to worry, from anxiety to anxiety, from drama to drama.    This is what happens when fear, grumbling and complaining get out of control and takes over your life.  You live only to survive!   Is that all you want out of life?  Just to survive?   If you want to just survive than live in fear, anxiety, worry, drama, and complaints.     But if you want to live, put survival mode behind you and walk in the confidence of FAITH.  

If you were three days in the wilderness following God and you could find no water to drink what would you do?  Would you go into default 'survival mode' and, worry, complain, fear, anger and stress like the children of Israel did?   Or would you trust God and walk in the confidence and faith that God will supply your needs, not just to survive, but to lead you to a land flowing with milk and honey.  After all God promised them milk and honey, yet they couldn't even find water.  Is that where you are right now.   Has God promised you blessings, and you can't even pay your bills?  Has God promised you prosperity and you can't even buy the things you need?   What are you going to do then?  Are you going to stay in faith and confidence knowing that God is not a man that He should lie and that he will do as He promised?  Or are you going to give way to fear?   The children of Israel gave way to fear,  Instead of having faith and confidence that God would supply milk and honey they got angry and violent and accused God of mistreating them.

What must we do?   We must decide to live for the blessing and refuse to yield to 'survival mode'   if you complain and gripe when you don't have provisions you will spend your life just barely getting by...but if you have faith and confidence in God, even in the midst of your lack,  you will eventually find the blessing and prosperity of God.

How to BE Rid of GUILT!

Yesterday we began talking about the seven things that can block the flow of the Holy Spirit in your life.   Number one was condemnation.   We cannot allow the things we are ashamed of in the past to rule our hearts and minds today.   If you did not read that article, you can find it here...http://www.praiseag.blogspot.com/2015/10/7-things-that-will-block-flow-of-spirit.html

Today we are going to be talking about the second thing that will block the flow of the Holy Spirit in our lives,   Jesus said, "He who believes in me, out of his inner most being will flow rivers of living water."   When we allow things to pollute our inner being, the river of God cannot flow in our lives and we feel alienated from God and his presence.    Guilt will block the flow of the Spirit of God in  your life and will make it harder for you to experience the presence of God.

We are told in the Book of Hebrews to draw near to God with confidence, but also that our guilty conscience can hinder us from drawing near with sureness of faith, and we know that without faith it is impossible to please God.   You see it is easy to KNOW that God CAN help you, but our lack of confidence is often in ourselves, not in God.   We don't think that we are worthy, and we fear that we have done so much wrong that we need to be punished.  These types of guilt are so weighty and this will cause you to doubt that God's love can reach you.     Jesus came to deliver us from this kind of guilt, God does not intend for you to carry the guilt of your sins any longer.

Hebrews 16:17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
(God has forgotten your past mistakes)

18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
(You don't have to punish yourself, or think that God needs to punish you, he paid the price once and for all)

19 ¶ Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
(when we are free from guilt and shame, we have the boldness to fellowship with the Spirit of God
20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
(Jesus paid ALL the price, your guilt was ripped from you the moment He took your punishment on the cross, God no longer calls you guilty, so why let your feelings and emotions and thoughts punish you?)

21 And having an high priest over the house of God;
(Jesus is your high priest, you come near to God through him, not of your own efforts or accomplishments, the ONLY WORK you can do is to believe in JESUS)

22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
(When you are free of guilt and shame you can draw near to God with confidence, but if you hold  your guilt to yourself, you will feel a block of condemnation between you and the Father.)  You must forgive yourself, and accept God's blessing upon your life in SPITE of your past.  there is someone today you are tying to prove yourself worthy to God, to make up for your past.   You cannot make up for your past, you must allow the blood of Jesus to atone for it.  Believe in his blood to cleanse you, you must believe his goodness, out weighs your sins.    You must believe his forgiveness is final.

