How to GROW Belief?

Matthew 17:20-21 (NKJ) - So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. ²¹ However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

If you remember in the Bible it talked about each of us given the measure of faith as believers. One believer not given a "greater measure," but each of us has the same amount. Well then, why do some people do significantly more with their life? Why does it appear some people have such greater faith because they accomplish so much more? Well.... let's take a look at that this morning.

Here in Matthew 17, the disciples have just come to Jesus because they were not able to cast out a demon. They wanted to know why, so Jesus goes about telling them. They had been given "the" measure of faith, so faith should not have been the problem. Jesus proceeds to tell them it is because of their unbelief. When I looked up "unbelief" in the dictionary, it defined it as skepticism, rejection of belief. 

Where and what is the TIME spent on? Rejecting belief? Dwelling on what is not possible? OR is time spent on building up belief? Building up what IS possible? Unbelief is rejection of belief. Belief was defined as confidence in the truth. A quote I read this morning goes hand in hand with what we are talking about, "It is usually overlooked, it is noteworthy that leaders spend a considerable time alone, with nothing but their own thinking apparatus." 

To increase belief, we need to increase the time we spend on that topic or area we are looking to grow. At the end of Matthew 17:21, it talks about prayer and fasting. The type of demon that the disciples were trying to cast out only came out through prayer and fasting. Their unbelief was too great, they had not spent enough time increasing their belief. In this instance, Jesus said it could have been done through prayer and fasting. Prayer, often something done alone.... and when one fasts, it is often giving up food to spend more time in prayer or with the Lord alone.

Leaders spend considerable time alone. 

It is not a mystery that the greatest leaders, good and bad (Stalin, Hitler, etc - spent jail time and had much alone time to devise their evil schemes) spend a lot of time alone. They are able to plan, increase belief in the plan. Increase belief in their beliefs!

So.... today.... what area do you want to grow in belief? DWELL on the positive of it. DWELL on why it is possible! DWELL on the how it can be done. Continue to think, dwell, ponder on the positive, on the possibility. GET ALONE to think, to journal, to pray. As you do this, watch your unbelief diminish until all that is left over is the DOING IT!!!! You will have accomplished what at one point seemed like a distant wish or dream! Through spending that time alone growing your belief, you will have accomplished victory!

#232 - When You Feel Like Thomas...

Proverbs 15:29b - ...He hears the prayer of the [consistently] righteous (the upright, in right standing with Him). 

Proverbs 31:30 - Charm and grace are deceptive, and beauty is vain [because it is not lasting], but a woman who reverently and worshipfully fears the Lord, she shall be praised! 

John 20:24-29 - ²⁴But Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came.
    ²⁵So the other disciples kept telling him, We have seen the Lord! But he said to them, Unless I see in His hands the marks made by the nails and put my finger into the nail prints, and put my hand into His side, I will never believe [it].
    ²⁶Eight days later His disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, though they were behind closed doors, and stood among them and said, Peace to you!
    ²⁷Then He said to Thomas, Reach out your finger here, and see My hands; and put out your hand and place [it] in My side. Do not be faithless and incredulous, but [stop your unbelief and] BELIEVE!
    ²⁸Thomas answered Him, My Lord and my God!
    ²⁹Jesus said to him, Because you have seen Me, Thomas, do you now believe (trust, have faith)? Blessed and happy and to be envied are those who have never seen Me and yet have believed and adhered to and trusted and relied on Me.

Have you ever been in a situation where doubt just seemed the easiest thing to believe? The odds were stacked against you, your faith level felt low, automatically the 'rock-kicking' position was the state of your feelings and faith. You look at past situations and see what appeared to be failure, and by how things look with this new situation, it's just going to be a repeat. Friend, today, there is hope for you to believe!


Earlier in John chapter 20, the disciples are gathered together in fear. They are in fear of the Jews. They sit behind closed doors, in one feeling, fear. Little did they know, their Friend, their Beloved, their Missed Savior was just moments away from walking through that closed door. Just moments away. Upon seeing Jesus, and the holes in his side, hands & feet, the disciples believed. They saw! All but Thomas saw. What if one of the others would not have been in the room that day? Eight days later when Jesus reappeared, would we also be reading about "Doubting James?" or "Doubting John?" All the disciples except Thomas were there when Jesus appeared. They saw. 


