spiritualinspiration:

When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown” Isaiah 43:2 (TLB).

Have you ever experienced something that truly tested your faith, your joy and your convictions? We’re not talking about just having a bad day or having to deal with difficult people – but enduring an intense situation that rocks you to your very core. When many people face such soul-searching they let their happiness and joy turn into bitterness and anger. Make sure this doesn’t happen to you. Don’t give the evil one the victory by becoming an ineffective Christian due to lingering bitterness. Even if you’re being tested, God has promised to remain faithful. He is all-powerful, and He can pull you out of your troubles at any moment.

(Source: worshipgifs)

11:27 pm  •  18 June 2013  •  520 notes

spiritualinspiration:

God loves and uses imperfect people. We all make mistakes. But because Jesus died and rose from the grave, every mistake we will make or ever make has been paid in full. Don’t let shame and guilt keep you from receiving God’s love any longer. Psalm 103:12 (NIV) says, “As far as the east is from the west, our sins are removed from God’s memory.” Since God has removed them from His memory, it’s time we do the same and move forward with God and receive His love and mercy.

You may have made mistakes, but God still believes in you, loves you and has an amazing future in store. Keep your heart toward God, and He will show Himself strong on your behalf!

Thus, we should love one another and see each other as God does.

(Source: worshipgifs)

10:42 pm  •  15 June 2013  •  1,589 notes

spiritualinspiration:

You can trust the faithfulness of God. What He promised, He will bring to pass. God will not fail you or let you down; He’s in complete control. Just because it hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean that it’s not going to happen. That means the promise is still in your future.

He has never failed you in the past, and let me assure you, He will not fail you in the future. If you will dare trust the faithfulness of God, in due season He promises He’s going to pour out His favor in new ways.

(via spiritualinspiration)

3:19 pm  •  6 June 2013  •  1,837 notes

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.  He chose to give us birth through the word of Truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all He created.” James 1:17-18

My heart is continually overwhelmed by each gift the Lord has given.  Friends, family, the spiritual kind, the list goes on.  I am so thankful that I opened my eyes and heart to see what He had in store all along.  His presence is what I desire, to honor and obey Him is my prime mission.  These gifts are wonderful, but His presence is unsurpassed and irreplaceable. 

We prayed for healing over a hurt knee.  The owner of that knee is one of the greatest hearts I’ve ever met.  It felt “better”, but I know the Lord has something greater in store.  We will keeping praying and praising God because we know what is done in Heaven will come down on Earth. Jesus has already overcome it.  The battle is over and won.  Hallelujah.  

9:34 pm  •  5 May 2013  •  1 note

After our evening Church service, some of us young men went to get frozen yogurt and relax. Jerry and I were talking in the University Plaza parking lot when we were approached by a man wearing a nose-piece for an oxygen tanking, driving in a beaten up car. He told us he was hungry and needed some money to get something to eat. We told we had nothing and he drove away. Shortly after, he came back, and pleaded with us again. We went to the ATM and brought back some money. Jerry explained why we did it: because Jesus loves him and the man became frantic. He explained that he’d been praying 7 or more times a day for the Lord to heal him from his COPD, back pain, and diabetes. We offered to pray for him and he jumped at the chance. We laid hands on him, praised God, applied the blood of Jesus over his life and body, and declared healing. We may not ever see this man again, but I trust the Lord delivered him right then and there. I pray continued healing over him, his life, and body.  I pray he ate more than just some food on a plate, that he would receive the love of Jesus with a willing and faithful heart.  

God, please bring more opportunities to feed Your lambs.  You just set our hearts on fire and I don’t want to leave Your presence.  Make us anew each day, so that we may be prepared for more of this.

11:50 pm  •  28 April 2013  •  3 notes

I was working in San Bernardino today.  It’s not my favorite place in the world and this wasn’t exactly the best looking area in that dying city.  Yet, the Holy Spirit had filled me with so much joy and desire, I kept my eyes open.

You see, for a long time I’ve been praying for opportunities to shine some light in the dark.  In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus calls us the “light of the world” and declares that we should let that light shine in order for others to praise the Father.  I keep on finding stories where people are actually living that out and I find my hunger growing incessantly for the ability to pray for people, to provide for them, to love on them.  

Today I was given that opportunity.  I’m not sure what policy says about letting customers borrow things, but a young woman in the project I was reading in came and asked if I had jumper cables.  I went straight to my car and got them out for her.  She said thanks and told me what street she lived on so I could retrieve them later.  I went on and had a pretty nice day of work.  I returned to her street, though she lived on a block I wasn’t assigned to.  I had no idea which apartment to look for, but a middle-aged couple I had spoken to earlier were outside and helped me find the woman’s car.  I found the car and guessed which was her’s.  Thankfully, I chose wisely and found her.  I asked if everything worked out and she said yes and thanked me again.  I told her, “you’re welcome” and wished her a good day.  I again greeted the couple from earlier on the way out and went on my way.  

I may not have done every spiritual work I had wanted or preached some word that may have changed their lives, but I was thankful to have been able to serve these people.  I have a hard time with trusting others with my things, let alone people who end up in rough areas, but the Spirit told me to trust…and I did.  There are many times when you have to strike down and surrender your reservations when you’re called to do the right thing.  Jesus loves these people and me.  He sent me into that neighborhood to spread a little love, though it was a simple thing to do and I could have done more.  I don’t like boasting or acting like I deserve credit, but I hope to use this blog as a way to share stories of more opportunities taken to actually build the Kingdom.  

I want to be a light in the dark.  I want to reflect the heart of the Son.  I want to love the unloveable and downcast.  I want more of Him and less of me.  I want His Kingdom come.  

9:27 pm  •  24 April 2013

Tucked away in my heart is a song only for You.  Tucked away in Yours lay my dreams and my destiny, every promise You will fulfill because You are faithful.  Forgive me for using so many words and not minding which are the most important to speak.  Please let Your Spirit shine through…

12:06 am  •  24 April 2013

levithepoet:

Last night, I was reading 1 Timothy 2. I just finished my last class at Re:Train this weekend on Pastoral Leadership with Pastor Dave Bruskas, and he had been teaching us through the pastoral epistles, so I decided to review what we had gone through in my own devotional time.

Frankly, I’m…

2:47 pm  •  23 April 2013  •  24 notes

spiritualinspiration:

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8, NKJV.)

We serve such a loving, gracious and generous God. He loves you so much that there isn’t anything He wouldn’t do in order to have a relationship with you. The Bible tells us that sin separates man from God. But God doesn’t want to be separated from us. That’s why He sent His Son into the world—to pay the penalty for sin so that you and I could live in eternity with Him.

So many people today think they have to earn their way to heaven. They think they have to be “good enough” or “do the right thing” in order to be accepted by God. They want to “clean up” before they come to Him. But notice what today’s verse says—salvation is a gift from God. You can’t earn a gift. You don’t pay for it. You can only receive it by faith. If you’ve never made Jesus the Lord of your life, I encourage you to receive this free gift. Let Him fill you with His eternal peace and joy so that you can live the abundant life He has for you.

(via spiritualinspiration)

9:48 pm  •  22 April 2013  •  2,513 notes

And when it’s good, it’s good.  You make things anew, You make things bright.  You restore us and make us steadfast, You breathe into us new life and set us on a narrow path of a worthy pursuit.  All our hope resides in the depths of Your heart.  

11:28 pm  •  21 April 2013