23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
Sometimes when we have tried to forgive  ourselves, and we cannot  help but to waver and feel condemned it is because we have unconfessed sin in our lives right now.   Most of the time other people can see this sin in our lives but we have excused it and self justified our behavior.  If you pardon your own sin, and excuse your own sins than God cannot justify you or pardon you.   Only as we confess we have sinned and turned from us are we justified and pardoned before God.   A lot of people are walking around in self-justification, and this kind of human righteousness will block the presence of God from your life.    Many times people have sin in their lives that they are living in everyday and they don't realize it as sin.  They see it in the Bible, and have heard people preach against it, but they have rejected those words and made excuses.  God PARDONS our sins when we repent of them.   He does not excuse our sins and overlook it because of our circumstances.   The only way to be healed of this is to begin to fast and pray and ask God to open your eyes to  the sins that you have hidden from yourself.   Most often where you have had conflict with others and they have tried to 'tell you' that you are living in sin is the thing that you are holding to yourself and making excuses for.  

24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
You need other Christians in your life.   What does it mean to provoke.  None of us like to be provoked...yet when we are around other Christians we are held to a certain amount of accountability that helps us walk in the light instead of the darkness.   The very reason that many will not go to church is because they don't want to be challenged, provoked, convicted to grow in God, because this is often an uncomfortable and painful process.

25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
We see that Paul has linked coming into the presence of God and getting over your past through the forgiveness of God with not forsaking assembling together with other Christians.   When we recoil from the Body of Christ, we look ourselves up in a tomb, how can we love our brother if we refuse to walk with our brother.  

When we blame ourselves and live in guilt and shame, we alienate ourselves from God.   Jesus made provision and that is the only way to fix it, you cannot 'make up' for your past.

What do you blame yourself for?  What are you ashamed of?   Whatever it is your must release it and let it go as the blood of Jesus has cleansed you of your sins.    Have you asked God to forgive you?  Are you doing your best to do better?   Sometimes the greatest guilt is when we know to do better, but we are trapped in a pattern of not doing as good as we know to do.

God knew that when we came to Him we would have to find a way to deal with our guilt.  Guilt can drive you to hate yourself.   Condemnation is the end result of guilt.  Condemnation fills us full of shame, and brings utter disappointment in ourselves.    When we have condemned ourselves we have judge our own behavior and found it lacking.   But no matter how many times we have failed, we must love ourselves just like we are, warts and all.   We must learn to accept ourselves just like we are, because Christ died for us.  

You must get to the place where you can say, "It's OK to be me, because Jesus loved me enough to die for me, and he cares for me enough to mold me into an even better creation.  And He has the love and patience to help me become a better me through the blood of the Lamb."

I feel like I am talking to some people today that you have a lot of guilt in your life.  You can't seem to get over the mistakes you have made, and others are holding these mistakes over your life too.  The hardest and bravest thing you will ever do is to forgive yourself.   One of the toughest things in life is giving yourself grace.   Sometimes the guilt of what we have done in the past goes so deep it is rooted in the  most intimate and hurtful place in our hearts.   I have talked with many people and counselled them that they must love and forgive themselves.  That they will never be able to embrace the love and forgiveness of God until they release themselves from the mistakes of their past and their own short comings.   I have had a few people say to me, "I can't do that.  I can't let it go.  I've done too much wrong, I've hurt too many people to just let it go and free myself of the guilt of it."  But the truth is Jesus died for your sins.  Not just the pretty sins, or the ones  that didn't hurt others, HE DIED FOR ALL YOUR SINS.   All your guilt.  All your shame.  All your past MISTAKES.  Not just a few.   You cannot carry the weight of those sins and those mistakes any longer.   They will cloud up your inner man and keep the Spirit of God from flowing freely through your life.

Are  you ready to forgive yourself today?   Jesus has already forgiven you, and he took your shame, guilt and mistakes upon himself, so that you could be free.   Don't let what Jesus did for you be treated as nothing.   He wanted to let you go free, so now you must free yourself, by forgiving yourself and moving on and learning from your mistakes.

Let's pray.  Father, thank you for sending Jesus, to take my mistakes, my guilt, my shame upon himself upon that tree where he died.   And he knowingly took my punishment and took all my guilt and shame and nailed it to the cross, crucifying it there, it is gone, it is finished, I am free, I pardon myself because  of the blood of Jesus, I AM FREE today, IN Jesus name. amen.

7 Things that Will Block the Flow of the Spirit of God in Your Life.

John 7:38 He that believes on me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.

