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Spiritual Growth – Striving To Love With The God Kind Of Love

Spiritual Growth – Striving To Love With The God Kind Of Love

Develop Great Spiritual Growth With
the God Kind of Love Flowing In Your Life!

Spiritual Growth with the God Kind of LoveThe God kind of love is a love

that goes beyond words.

There are of course, many kinds of love,

but living a life that strives to love with

the God kind of love,

develops great spiritual growth within us.

Many Kinds of Love

From the time we are born, we begin to experience the love between parents and children. Then there is the love shared between family members, friends, and neighbors. There is also love shared between sweethearts and lovers.

These are just a handful of the many kinds of love, but the most important to mention, is the love shared between God and each one of us as human beings.

Putting the God Kind of Love in Action

Jesus teaches us to model the love between people, based on the way God loves us; God loves the righteous and the unrighteous alike. The entire essence of the law can be wrapped up in the commandments to love our neighbors and love our God.

“You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.”
— Matthew 5:43-45

Loving our spouse, family, friends, and others who love us is a no brainer. But it’s an altogether thing to love an enemy that hates us and who may have it as a goal to destroy us.

When Christ tells us to love, do good, bless, and pray for our enemies, He is telling us to take action. In fact, the God kind of love isn’t about warm, fuzzy feelings; it is about taking action.

How Do We Take Actions of Love?

Well what we don’t do, is wait for emotions of love, because they may never come. Rather we start with actions of love, and the emotions of love may follow later.

How do we do it? Start with the things Jesus taught us (Luke 6:27-28):

Do Good –

Search for a way to do something good for your worst enemy. Maybe send a card with a gift certificate to a restaurant and wish him or her a great day. Keep in mind: We are not trying to cause shame, we are striving to love with the God kind of love that loved us even in our evil condition.

Bless –

Our goal is to speak and think blessings about our enemies even when they speak untrue, mean, and nasty things about us. When around others, try to actively speak well about your enemies instead of complaining about unjust treatment received from them.

Pray –

Actively pray and intercede for your enemies. Why not ask God to help heal their hearts and turn them toward His light and truth? Pray that God show them mercy and bless them. Again, keep in mind the abundant mercy and blessings God had shown to us while we were yet sinners.

Self-love seeks something in return and the sooner the better. Not so with the God kind of love; it seeks no repayment.

The truth is: Jesus is out to change you and me into an army of servants that love and care for people (even our enemies) just as He does. He wants to see spiritual growth in our lives.

Make no mistake about it: Once we start to take actions of love, spiritual growth begins to develop. Selfless love is not easy to do, but powerful when put into action. And it allows God to continue to transform us more and more into His image, so our actions will reflect His work and His presence in our hearts.

May the God kind of love abound in your heart and your life be continually blessed with growing prosperity!

Be blessed to be a blessing!

God bless you always,
Brenda

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Growing Prosperity – Do These 2 Roadblocks Detour You from Receiving God’s Best?

Growing Prosperity – Do These 2 Roadblocks Detour You from Receiving God’s Best?

Roadblocks In Our Way of Receiving God’s Best

Roadblocks to God's BestGrowing prosperity requires making

wise choices in our everyday decisions.

Do you understand that God longs

to help you and bless you, and there is truly no one

who knows your needs better than He does?

If so, you’ll understand the importance of seeking His guidance in order to experience His best.

Seeking God’s best in our life decisions requires accepting God’s way and listening to His voice. There are however, some potential roadblocks that can stand in the way of receiving His best.

Do these 2 Roadblocks Detour You from Receiving God’s Best?

1. FOCUSING ON THE PROBLEM

A primary roadblock to making wise decisions is taking our eyes off God. Many times, when unforeseen trials or storms of life blow through, we place our focus on the problem instead of the ultimate solution, which is God’s wisdom.

