Monday, April 19, 2010

Let go!

I have just been reading about one of the miracles Jesus did in Luke 5:1–11. This is when Simon (Peter) and his fishing partners had worked all night and caught nothing, so they gave up and were washing their nets. Jesus then got into Simon’s boat and taught the people. He stopped speaking and told Simon to go back out there into the deep. This obviously would not have made any sense to Simon, but He did what Jesus said to do anyway and caught so much that they had to get the other boat over so that both boats could not contain the amount of fish they had caught. Simon and all the other people there were totally amazed, then Jesus said to Simon, “From now on, you will catch men.”

God really does care for us. We sometimes might think that He just cares for our eternity, but He so much cares about every part of our life now, at this very moment.

This passage is amazing! This was Simon’s business and income. Simon and his fishing partners had worked all night and caught nothing. That would be like working for a full day and not getting paid for it. I don’t know anything about fishermen, but I know you would not be guaranteed to catch fish every time you went out. They would have been disappointed, tired and fed up, while they were washing their nets. Simon still let Jesus into his boat to preach though, who knows if he was really listening to what Jesus was saying. Perhaps Simon didn’t, because Jesus stopped speaking, then told him to go back out into the deep and cast your nets again. I mean, Jesus would’ve known exactly what they were thinking. Simon did start to protest. He would’ve thought, “Are you crazy? We’ve been out there all night! Now all our nets are clean, we are all tired and have had enough for tonight! Whatever though, you are the boss, we’ll give it another go.” And that’s when the miracle comes.

Jesus wants us to face our problems, but through Him. As I stated before, this was Simon’s income and business which he worked so hard to just get a little. It was a serious problem that night, because he did all that work for nothing. It was no problem to Jesus! The only way Simon could face his problem again, was by listening to Jesus’ word and obeying it, even though it didn’t any make sense. Just look at the outcome! The only problem he ended up having was that he had way too much fish that he had to get help and give it away! How awesome is that?

Jesus will always test us with how and what we are believing and if we are really trusting Him. He might tell us to do something that doesn’t make any sense and that will go against everything in our natural mind and what the world expects. “My ways are not your ways, my thoughts are not your thoughts.”

Jesus has taken care of all our problems – physical and spiritual. What we do though, is let ourselves get worried and try to do everything ourselves. What usually happens when we do that, is we get exhausted, stressed, worried, depressed, frustrated and angry. God wants us to let go, listen to His words and trust in Him. Especially in the area where we are struggling the most – because when we give that area over to God, he totally turns it around and makes it our strongest area – in the physical realm and the spiritual! That is when we 100% know that we are living in His grace and His power – because we finally have let Him sort out all our problems and let Him take over our lives. The problems are not problems anymore. The only problems we would have, is the huge amount of things God wants to show and give to us, will just overflow our lives so much that we would have to give it away – physical and spiritual! How awesome is our God!





58836: Out of Control and Loving It: Giving God Complete Control of Your LifeOut of Control and Loving It: Giving God Complete Control of Your Life

By Lisa Bevere / Charisma House


Is your grip on life so tight that God cannot work out His plan? Lisa Bevere shares an incredible discovery that helped her let go of her obsession to manage and manipulate everything around her. You are about to take a journey from a lifestyle of fear and disorder to a haven of rest and peace under God's protective wings. This revised edition includes interactive study questions and new testimonies from women who learned to let go and trust God's protection. 184 pages, softcover from Charisma House.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Don't lose your first love

This life that we live as believers, should be all about God. When we are believing for something, we always need to be focused on what Jesus has already done for us on the cross, but is what we’re believing for, for His glory? Do we focus on the outcome or result on giving the glory to Him, or is the outcome actually more about us? We do not own our life any more – our life actually belongs to God. That is where our freedom is, because He tells us that we don’t have to worry anymore. Our burdens are gone. He is taking care of us now.

Everything is in Him, through Him, to Him, for Him and all in HIS TIMING. This is why Jesus died on the cross, so we could LET GO of our own life and give it over to Him. Let Jesus take control and take over – this is where His peace, joy, fullness and power overflows in our spirit in a supernatural way, that makes no sense in our natural mind. This is where He wants us to be when it seems like everything we see in the natural is falling apart. He wants us to just trust in His love. Trust in His goodness. Trust in His faithfulness. Trust in His word. Trust “that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). If it ever seems like it’s not working, He can see the bigger picture. He might be testing your patience, building your character – ask Him. If you don’t get an answer straight away, you will eventually. Do everything for His glory. He has so many riches and blessings to pour out over your life, no matter how much your life seems to be in a mess. He DOES restore double, triple, a hundred fold.

Another thing we do when we are believing for a breakthrough, is compare ourselves to other people – especially when it looks like they didn’t get their breakthrough or they didn’t get what they believed for. Don’t do that!!! Don’t compare! Don’t look at others if they say God didn’t come through for them – God always comes through! As soon as we start comparing, doubt starts creeping in – the enemy’s not stupid, he’s very strategic and subtle, but thank you Jesus that the power inside of us is so much greater than the devil – he’s already lost! There is always a reason why things happen the way they happen. Don’t ever doubt the love, care, faithfulness and goodness of God.

I’ve really been noticing lately how a lot of people don’t believe in God’s faithfulness, love and goodness that He has for them. Surely we can see that through the cross? You know, if we just believed that Jesus died on the cross for us to receive eternal life, then what the heck is the point of us still being here on this earth??? Do you really believe in His love and goodness in your own personal life, in your marriage, in your health, in your workplace, in your kids, in your finances, in your relationships etc? Does this come out of your mouth? You can tell when someone doesn’t believe in all His love and goodness by the way they talk. He is an awesome, loving, faithful, merciful and gracious God to us here and now. I really believe that this can be lost after we first get saved. This is our first love that we need to never forget. This is what God wants for every single one of us on this earth, “to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:19. This is how we begin to know God.

The evidence of believing how much God loves us, is trusting in Him. If you really believed and knew how much He loves and cares for you, you would trust Him in every area of your life. This is believing by grace through faith. You trust and believe in His love, care, goodness and faithfulness in every area of your life and stop trying to control it yourself, because that is why He died for you on the cross. Don’t worry – I’m not there yet – but I’m trying!!! One step at a time…





799391: Unmerited FavorUnmerited Favor

By Joseph Prince


Did you know that it's God's desire for you to succeed in every area of your life---and with his help, you can! Brimming with motivational insights, Prince's resource will teach you to depend on Jesus alone for success---not on your own efforts. Get ready to be transformed by God's passionate love, great blessings, and undeserved grace! 368 pages, hardcover from Charisma.