Now go with me, go with me back to that time. Can you imagine the grief you would feel after the passing of your Friend, your Savior. The mourning, the sadness. Sure, He promised He would come again, but sadness still held an overwhelming sensation in your body. When would He come? Was He just saying a parable again? Telling a story? And here, eight days after Jesus appeared to all the other disciples, He appears to them again and Thomas is present. Though eight days prior, Thomas says, "Unless I see in His hands the marks made by the nails and put my finger into the nail prints, and put my hand into His side, I will never believe [it]." 


As Jesus walks in the room, it does not say that Thomas actually did place his finger in the nail prints, or put his hand in Jesus' side. But he just says, "My Lord and my God!" I can only imagine at that very moment Thomas may have fallen to the ground, embraced his Friend, his Lord, his Savior. So happy to believe. So happy that He really was alive! 


Then Jesus talks about you & I! He says BLESSED are those who have believed and have not seen! That's Me! That's You! "Believed" in the Greek (Jn 20:29), also is translated, "to place confidence in."


Have you trusted Jesus with your salvation? Have you turned your life over to Him? Are you saved? Then, Jesus HERE, in this scripture is talking about YOU! Two thousand years ago, He was talking about YOU!  


Today, from the worlds perspective, the odds may appear to be stacked against you... but all we have to do is to CHOOSE to believe. We don't have to know the details, the outcome, how everything is going to come together on our behalf. All we have to do is CHOOSE to believe. All we have to do is place our confidence in the ALMIGHTY ONE!


Build your faith up today! Build your belief up today! Put your situation in God's hands and leave it there! Put scripture to work for you. Check out the power behind these confessions! They are for YOU & for ME! 

• All things are possible to him that BELIEVES!
• My God shall supply ALL my needs according to HIS riches in glory!
• I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me!
• With God for me, who can be against me? 
• My God gives me the desires of my heart!
• I have FAVOR in the sight of God & Man!
• My God does exceedingly & abundantly above ALL I can ask, think or imagine! (WOW! That's a lot!)

When you feel down & out... when you feel like Thomas, "How could I possibly trust or believe until I see some results." I encourage you... cast your situation on the One who came to save you! Cast your situation on the One who CHOSE to die for YOU! He CHOSE you! Will you CHOOSE to believe in Him for your situation? When you feel like Thomas, Choose the Word. Choose the truth. Choose to trust. Choose to place your confidence in your Savior! Choose Jesus!

#139 -Breathing LIFE!

Good morning! It was snowing here this morning. :) A bit odd for us here, but it's suppose to get up to 51 today, so I doubt we will be having a "winter wonderland." :) Hope you are good in your part of the world.  It amazing how much the Internet allows us to be connected. I remember wondering how the whole "WORLD" would see when Jesus came back... but now with all of technology & new things coming out all the time, I can see how it would be possible! And what a glorious day that will be!


Let's get started: 

Proverbs 10:21 - The lips of the [uncompromisingly] righteous feed and guide many, but fools die for want of understanding and heart.

As I read this verse, it just jumped out at me. Really, came alive. I've read it before, and thought it before, but maybe didn't realize the magnitude that it's words held. The LIPS of the uncompromisingly righteous feed & guide many. This verse is talking about YOU, child of God! YOU are the righteous, and YOU feed and guide many! 


I started realizing over the last several months the power in this! Equally the power in NOT doing what it says. The lips. How do your lips feed & guide many? Let's just take your words for example. Maybe you are a parent, you have the ability to breathe life and belief into your children. You have the ability to tell them they are capable of ANYTHING they could dream of doing. You have the ability with your words to empower them to grow up and DO great things and BE great! With your words of encouragement, you are FEEDING their spirit. You are guiding them to be WHO they were destined to be! 


Maybe you own a business. Maybe you have a team of people that are looking for just ONE person in their life to believe in them. YOU now have the opportunity to FEED those people. To breathe life & hope into them. WITH your LIPS, you have the ability to speak into their life and help them become maybe who they were scared to be. 