When problems show up, we must not look at our shortcomings and inabilities. We must also avoid comparing ourselves to others. Instead, we must pray for the wisdom of God; which He says if we lack then to simply ask for it. (James 1:5)

“And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.” 
— Isaiah 30:21

It is great to know that we can count on the Lord to help us overcome roadblocks to wise decision making. When our trust is in Him, and our focus on Him, He will guide our paths according to His will.

2. DETOURS FROM THE ENEMY

Another set of roadblocks we are likely to encounter are detours from Satan. The enemy will do everything in his power to lead us away from God’s best and into a foolish decision. We must discard ungodly counsel and be keenly aware of his conniving schemes.

Do not be ignorant of this roadblock. The Bible says that Satan is “like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

Do not be fearful of this roadblock either. We must pray for protection and rely upon the discernment of the Holy Spirit in order to avoid disastrous detours. We must submit to God, and then resist the devil and he will flee from us. (James 4:7)

In any state of weakness, that hinders our decision making, we must call upon the strength of the Lord. God has said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Now that you know this: Choose to let the wisdom and peace of God guide you in your next important decision. Begin to welcome the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Find practical insights and strength for daily living in the Word of God. Keep in mind: God’s best will far exceed any good thing we could create on our own.

May you experience God’s best and live a life of growing prosperity!

Be blessed to be a blessing –

Cheers,
Brenda

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How Do You Overcome Spiritual Attacks with the Powerful Authority Provided You?

Spiritual Warfare – How to Overcome with the Powerful Authority Provided You?

Fight Spiritual Attacks with Spiritual Weapons!

Spiritual warfare is real and it is important to understand this raging battle between the Word of God and the forces of darkness. Once you acknowledge the battle at hand, you’ll understand the need for the authority Christ gave to His believers.

What Authority Do We Have?

“Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” 
— Jesus Christ (Luke 10:19)

Powerful Authority to Overcome in Jesus NameKeep in mind, poisonous reptiles and insects were something that the early church leaders regularly encountered. They had to battle this type of attack from the enemy, while spreading the Gospel, and they also had to deal with demonic spiritual activity.

Today, as believers, we may not regularly face serpents and scorpions, but we do face fear, rejection, persecution, hatred, sickness, poverty, and such. But we are not powerless, because Jesus gave us power to overcome all the attacks of the enemy.

Who is the Battle Against?

First let’s look at what we are up against. Spiritual warfare is a battle against unseen demonic spirit beings that use people. Our real enemies are not people.  And because they are not flesh, we cannot fight them physically. Unfortunately, because they are unseen, many people don’t believe they even exist.

“We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” 
— Ephesians 6:12

Spiritual attacks are fought with spiritual armor and weapons. The Lord tells us to put on the whole armor of God, which He provided us, so that we will be able to stand against the evil one. (Ephesians 6:13) The armor helps defend us from the enemy’s fiery darts that come at us.

How Do We Use Our Authority?

God gave us an offensive weapon that will penetrate the spirit world. It is called the Sword of the Spirit. This is the Word of God.

“The Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword.” 
— Hebrews 4:12

A sword used to be the most powerful weapon and was compared to the Word of God to represent the power available in the Word. Today we have much more powerful weapons available, but you get the idea.

The Word of God, when spoken by a believer, can penetrate the spirit world and cause harm to the enemy and stop him in his tracks.

Most of the attacks of the enemy are aimed at filling the minds of people with lies so that they cannot think clearly about God’s truth. Jesus told us that the devil is the father of all lies and there is no truth in him. (John 8:44)

Specific Instructions

We exercise our spiritual authority in Christ by speaking the Word of God directly to the enemy.  There is no instruction in the Bible to pray to God to stop the devil. Nor are we to just ignore him.

The instructions given say to resist him and give him no place. (Ephesians 4:27, James 4:7). Believers are also empowered to cast him out. (Mark 16:17)

We are to use our authority and speak directly to the enemy, like Jesus did, and command him to stop. When satan attacked the thoughts of Jesus, He immediately responded by saying ‘It is written’, and spoke the Word of God. (Matthew 4)

Work the Word and watch it work!

