FAITH While You Wait!

There is a difference between faith & wishing. Faith sees, feels, knows, talks about, envisions, before it is a reality. Faith comes by hearing. Faith is. #talkaboutittilitsreal #myproof? #tylerjr #trinityfaith #timothyisaacjosiah

Romans 10:17 (KJV) - So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. 

Hebrews 11:1 (KJV) - Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 

Yesterday I posted the above quote to my social media outlets. I began thinking about faith. About our successes, as well as things we are still standing in faith to see come to pass. I began to think on our greatest success thus far in regards to faith. It was an easy example, our children. 

It all began in 2001-2002. Newly married, a new business and growing in our walk with the Lord. As we were aggressively expanding and growing our new business, we found ourselves driving a lot in the expansion process. We would drive from Myrtle Beach, SC to the Atlanta Metro area in Georgia. The one way drive was a short 6 hours. There were seasons where we drove this several times a week, leaving Myrtle Beach at 3:00 in the afternoon, driving to Georgia for a 1-2 hour meeting, and turning around and driving home. We had a LOT of time on the road. We had a LOT of time to talk. 

FAITH BEGAN
Often on our 6 hour drive home, we were almost talked out. We had talked about everything and to stay awake, we began talking about our future children. We had already decided we wanted 4 children, and had already decided upon their names. Our drive consisted of imagining what they would be like, act like, look like, their personalities, their gifts, talents and abilities, how tall they would be, the color of their eyes, thickness of their hair, even down to who would be the one child who would like to snuggle the most. We began talking about, imagining and SEEING our children.

We began talking about, praying for, seeing, imagining our four children: Tyler, Trinity, Timothy & Taylor, in that order. Two boys, two girls. To this day, I'm still not sure why we believed them in the order of boy, girl, boy, girl, but we did. That is how we saw them. We talked about how Trinity would love to feed daddy. She would feed him bites of her food (and at age 2 1/2, SHE DOES THAT!), and when she was old enough she would make him sandwiches, carrying it in on a plate and beam with pride as daddy thanked her. She would love to serve daddy (and even her brothers), simultaneously this is also the love language of her dad, "acts of service." From the book The Five Love Languages, this is one of the ways Tyler feels loved the most. Taylor on the other hand, wouldn't be the serving type, but she would be the snuggler out of the four kids. She would love to be held, hugged and could just sit in your lap, loving you with her affection. 

I could go on about all the things we talked about, but the bottom line is, WE TALKED and FAITH CAME! Faith comes by hearing! I HEARD my voice as I talked to Tyler, I heard my voice talk about our children, and I listened and HEARD as Tyler also talked about them, and we were in agreement (Matthew 18:19). As we SPOKE WORDS out of our mouth, FAITH CAME. Until, our kids took on themselves, years before they actually arrived. They began to take shape, because we spoke about and envisioned them. We talked about them like they were REAL and one by one, they have become the real, live, manifestation of what we spoke about. 

I've heard many people say comments like, "Well, we're just not like you and Tyler. It just doesn't happen like that with everyone. My husband and I can't just 'pick out' whether we want a boy or girl next."  

My thoughts behind that comment? Tyler and I just spent more time building our FAITH around who our kids were and who they would become. Sure, someone who just makes a decision, hopes for or wishes to have a "baby boy next," may or may not have a boy. How real did that baby boy become? Did they see him, talk about him, envision him, see his characteristics, personality? My questions to them would be, DID FAITH REALLY COME? Did you talk about them so much, OUTLOUD, with your words that, as Romans 10:17 says, FAITH CAME. 

Don't get me wrong, why haven't some of our other dreams and goals come to pass yet? I believe many still will, but why not yet? Well… I believe it is our responsibility to speak about, envision, see those goals becoming a reality. SPEAKING ABOUT them until FAITH COMES. Faith GIVES birth to a new, dreamed, reality! 