Are you a teacher? Maybe YOU are the only person that will ever speak encouragement into that one student. You know, the student that comes from a broken home. The student that comes to school often looking down at their feet, looking like they are a world away in their thoughts. Maybe for them to have a chance at life, YOU were put in their life to BREATHE hope and life into them. To feed & guide their spirit! I would imagine if you kept them after class, sat them down and just looked in their eyes and said, "I just want you to know I see really great things in you! I see you doing really great things in your life. I think you are very special. I don't see you as just average, but I really believe that you were DESTINED to do REALLY GREAT things! Do you know that? You have special gifts inside of you, and I believe God really wants to use them for great things! I just wanted to keep you back just to tell you that I see something VERY special in you!"


You know what.... whatever your profession, parent, business owner, teacher, I bet if you had that conversation with someone and just looked them straight in the eyes as you were talking to them, I bet you would see tears well up in their eyes. I bet you would see into their soul. You would see in their eyes hope. You would maybe see a question, or they may even ask, "Do you really see that? Do you really think I'm meant to do great things?" 


People are STARVED!!! You have the ability to FEED THEM! With your lips, as it says in Proverbs 10:21, you have the ability to FEED THEM! To feed their spirit! To breathe life into them! With your belief, to breathe hope in them! Who knows you may very well be speaking to the next Bill Gates. The next Donald Trump. The next multi-millionaire who JUST needed ONE PERSON to FEED THEM. They are on the brink of STARVATION. They just need YOU to feed their soul. To tell them that THEY CAN DO IT! They are special! THEY ARE MEANT TO DO GREAT THINGS!


And you know what I bet?? If you are in a school, even with the whole "don't talk about God" thing... I bet if you had that conversation with a student, they would NEVER go rat on you for saying "GOD things they are special." They will go about the rest of their day walking with a hop in their step. 


People are starving and they need YOU! Who will it be today that you can believe in? Who will you FEED & GUIDE with your words of encouragement. You may well see the next great success emerge because of your belief! Most definitely those words would not be in vain! 

#117 - SHOW YOUR FAITH!

Good morning! It's been quite an interesting day already. Seems like things have gone a bit backwards.... but nonetheless, it's been a great morning. I guess when you wake up late, things aren't always "on schedule" like normal. The boy enjoyed a bath this morning.... fun. I must say, he is such a joy. Sometimes I just feel like I'm a broken record.... well, OK, all the time! Every day I just say how much I love him and what a blessing he is. He is SO good. After breakfast, he played for awhile, then went back up to his room to put him in bed and let him have HIS quiet time. Well... at first, he whined for a second when I put him in bed... mom was taking too long getting his books and toys. Well, the SECOND I put his books in his bed, he immediately grabbed one and just started looking through it... reading of course (ha!). And then he waved bye to me. He's so funny! Blessed! Blessed! Blessed! Early on we determined that WE, Tyler Sr and I, were going to set the tone of our home, and set the schedule of our children.... the verse in Joshua rings clear "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." And we ALWAYS want our kids to know what the MOST important thing is, and that is Jesus. So far, so good. :-)

Proverbs 14:14 - The backslider in heart [from God and from fearing God] shall be filled with [the fruit of] his own ways, and a good man shall be satisfied with [the fruit of] his ways [with the holy thoughts and actions which his heart prompts and in which he delights].

Proverbs 31:16 - She considers a [new] field before she buys or accepts it [expanding prudently and not courting neglect of her present duties by assuming other duties]; with her savings [of time and strength] she plants fruitful vines in her vineyard. 

We recently came out of a period in our life that they only way I can explain it is as a "Sabbatical." A period where we took a few years "off" so to speak. We were not really aggressively "in the pursuit" of what we knew God was calling us to do. It was almost like we needed a period of time to renew our mind. Tyler especially during this time was really changing. I would come home from work and in the evenings just be excited to hear about what he had been learning. It was as if God was gradually changing so much of our old thought process and renewing it with a proper mindset. I wish I could say that during this time we were still progressing forward with some of the important areas in our life, but in all reality, a lot of things stood still and were put on hold. So much was churning in our heads. We were learning a lot spiritually, but God was doing a really great work in us. A great and a deep work. It was like a digging down to create proper thought process. Out of that, came a lot of new revelations, a new fervor and a more complete belief and acceptance on the subject of faith and how it works. 