Now that you are armed with this information; use it. We are not powerless to resist outlaw spirits that challenge us and our mission. Power is available in the Word of God to overcome evil. It is our responsibility to use the authority Jesus has provided. If we will take authority over the enemy, we can cause his plans to backfire on him every time.

May you put the power of the Word of God to work in your life daily and continue to experience a life of growing prosperity!

God bless you,
Brenda

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Spiritual Warfare Venting and My Experience

A Little Spiritual Warfare Venting and Rambling for today…

What the Enemy Intends for Bad – God Will Work for Good!

First, I want to apologize to you for the website being down for almost three days.

My web host provider had some unexpected issues over the weekend that took my site down and it just went live again mid-day today!  I’m thankful God answered my prayer and the site is back up without errors.

It definitely gave me practice with patience, overcoming frustration, etc.!

Sword of the SpiritIt also had me thinking about spiritual warfare and reflecting back on things in life. You know, I’m finally getting old enough, and wise enough, to realize things aren’t just coincidence. And that the enemy of this world is up to more than we realize

I started thinking about my site going down and how it not only was in the group that went down, but it was the last one to get back up and running. I’ve had many other sites over the years, either personally or that I’ve managed for others. Never have I experienced this type of down time.

Yet none of the other sites were related to spiritual matters and encouraging people to keep God first in life.

As I reflected back, it is clear that the times in my life that I’ve had the most attacks and trials were either times that I clearly chose to walk away from God, and do my own thing, or times when I decided to step out in a significant way for the Lord.

When I chose to do my own thing in the past, and disobey God, it is understandable that I was going to have to face the consequences of those wrong choices.

However, it used to appear like bad timing when trouble would bombard me during the times I was trying to do the right thing.

For instance, when I purposed to start attending church regularly – BAMM – attacks! When I bought a new Bible and study materials to get into the Word – BAMM – attacks! When I got myself and my girls involved in a good church and started volunteering – BAMM – attacks!

Earlier this year, when I decided to finally move forward and put this site up, I was at first constantly amazed at how so many details easily fell into place and worked out. I thank God often for the provision and ability He continues to give me to be able to do this.

Yet there is, once again, clearly this battle going on at the same time…

On one hand, I know God is helping me and guiding me and adjusting me as I go. However, on the other hand, I am again battling attacks. I seem to have gotten a whole whammy of them since I started this site. Physical attacks against my health, mental attacks against my thoughts, and also attacks against my finances and relationships.

They left me doubting if I should be doing this and I did and continue to keep praying for wisdom and guidance. Everything in me keeps saying move forward.

Well anyway – today I started to get mad, thinking about the enemy attacking me (and I also know of a few others personally under attack for stepping out in a significant way to serve God). I feel like battle on!

God is on my side, how can I lose? What the devil intends for bad, my God will work to good!

I serve a really Good God, and a really Big God! And He has helped me overcome the attacks of the enemy. My health and thought life is better … and my relationships are better … and God gave me some ideas and the energy lately to start implementing them that will improve my finances.

Plus on top of it all, with each attack the enemy has thrown at me… I’ve not only come through, but I’ve come through stronger, wiser, and learning how to use the Word of God to lessen the impact of the attacks. I’ve experienced to a greater degree the importance of not living with doubt and fear, but remaining confident and living by faith.

I refuse to let the enemy steal my joy!

My main web site (and others) went down for almost three days – and No – I was not happy about it, but the funny thing is – I didn’t get emotionally upset. I knew that God was going to take care of things and I was able to maintain a peace in the midst of this little storm of life.

I did get mad at the devil though and it has spurred me to write a few articles on spiritual warfare.