When were our children born? Tyler Jr - 2009, Trinity Faith - 2011, Timothy Isaac Josiah - 2013. BUT, truly on our drives from Atlanta to Myrtle Beach, THAT IS WHEN OUR CHILDREN WERE BORN. 

Tyler Jr, Trinity & Timothy …. one more to go! Our baby girl Taylor!

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!

#168 - Are you in Full Partnership?

Good morning! :) Today I have a 17 month old. Wow! He's turning into such a big boy!! He got a big-boy hair cut the other day at the barber shop with CLIPPERS! Wow! He looks so different.... so much older. He is so funny, just loves to be the center of attention and be goofy. We definitely laugh a lot around him. What a joy! Praise the Lord. :)

Let's get into the Word.

Proverbs 14:6 - A scoffer seeks Wisdom in vain [for his very attitude blinds and deafens him to it], but knowledge is easy to him who [being teachable] understands.

Proverbs 31:11 - The heart of her husband trusts in her confidently and relies on and believes in her securely, so that he has no lack of [honest] gain or need of [dishonest] spoil. 

Well....the Word does have a way to reveal & confirm things in our life, doesn't it? As I was reading about the scoffer, a few things came to mind. First of all, this person was SEEKING Wisdom. They were SEEKING. In the past, we've studied verses on the importance of SEEKING, searching out scripture, finding those hidden truths in the Word. Well, here this "scoffer" is SEEKING Wisdom.... but as we read further we see that it is done in vain. Wow! Who knew you could seek Wisdom, but it be in vain!? We see why it was in vain, because of his attitude! His attitude blinded and deafened him for really gaining the truth, really attaining answers and Wisdom.

I personally had to to an "Attitude Check" for myself. The Holy Spirit revealed some things in my life that up until recently had been faulty, wrong. I'll share shortly (arghhh... OK, let's take a look at Amy's faults again! ha!! that's ok!)

Proverbs 31:11, gives us a bit of insight into how the relationship is between the Proverbs 31 wife and her husband. He trusts in her CONFIDENTLY, he relies on her, he believes in her. They truly are a team working together in their strengths. Each bringing things to the table that completes the "PAIR" to make them a dynamic duo! Separately, there would be thing missing. BUT, the Proverbs 31 wife has proven to her husband that she is capable. Through her series of successes of taking a task, accomplishing it, producing income with it or producing things her family needs, she proves herself worthy of his belief!

I have fallen in the guilty category of, "I'm the wife, you are the big, strong husband. Ride in off your white horse. Conquer the giants. Handle the responsibilities. And when all is said and done, I will dust you off and we will go off and live 'happily ever after.' - That is, AFTER YOU have done all the hard work." All the while, happy to give my opinion, or even on the rare occasions, sometimes disapproval every once in awhile.

Falling into the category of "not being the equal", but being the "lesser half" because of not wanting to take responsibility. Full responsibility. I was reminded of several things this morning that take two. (1)The disciples were sent out 2 by 2. (2) Deut 32:30 - One can put 1,000 to flight, TWO can put 10,000 to flight. (3) Eccl 4:11 - If TWO lie together they keep warm, but one by himself is cold.

And the list could go on. It has been an easy thing to just want "the husband" to go out and slay the dragons of life and just be the rescued damsel in distress, but I don't think that was how we were designed to be. The Proverbs 31 wife, PROVED HERSELF WORTHY. She earned her rewards through diligence. She was very much a PARTNER with her husband. Right, wrong or indifferent, I have wanted to be the "rescued damsel" into the fairy tale story without doing my part, leaving the weight & responsibility unfortunately on Tyler.

Praise God for marriage. We are brought together to become ONE. Where TWO become ONE. We were designed to COMPLETE each other, with our gifts, talents & abilities to be able to COMPLETE the calling God has on our life.

Are you single? It's YOU & GOD then! He's your partner! But to those married folks.... any of you trying to "shirk" responsibility? Are you in full partnership? Well... it's just another area that I have to work on.

Have a blessed day!

#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!