Have you ever sang the song, "I've got a river of life flowing out of me, makes the lame to walk and the blind to see...

There is a river flowing inside of you if you have received the Spirit of God into your life.  There are things that can block the flow of the Spirit in your life.   If that flow inside of you is blocked it will make you feel like you are CUT OFF from the presence of God.

What are some of the things that can block the flow of the spirit in your life?

Condemnation!
Condemnation is the result of you NOT FORGIVING yourself.   The more we hold against ourselves the greater the gulf we feel between us and our creator!   And this condemnation that we hold against ourselves feels like it is coming from God because it blocks off the flow of the Spirit of God in our lives.   It may block the flow of the spirit but that does not mean it comes from God.    Think of it this way.  When you see a stream flowing with water, everything in that water flows downstream.  But what if debris blocks the stream and keeps the water from flowing?   Does that water stop flowing because the water isn't there?   Is it the fault of the person downstream that they are no longer receiving water?  Is it because they don't deserve water?   Is it because God is mad at them, is that why the water quit flowing?  The answers to all those questions is no.   Plain and simple the water quit flowing because something blocked the stream, and they only way the water will flow again is if the stream is cleared out.    Condemnation will block the flow of the Spirit of God in your life so that the river of God does not flow to you.   It will make you feel dry, and alienated from God, but once you remove the blockage, in this case condemnation, the water begins to flow again.

It is OK.  Go ahead and say to yourself.   I forgive myself.   I give myself grace.  I forgive myself of all the mistakes of my youth.  I forgive myself of all the times I got it wrong and disappointed others.  I forgive myself!  NO breathe in and take a few Scriptures as a dose of medicine to heal that wounded spirit of yours.

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Romans 8:34  Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

John 8:11 And she said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go your way. From now on sin no more.”]

John 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Right now, don't hesitate, go ahead and release yourself from condemnation!    

If Jesus doesn't condemn me, than why do I condemn myself?

Go ahead and release that condemnation from your life.  Forgive yourself and move on with God!

Condemnation is one of the things that can block the flow of the Spirit, there are six more things that can block the flow of the Spirit of God, as you remove these things from your life, you are going to find that the presence of God begins to flow more freely inside you like a mighty river that causes you to proper in all that you do.  

You Can Change the World Around You!

Is it possible to change the world around you?  There is a lot of teaching that God wants to eliminate everything negative from your inner man, from your life, from your circumstances.  This is not the teaching of Jesus, this is Christian Science.    Christian Science teaching says to remove anything negative from you to the point that when bad things happen you don't even acknowledge that anything bad is there.

This has slipped into the teaching of Christianity, and people still today are walking around in denial, thinking that eliminating all negative thoughts from their life will cause them to rise up and prosper somehow.

Look through the old testament in the book of Psalms.  David was a man after God's own heart.  He always acknowledge he was going through problems and issues, but in faith he would end his Psalm with a statement of faith that God would deliver  him in spite of his problems and circumstances.  We don't see anywhere in the Bible where he denied that Saul was trying to kill him, or that he confessed over and over that he was going to be King.    He didn't use the power of his mind, by rejecting negative thoughts or speech,  to overcome in life, he used the power of his faith.  

In the new testament Paul says:

2 Corinthians 6:3Giving no offense in anything, that the ministry be not blamed:

4But in all things presenting ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,

5In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in watchings, in fastings;

6By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by love unfeigned,

7By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,

8By honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true;

9As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed;

10As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

Does Paul deny that being an Apostle brings on many hardships and challenges?  No he acknowledges the hardships, but he also concludes that in spite of the hardships they are rejoicing, and possessing all things.  

You see when bad times come the enemy wants to throw your life into a downward spiral of fears, depressions and anger, so that these things consume you.   What does faith, hope, love, grace, and the promises of God do?  It helps us find a place of peace, and rest in the midst of our troubles, so that we don't get so out of balance in life that the negative IS ALL THAT we see.

I have a daughter that is multi-handicapped.   It would be wrong to go through life never acknowledging the struggles, or the issues, or the fact that she is disabled.   There are times when a good cry, or the comforting words of a good friend was just what I needed at the time to help me deal with the issues.   Yet, no matter what we face, I know that God has his hand upon her, and I see her getting better each day.   If I don't keep my mind on God's love, God's provision, the hope of His Word and faith in His provision the circumstances would throw me completely into depression, frustrations, and anger.  Why is it important that fears, depressions, angers, frustrations and the like not completely rule your inner man?

