#245 - You Want Kids? God WANTS You to have Kids Too!

Malachi 2:15-16a - And did not God make [you and your wife] one [flesh]? Did not One make you and preserve your spirit alive? And why [did God make you two] one? Because He sought a godly offspring [from your union]. Therefore take heed to yourselves, and let no one deal treacherously and be faithless to the wife of his youth. For the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I hate divorce and marital separation....

Proverbs 31:28 - Her children rise up and call her blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied); and her husband boasts of and praises her... 

I always thought Christians are the people who should have lots of children. My logic? Logical, of course! Why not the Christians? Christians having multiple children who will grow up to make an impact on this world for Christ. Christians, especially the ones who really "live the life", raise their kids up knowing about Jesus, teach godly principles... those people should have lots of kids. Our world NEEDS them! Our world needs bold believers! So... though my thoughts seemed logical... I never really had scripture to back up just "WHY" Christians should have kids! And, WAAA-LAAAA, wouldn't you know it! Here it is in black and white in the Bible! And did not God make you and your wife one flesh? And WHY did God make you one? Because He sought to have a godly offspring from your union. 


God brought YOU & your spouse together so you could have godly offspring! It is HIS desire for you to be fruitful and multiply!


A few years ago I met a couple, they were so nice (still are nice!). Well, as I got to know the wife better,  I found out how good she was with kids. But in conversation she said concretely, "Oh no, we can't have kids. The doctors told us we can't." She was pretty sold on what the doctors said. I could tell she wanted kids, and would make a great mother if she had them. She and her husband were Christians and loved Jesus. At some point I gave her the book, "Supernatural Childbirth." It listed out sooooo many of the women in the Bible who had challenges getting pregnant, but how God blessed them with children! I would anticipate, those women in the Bible, Sarah, Rachel, & many of the other women... if they would see today's doctors, I'm sure they too, would have been told, "No, you can not get pregnant." Jesus is seed of Abraham & Sarah. Jesus is in that lineage. If Sarah hadn't have gotten pregnant, if our Saviour had not come.... where would we all be?

To this day, I do not know if my friend even read the book... but wouldn't you know it, the Doctors said, "You CAN NOT have children." But in 2011 she gave birth to a baby boy! :) Praise the Lord!!! :) When doctors said, "It CAN'T be done!" God said, "NOTHING is impossible to those who believe! NOTHING is impossible with Me!"

The Word says God is no respecter of persons, if God can do it for Sarah & Abraham at 90 years old, He can SURELY do it for you!!!

#147 - PLANT THAT WORD!!!

Good morning! I must say.... my apologies about some inconsistencies as of lately with posts. I slammed my finger in the garage door and for about a day and a half couldn't even touch anything without being in pain.... so typing was out of the question. Please say a prayer for my finger though! COMPLETE HEALING & NO PAIN! It's still a bit tender, but praise God, BY JESUS STRIPES I AM HEALED!


Alright... go with me to Mark chapter 4. 

 ³ Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:
 ⁴ And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.
 ⁵ And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:
 ⁶ But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
 ⁷ And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
 ⁸ And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.
 ¹⁴ The sower soweth the word.
 ¹⁵ And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.

This parable I'm sure many of you are familiar with... it's a very popular one. I wanted to share an experience where this was real in my life.... just one of many stories I could tell. 


Tyler woke up one morning and told me, "Hey, the Holy Spirit told me that this morning we are going to lay hands on *Mark, and he's going to be healed." So... I was excited about that. Mark had been in the hospital and recovering, but was unable to walk. He was using a wheelchair or walker, or any assistance he could use, but could not walk on his own. Well, praise God, today was the day he would walk! 