James 2:20 says this (AMP), "Are you willing to be shown [proof], you foolish (unproductive, spiritually deficient) fellow, that faith apart from [good] works is inactive and ineffective and worthless?" Or commonly read in the NKJV, "But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?" During the couple of years we were on our "Sabbatical", we most definitely learned a lot. We were still operating in faith, but we were not AGGRESSIVELY operating in faith. Our faith was accompanied by good works, but not aggressively so. More recently, this old concept, has become so new to me. New in a way that combined with some other great truths I have been learning, it has really started to allow a "NEW ME" to emerge. A NEW & BETTER Amy to surface. An Amy that does not hold back, does not fear, does not hesitate. But an Amy who takes FAITH at it's word and applies action to it. A faith that says, "GOD does indeed have EVERYTHING under control. He has ALL things planned out. He is carrying out the good work that He began in me as it talks about in Phil. 1:6. GOD is bringing my desires to pass. He is setting me up!" A faith that says, "GOD, even more than ME, wants me to accomplish MY Calling that is on my life." Me accomplishing the calling on my life, only feeds into GOD accomplishing HIS calling for mankind. It allows Him to trust me to do my part as a piece of the big puzzle. MY Calling is part of the BIG PLAN. MY Calling is part of God's big plan that He has to evangelize all mankind and bring us all home. 


Before, MY works were not accompanying MY beliefs. I believed, but I was not showing my belief by my actions, therefore, like it says in James, my faith was dead. Since my faith was not being backed up with actions my faith was INACTIVE, INEFFECTIVE & WORTHLESS. Whoa! That's a hard pill to swallow! Well, let's read the tale end of Proverbs 14:14 again, a good man shall be satisfied with [the fruit of] his ways [with the holy thoughts and actions which his heart prompts... - Notice the word: actions. Sure actions are first accompanied by thoughts, but what I was excited about was this.... it was all prompted by the HEART. During the few years of renewing, I did not know HOW to get to the next place in life, I didn't know how to get that fervor back, or the excitement. Praise the Lord for a godly husband, he is much to thank for our coming out better, stronger and more excited than ever, more planted, more prepared, more ready. The consistency of taking in the Word, whether it be through reading, devotions, listening to CD's, online media broadcasts, or just sitting at dinner listening to the newest revelations that Tyler had, the Word was taking root. The WORD was doing it's part. The WORD was working! 


And now? I'm thankful to say, more than ever I KNOW what faith means. Yes it means to believe. But more than that it means backing up my beliefs with ACTION! It means BELIEVING and ACTING! God has already provided EVERYTHING I need, want & desire. NOW all I have to do, like the Children of Israel collected manna. They collected food for 6 days, on the 6th day they collected enough for the 7th day. On the 7th day they fully rested. On the 7th day, there was no manna to collect. Manna was not on the ground when they walked out on the 7th day. AND GUESS WHAT? My PROVISION is out there too! God has put my PROVISION (manna) out there for me to collect each day and I am COLLECTING IT! And, I am excited about it! We are changing people's lives. Helping them change their finances. Helping them improve their marriages. Helping them live a life of victory. And, helping change the WORLD one person at a time. Our calling is sure. Our calling is definite. If you do not know what your calling is, I encourage you, link your belief up to someone who IS doing great things for God and watch God reveal to you the details of his plan for your life!  

#38 - How to be a "Dynamic Duo" with your Spouse!?

Good morning! I have a full day of things to do today. Work on a slide-show for Tyler Junior's baby dedication on Sunday, get him some shoes, make baby-food.... hum... and it would be great to actually work on some taxes. I really need to pray and ask the Holy Spirit WHAT I need to work on today. Because, since I have a lot to get done and it doesn't sound like I can do all of it, so being directed would be important. Let's go ahead and get going into some Word.... 

Proverbs 22:29 - Do you see a man diligent and skillful in his business? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.

Proverbs 31:23 - Her husband is known in the [city's] gates, when he sits among the elders of the land.

