Who am I?

“You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth” – 1 Samuel 17:33

Are you stuck in a rut today because of the negative words that have been spoken over you in the past? In today’s verse, we see that before David faced Goliath, he heard the accusing voices. But instead of listening to what others said, he chose to listen to what God said. He knew he was called, chosen and equipped to defeat that giant; and today, you are called, chosen and equipped for victory, too!

Remember what we need to say every time, “I am who God says I am.” What we’re saying in effect is “I am not who my chemistry teacher says I am.” “I am not who my boss says I am.” “I am not who my critics say I am,” and nowadays, “I am not who the bloggers say I am.” “I am who God says I am.” That means we are anointed. We are equipped. We are talented. We are redeemed. We are blessed. We have the favor of God!

Today, if you’ve been held back by negative words spoken over you, ask yourself, “Who told me I’m not tall enough?” “Who told me I’m just average?” “Who told me that I’m not that talented?” Let go and forgive those people. Stop listening to the wrong voices and take the limits off of your life!

He Rejoices over You

“The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in His love He will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing” – Zephaniah 3:17

So many people in this day and age never received the blessing from their mother or father. They never felt like they received the approval and encouragement they so deeply desired. If that’s you today, the good news is that when you receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you become His child. Your earthly father may not have given you his blessing, but your heavenly Father is rejoicing over you! He’s saying, “I’m proud of you. I love you. You are amazing. You are talented. You are beautiful. You’re going to do great things in life!” He’s releasing favor and hope into your future.

Today, no matter what’s happened in your past, no matter what anybody else has said to you or about you, know that your Father God loves you with an everlasting love. He’s proud of you, and He is singing over you. Receive His love today. Receive His approval today. Receive hope today. Have confidence and strength to move forward because you have the blessing of your heavenly Father.

Importance of Prayer

“Prayer is where the action is”
John Wesley

“No learning can make up for the failure to pray.
No earnestness, no diligence, no study, no gifts will supply its lack.”
E.M. Bounds

“If the church wants a better pastor, it only needs to pray for the one it
has.”

“We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties.” – Oswald Chambers

“Prayer breaks all bars, dissolves all chains, opens all prisons, and widens all straits by which God’s saints have been held.” – E. M. Bounds

“If you want that splendid power in prayer, you must remain in loving, living, lasting, conscious, practical, abiding union with the Lord Jesus Christ.” – C. H. Spurgeon

“If the Christian does not allow prayer to drive sin out of his life, sin will drive prayer out of his life” – M.E. Andross

“Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work” – Oswald Chambers

“Those persons who know the deep peace of God, the unfathomable peace that passeth all understanding, are always men and women of much prayer.” – R. A. Torrey

“Prayer is the secret of power.” – Evan Roberts

“There has never been a spiritual awakening in any country or locality that did not begin in united prayer.” – A.T. Pierson

“Heaven is full of answers to prayer for which no one bothered to ask” – Billy Graham

“The fruit of silence is prayer. The fruit of prayer is faith. The fruit of faith is love. The fruit of love is service. The fruit of service is peace.” – Mother Teresa

No Sacrifice is too Great

“Loyalty to Christ, His Word, and His Church are inseparable. The Scriptures declare it. Examples in history confirm it. God’s purposes in the world demand it. Such loyalty begins with an irrevocable commitment and surrender to the claims of our sovereign Lord. This is necessary to becoming a loyal follower of Jesus Christ. To virtually everyone He called to discipleship, Jesus said*, ‘Follow me’ (Mark 1:17, NIV)*—a decisive act of the will to commit oneself in total loyalty. This commitment must be based on the knowledge of who He is.

He is Creator. He is Savior. He is coming King. He is worthy of our life, our love, our loyalty, because He is Lord! Perhaps our love is lukewarm, our obedience partial, our loyalty faltering because of our shallow appreciation of who calls us to follow Him. C. T. Studd, the heroic pioneer missionary to Africa, declared, ‘If Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice is too great for me to make for Him!'” (Donald E. Hoke).

Who is Your Real Boss?

God is my real Boss, and I shall not want.

He gives me peace, when chaos is all around me.

He gently reminds me to pray before I speak

And to do all things without murmuring and complaining.

He reminds me that He is my Source and not my job.

He restores my sanity every day and guides my decisions

That I might honor Him in everything I do.

Even though I face absurd amounts of emails, system crashes,

Unrealistic deadlines, budget cutbacks, gossiping co-workers,

Discriminating supervisors and an aging body that does not cooperate.

Every morning, I will not stop for He is with me!

His presence, His peace, and His power will see me through.

He raises me up, even when they fail to promote me.

He claims me as His own, even when the company threatens to let me go.

His faithfulness and love are better than any bonus checks.

His retirement plan beats every 401K there is.

When it is all said and done, I will be working for Him

A whole lot longer, and for that,

I bless His name.