We arrived at his house, sat down and Tyler asked him if he would like to be healed. Tears welled up in his eyes and he said "Yes." As Tyler went through some scripture, he firmly agreed with the Word. He was excited. He believed that the power of Jesus could still heal today! He stood up with the assistance of a walker and we laid hands on him and began to pray. We prayed. We thanked God. We put God in remembrance of His Word and we rejoiced! Mark received!!!  As we came to a close in the prayer, Mark stepped away from the walker. We made sure he was careful. But he said, I CAN WALK! He took a step forward without help, then took a step backwards without help. He was laughing and crying all at the same time. Then he took several steps forward and even jogged in place! He was so excited! He was jogging in place! He told us he wanted to go up the stairs, he hadn't been able to do that in months. Mark made his way to the stairs, and flawlessly made his way up, and then back down. He was shouting he was so excited! Tears streamed down his face. This was really happening. 


We all went back to the living room for Tyler & I to get ready to leave... I'm sure Tyler gave him some parting instructions, we rejoiced with him and then were on our way. 


Later we found out that Mark did not keep walking.... sure he walks today. It was like he relapsed into the same state he was in when we had first arrived. That brings me to the whole point of today's devotion. When you receive something new or a revelation from the Lord, it is CRUCIAL that you begin to FIRMLY PLANT that Word in your heart! It is crucial that you begin to meditate, ponder, and just pour in, pour in, pour in the Word! That you get that new revelation so PLANTED & GROUNDED that NOTHING or NO ONE can take it away from you. 


What happened with Mark? The WORD, in regards to healing, was not firmly planted in his heart. And we know what happens next when the word is planted... right? The THIEF IMMEDIATELY comes to STEAL the Word. In this case, when the thief came to steal the Word, he walked in and stole the word right from Mark with no fight. That is what Satan does! He comes to STEAL, KILL & DESTROY! 


I have had to really fight this recently. The idea of PLANTING FIRMLY new revelations that I have received from the Lord. I have WATCHED the enemy come and try to STEAL these truths right out from under my feet. BUT, I am FIGHTING! I am fighting to keep these truths and revelations that I received. But it takes a CONSTANT, SOLID, FIRM, CONSISTENT, STUBBORN effort to PLANT the Word. Continue to PLANT! PLANT! PLANT! Plant the Word so deep that the roots can not come up! Plant the Word so thoroughly that the truths are there for good! And NOTHING can shake your tree! Like the palm tree in a hurricane.... it may bend, but it doesn't break! God made it to withstand fierce winds and storms. God made US to withstand the enemy too! We have EVERYTHING we need to WIN! AND.... JESUS HAS ALREADY DEFEATED HIM! JESUS HAS ALREADY WON, so WE have already won! 


But... I encourage you.... get those truths, those revelations firmly planted. Don't let the enemy come and steal them from you, because THAT my friend is what he is going to try to do! Be ready! PLANT THAT WORD!!!

* Name Changed.

#30 - Living Vanilla? Add Chocolate, Carmel, Whip Cream & Nuts

Good morning! It's going to be a jammin day today! Excited about it.... excited to get a lot done and accomplished. Yippee! So... let's get our roll on....

Proverbs 8:6-8 - ...the opening of my lips shall be for right things. For my mouth shall utter truth. All the words of my mouth are righteous (upright and in right standing with God); there is nothing contrary to truth or crooked in them.

Proverbs 31:26 - She opens her mouth in skillful and godly Wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness [giving counsel and instruction].

So much good stuff today. Where do you even begin? Words. Truth. Our words are so important. We even see that when our Proverbs 31 friend opens her mouth, good stuff is coming out! She opens her mouth in Wisdom. When she speaks it is with Wisdom and kindness. As we see in Proverbs 8:30, Wisdom was here from the beginning. Wisdom was here as the earth was created. Wisdom was hear before man was created. Before the sun & moon. Before animals, the water, fish of the sea. Wisdom has been here since before the beginning! So within Wisdom, it also accompanies the truth. Wisdom can not be a lie. Wisdom can not be false. Aside from everything else Wisdom is, Wisdom is truth. Our Proverbs 31 friend opens her mouth in truth. Wisdom often is love. Our Proverbs 31 friend most often probably opened her mouth in love, in encouragement or, as it says in verse 26, in kindness. 