Okay – I’m done venting and rambling on… and I’ll end now with this:

“The Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword.” 
– Hebrews 4:12

“The Lord is faithful, who shall establish you, and keep you from evil.”
– 2 Thessalonians 3:3

“Now thanks be to God, who always causes us to triumph in Christ, and makes manifest the savor of His knowledge by us in every place.”
– 2 Corinthians 2:14

“May the God of peace make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”
– Hebrews 13:21

May you walk close to God and your life be filled with growing prosperity!

God bless you & keep you –
Brenda

P.S. I’d love to hear your thoughts, comments, or suggestions on the subject…

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Lifehouse Everything Drama Video

Lifehouse Everything Drama Video

If You Are Battling to Hang on – Don’t Quit!
There is a God Who Wants to Help!

I know this video skit is popular and you may have already watched it, but it is worth viewing again…

We have an enemy in this world. We are not ignorant of that. But just remember we have help available.

I encourage you … whatever battle you are going through – Don’t Give Up! Keep fighting!

Cry out to The Living God and He will help. Ask His forgiveness. There is nothing anyone has done that the blood Jesus paid on the cross can’t wash away and make as white as snow. Put your trust in Jesus. In Him is the power to overcome and be victorious!

POWER TO OVERCOME:

“Behold, I give to you power to tread on serpants and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”  — Luke 10:19

ANGELS ONASSIGNMENT:

“Bless the Lord, you His angels, that excel in strength, that do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His Word.” — Psalm 103:20

A PROSPEROUS FUTURE:

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” — Jeremiah 29:11

God loves you! 🙂 And Jesus too!

God bless you,
Brenda

P.S. The enemy tried to take my life, but The Living God pulled me out of the pit and makes me stand victorious! That is why I know He can do the same for you . . . and I know He will do for my daughters who I see the enemy attacking . . . don’t fight your battles alone, keep crying out to The Living God for help!

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Stop the Enemy from Attacking the Prosperity of Your Teenager

Stop the Enemy from Attacking the Prosperity of Your Teenager

How to Get Your Teenager Back on the Path to Prosperity

When you are on the path to a prosperous life, you quickly discover there is resistance. Attacks of all sorts pop up along the way to prevent your success. This is common to everyone seeking prosperity. It also seems that the closer you get to your desired result the greater the challenges.

Often times, we find ourselves successful and prospering is several areas. Our diligence and determination begins to produce results. However, the enemy likes to play dirty and if he can’t get to us personally he will go for our children.

Teenagers already experience a great set of challenges of their own. New changes are constantly happening in their lives. They experience physical changes in their bodies, they get jobs, learn how to drive, begin new classes and activities at school, struggle with peer pressures of all sorts, have to make decisions for the future, and begin acquiring new responsibilities, just to name a few.

As parents we want the best for our children and to see them prosper. We invest in them to the best of our ability regardless of how demanding it can be at times. Anyone that has raised a teenager knows that many a time your mental, emotional, and physical reserves will be zapped. Yet, we continue to get up each day and give them the unconditional love they need.

Yet, what do you do after you’ve taught and instructed them in the way that will prosper them and then the enemy takes over? Through temptations, addictions, and rebellion they are on a path to destruction. This is a great turmoil in life to see a child that you love go through. It creates an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness and helplessness in a parent.

There is hope, however, regardless of your situation. Our children are a blessing from God. And God has power over the enemy and we need to stand on His Word to activate this power.

Meditate, confess, and stand on the following verses from God’s Word in faith daily:

“Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping;
Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.

Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears;
for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.

And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that thy children shall come again to their own border.”
Jeremiah 31:15-17

Stop your weeping. Keep serving the Lord. Refuse to let the enemy have your children. Don’t give up. Put your trust in God and His Word. If He says there is hope, then believe there is hope and that your children will come back from the land of the enemy. God’s plan is for you and your children to prosper.

May you and your children experience growing prosperity as you serve the Lord!

God bless you with hope & encouragement,
Brenda

P.S. If you have a personal testimony of getting your child back out of the hands of the enemy or any advise in this area … please comment and share. I’d love to hear from you as I’m standing on the above scriptures for my daughter to come back!

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