First of all, I thought it was interesting that as we read about this "Ultimate Woman", this Proverbs 31 woman.... it takes a "time-out" to give us a small look into who she is married too. Who is the husband behind this amazing woman? Or rather who is the husband in front of/beside this amazing woman? Who is he? We already know, to be married to HER, he must really be what I would call THE BOMB.COM! (holla Jill!) He must be THE MAN! I mean... just take a minute and think about who this couple is....if you have been following each day in the posts of who the Proverbs 31 woman is, she really is the complete package. I'm sure she did not "marry down". I'm sure she married a pretty amazing man... and actually we know that she did as we see just a brief insight into who he is in verse 23. This couple could be coined as the "Dynamic Duo". As powerful couple. 


Diligence elevates you to a place of influence. A place where you can be heard. Since the Word does not contradict itself, we can say that since the Proverbs 31 husband is sitting in a place of influence, among the elders of the land (which may include the king), he has been diligent and skillful in his business. He is sitting among the people of influence. 


That brings me to a question. What should be our goal? What should our desire be if we want to accomplish more for the Kingdom? If we want to complete our calling with fervor? What should be our goal? I want to list out some words that come to mind... some goals to achieve when aspiring to be this Powerful Duo: 

• Unity 
• Trust & Belief
• Together-Together
• Support
• Moving as One
• On the Same Page
• Fully Supporting
• Fully in agreement with Goals
• Speaking the same Language

To be a "Powerful Duo", "Dynamic Duo" it is going to need to start with Unity. Unity in the marriage. You may have heard the phrase being "Together-Together". The Proverbs 31 husband has moved to this place of influence. He is sitting among the elders. He has a VOICE in the Land. He has influence with the king... with the President. His diligence has elevated him to this position of influence. 


To walk in Unity, strife needs to be far from you. The bickering, the quarrels, nagging. All of that needs to be eliminated. Unity means you ARE moving as ONE. You are in the flow. You have immersed yourself in the Word so much, both husband and wife that you are even able to complete thoughts or sentences. You are fully "Together-Together", you are going in the same direction, you are in agreement, you are on the same page. 


To get to this point, you must first IDENTIFY WHERE you are going? 

1. Get together with your spouse
2. Identify WHERE you are going
3. Pray about direction and a plan
4. Get back together and PLAN. SET A PLAN.
5. Re-Group - "Honey, this is what I'm doing to move towards our goal. Are we still on the same page?" 
6. SPEAK IT - Speak the same language. Read about the Tower of Babel - Genesis 11:1-9 - You can do ANYTHING! If you and your husband are on the same page, if the goal is ultimately going to glorify God and point back to God, NOTHING is IMPOSSIBLE! You may write your goals on an index card, in the notes of your cell phone, on a sheet of paper.... But SPEAK YOUR GOALS. Let me give you an example: 

• Almost 9 years ago, Tyler and I determined where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do. We looked up scripture to back what we wanted to do... from there, we set a plan and began speaking it daily. Several times a day. We had our stop watches go off a certain times throughout the day to remind us to SPEAK OUR GOALS. Speak LIFE into the direction we were going. It started with something pretty simple, but this is what we said, "Thank you Father that we have an overflowing abundance of wealth and riches in our house, that we produce over $15,000 a month, that we shall never lack, that we are debt free and that we are spiritual Giants!"

We began speaking that daily. Through a series of events, God led us to some spiritual truths that we were unaware of, some revelations that unveiled our eyes to some things. We were introduced to a business that eventually began to change the course of our finances. And we continued to SPEAK our goals. Those things did come to pass. The key is STICKING WITH IT! It may not, and probably will not happen over night. And... speaking to myself, I need to get back to speaking my goals out loud, daily! Out loud is important. Don't just THINK your goals. Speak them out loud. 


What if your husband is not on board with you? What if your husband is not saved? 

• Work on YOU (see below- Get in agreement with God) and pray for him. 

What if you are not married? 

• Easy! All you have to do is get your goals in alignment with God. It's easy for you to get into agreement with God... you and God, get in agreement. Maybe your goal has to do with an area you love or are gifted in, well, bring it before God, pray the power of agreement (Matthew 18:19). And from there on, daily THANK GOD for the answer! Thank God for doing it! Thank Him that BY FAITH it is DONE! You prayed it, you believed it, it is done. Now walk it out until you see the manifestation!

This world needs POWERFUL people! Be a DYNAMIC DUO! Get "TOGETHER-TOGETHER" with your spouse! Set a plan, put it in motion, be diligent and see your life be elevated to a place of influence! A place with a Voice!