I heard a statement the other day that shook me. It came at me and it was bold. It affected me. When truth comes, it separates bone & marrow. It comes straight. Straight! It comes hard. It comes bold. It comes in a glass that is not watered down. Truth does not try to wear flowers. It does not try to dress up. And we see the Word, JAM-PACKED with TRUTH. I began to think about it. I began to think about who I am attracted too. When we started our business about 7 years ago, I remember early on going to a conference. I heard people speaking boldly, and speaking truth. I heard things that, at the time, I did not even hear at church. I was attracted to the bold. I was attracted to these people who stood up for the truth. Who spoke the truth without standing down. The attractiveness of the Radical.  Truth is like a magnet. Truth draws us in. Truth is attractive. Truth is powerful. I go back to the statement I heard that shook me. When truth comes, it separates bone & marrow. It comes straight. I hear already some people saying, "Well, you have to leave room. You have to not be so dogmatic. You have to be gentle." What I have realized though is THE WORLD WANTS THE RADICAL!!! Think about it. Who do you want to follow? Someone who is passionate. Someone who is sure. Someone who follows their heart, who follows truth. Someone who is bold. Someone who moves you to tears. Someone who knows & speaks truth. The WORLD wants the BOLD. I have realized that the WORLD is following and wants to follow those who speak loud. I  am reminded of Lady Gaga. We call her radically saved in Jesus Name! She has almost 5 million followers on Twitter, and just passed President Obama for followers on Facebook. Why? She lives her life BOLDLY! People are attracted to bold. 


Wake-up call. Before this blog began.... I was living my life "Vanilla." I was living my life "not to offend." Everyone likes vanilla. I then, finally couldn't take it anymore! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! GIVE ME THE CARMEL, HOT FUDGE, NUTS, MARSHMALLOW'S, CHOCOLATE CHIPS! I AM NOT VANILLA! I think as Christians we often live life "Vanilla." We live life not to offend, while the World is living life BOLDLY... (ie: Lady Gaga- dancing on poles in a cage, whips, chains, scantily dressed, colored language, cutting edge ideas). The world is not "living Vanilla" and the WORLD is getting more followers than MY JESUS! 


Jesus lived a life that was not vanilla. During his life, people were offended. He lived boldly. He knew His purpose for being here. He lived and spoke TRUTH.


That brings me to association. Finding a church that speaks the truth and believes the truth. Comparing it with the Word. Cross-referencing it with the Word. Does what they speak or teach line up with the TRUTH? I'm not so quick to jump on the "ban-wagon" of ministers or churches that appear to be big. I am very CAUTIOUS in the books that I read... the authors... and what "school of teaching" they come from. I steer clear of some that I know I feel don't believe the WHOLE truth. Those who have taken bits of truth, but have disagreed with some parts of the Bible. Last time I checked, the WHOLE BIBLE was true. So, I'm cautious of "what" I put in. 


Personal example: A time back, I was like that about Joel Osteen. I was cautious. I did not know if he was just a "feel-good" minister... or if he just preached "watered-down" sermons... if he really believed how I believed. If he really embraced the whole Bible. Well, I have since read a couple of his books. One of the books I'm reading right now is: It's Your Time. I must say, it is a great read. We don't watch TV at home, so I never watch him on TV... but when I have been at my in-laws, I have seen him on occasion. I don't know how much he teaches on certain subjects...but when I've seen him it has usually been a message of hope. At the time, I thought, "Great, hope is good. Hope is important. But do the people ever go from milk to meat? Are they getting enough Word that they are moving forward. Are they getting the whole package and moving on?" I am definitely not an easy one to just "jump on someones ban wagon." Well.... that brings me to his book, It's Your Time, definitely good stuff. Get ready to get fired up... I'm just going to bullet out some things from it....