It is because they Holy Spirit flows like a river through your soul.  

John 7:38  He that believes on me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.

When we are consumed by anger, fears, depressions and frustrations ( and others dark things like these)  this will block the flow of the HOLY SPIRIT in our lives!   Have you ever felt like you were cut off or blocked from the flow of the Spirit because the Spirit of God was not flowing inside of you?   This is because worries, angers, fears, jealousy, (and things like this) are blocking the flow of God from your life.

We must bring our inner being back to a place of peace and rest and then the Holy Spirit can flow through us and help us ABIDE in that place of peace and rest, to maintain that rest in God.

How do I come to a place of peace and rest?  I do so by focusing on faith, hope, love, grace (and the things of the Spirit)

You don't have to live in the darkness of depressions, anxieties, fears, angers, frustrations and inner restlessness...you can walk in the light by focusing your inner being on good things the Bible says:

Philippians 4:8 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.

You will change the world on the inside of you, before you change the world on the outside of you.   You must find a place of peace and rest through Christ Jesus before the Holy Spirit can flow inside of you.  When you allow depression, fears, angers, jealousy, frustrations (and things like this) to rule inside your heart and mind you block the flow of God from your life then everything changes, not for the better, but for the worse.  

The Secret of Finding the Good Life!

Fear, anxiety, worry, stress are all tools of the enemy to get you out of balance.   When you are out of balance your emotions are out of control.  Your mind is out of control.  Your nerves are out of control.  Once we get out of balance and we lose control we lose our peace.   We eventually become physically sick or develop a disorder if we stay out of balance long enough.  

Often it is the extreme things that happen to us in life that knock us off course and cause us to get all out of balance inside.   Please hear what I am about to say:

TOO OFTEN PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO GET THEIR MATERIAL AND OUTWARD LIFE TOGETHER WHILE THEIR INNER LIFE IS STILL A TOTAL WRECK!

You see, as long as you are a wreck on the inside you are going to find it impossible to get your life together in the material and physical realm.  

Most of the time when people are contacting me for a word, or for spiritual help the question they have is about their material well being, their relationships, their home, their material and physical things.  

The truth is that we will never find the answer for these physical and material things until after we find balance, and peace in our inner man, such as our emotions, our mind and our nerves.   Jesus didn't talk a whole lot about how to get rich, or to be important, land a good job or meet the right person to marry, but he spent a lot of time trying to teach us how to find peace on the inside.   

We deceive ourselves when we think that things OUTSIDE of us can bring us joy and peace when our insides are completely out of whack.  

What must we do?

We have to BY FAITH let go of the material things and the physical outward things and focus on the inward things.   Americans are wealthy by the world standards.    We tend to think of ourselves in the terms of the outward things.  Material wealth, physical beauty, relationships and educational pursuits are some of the things we value the most as a society.  But when it all boils down these things make little difference in our lives when we have no emotional stability, or mental health or inward peace and joy.   In America we tend to value the outward things so much that we neglect the inner things.   Wisdom, peace, joy, soundness of mind, inner satisfaction are all things that are under valued in our society if they do not lead to outward successes.   This causes us to be a nation full of things, yet devoid of true joy and peace.  

So how do we obtain balance in our inner man?   This can only be achieved by the infilling of the Holy Spirit.  

Romans 4:17 For the kingdom of God is not food and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Let go of everything that you desire and go after the Holy Spirit.   This will restore balance to your inner man and replace the inner turmoil with peace, and then you will be able to get the material and physical areas of your life in order as well.  

Matthew 6: 25Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor yet for your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing?

26Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much better than they?

27Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

28And why take you thought for clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

29And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30Therefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, How shall we be clothed?

32(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things.

33But seek you first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

34Take therefore no thought for tomorrow: for tomorrow shall take thought of the things for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Seeking first the Kingdom of God is about righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.    Seek the infilling of the Holy Ghost in your life first and foremost on a daily basis, when you have this, you have everything.