• Don't talk about your problems; talk to your problems.
• Speak to those mountains in your path. Declare favor over difficult situations. Too often we talk to God about how big our problems are. We should be talking to our problems about how big our God is!
• With your own words you'd be sealing your fate. You must ask yourself, "Whose report will I believe, the report of victory or the report of defeat?"
• Put a watch over your mouth.
• In due season you will eat the fruit of your words.
• Declare favor every day, all day. Let it flow out your mouth and under your breath. You should be saying, "Father, thank you that Your favor is opening up doors no man can shut. Your favor is bringing supernatural opportunities, divine connections, causing me to be at the right place at the right time."
• I am blessed. I walk in divine health. The favor of God is opening up new doors. I will fulfill my destiny.
• Switch over to the language of victory.
• Our words can bless our future or they can curse it.
• We give life to our faith when we speak out about our dreams.
• He has made you the head and not the tail. (Deut. 28 - One of my, Amy's, personal favorite chapters in the Bible - Talks about blessings and curses. Grab hold of the blessings!!!)
• God does not want you to spend your whole life working for someone else. God wants you to own your own company. 
• When your needs are supplied, keep stretching to bless others.
• Don't allow negative images to play in your mind. Change the channel.
• Turn off negative talk. Fill your mind with thoughts of victory. 
• Great expectations make for great lives.
• When I was tempted to get discouraged, I used the temptation as a reminder to thank God that He was in control and to thank Him that He was fighting my battles for me.
• Dare to dream big and pray boldly, especially - yes, especially - when there is no hope in sight!
• Have you ever dared to ask God to help you OWN YOUR HOME free and clear without monthly payments? "God I'm asking to be debt-free - my home, my car, my business, my credit cards!"
• God expects us to ask. If you are not asking for God's favor, His blessings, His increase, then you are not releasing your faith. 

What a pleasant surprise! Truth. And if you looked back over each one of the blog posts here, you would probably see many of those very subjects talked about. 


So, divine health? Living in abundance? What if I feel sick? What if I HAVE a headache right now? What if I AM broke? What if my checking account does say $0.00... or -$34.89. Apply the TRUTH to your situation! 


Fact -VS- Truth: The fact may be that you have a headache, but the TRUTH trumps the facts. The TRUTH, the Word of God, trumps what the facts say because the WORD says, "By Jesus stripes you ARE healed." (1 Peter 2:24) The facts may be that you have no money in your checking account right now, but the TRUTH says, "My God shall supply ALL my needs according to HIS riches in glory in Christ Jesus." (Phil 4:19) Or the amplified, "My God will LIBERALLY supply (fill to the full) your need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." And our God DOES NOT LACK! So take your situation and line it up with the Word. Line it up with the TRUTH. Claim and speak the TRUTH over areas that may feel like defeat now. Say, "Thank you Father, that the facts may say I have NO money, but your WORD says that you LIBERALLY supply all my needs. That I have more than enough. I choose to believe the WORD, the TRUTH over what the facts may be saying. Thank you Father that YOU are Jehovah Jirah, God my Provider, and YOU do not have a lack. And YOU are my Supplier. I am linked up with the ALMIGHTY Source! Thank you for meeting my needs!"


Litmus Test: Do a WORD CHECK. Check your Words. Whatever you say, behind it add, "In Jesus Name." How does that sound? "I have a migraine, in Jesus Name." "I am broke, in Jesus Name." "I have no friends, in Jesus Name." "I'm not good at anything, in Jesus Name." "I'm fat, in Jesus Name." "I'm ugly, in Jesus Name." CHECK YOUR WORDS! Like Joel said, Our words can bless our future or they can curse it. And that is SO true!


Be Bold. Believe truth. Live truth. The only way to live vanilla is to add chocolate, carmel, whip cream and nuts! Live with Flavor. Live with belief! LIVE LOUD!