Continue

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Continue, faith, grace, help, Jesus, New Year Resolutions, power

“As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.” John 15:9

If I had to give you one word to focus upon this year it would be Continue.

Continue in what you might ask?  Well, here are a few things.  Continue to believe that you are loved by God.  Continue to believe that you are accepted in the beloved.  Continue to believe that you can do all things through Christ.  Continue to believe that you are part of the body of Christ and therefore undefeatable. Continue to believe that you have the power of God and the wisdom of God to execute the will of God in your life.  Continue to believe that you are blessed and highly favored by God.  Continue to believe in miracles. Continue in the word of God. Continue to pray without ceasing.  Continue to ask big of God because there is nothing impossible with Him.  In short continue.

This year as you’re making your resolutions be resolved to continue regardless of what happens or what comes your way, or how things look, or how you feel.  Continue.  As you do you will find that nothing you set your heart to do this year will go undone.

Rolled Away

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Away, faith, grace, help, Jesus, Move, Rolled, Rolled Away, Stuck

Ever feel like you’re stuck?  Like there’s something in front of you that’s stopping you from moving forward and getting to where you want to be in life?  Well, I’ve got good news.  It’s rolled away! Yes, everything that the enemy was trying to put in your way has been rolled away.  The way is open for you to move forward.

Mary Magdalene and the women that went to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus thought about the stone that was in front of the tomb.

 St. Mark 16: 2-4

“And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came to the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away; for it was very great.”

They knew that a stone would be placed at the entrance of the tomb because that’s the way it was done, whether they physically saw it or not.  In their minds the stone was there.  I can image that when they rose up in the morning they thought about the stone and while they were walking and talking the stone was the topic of discussion.  But when they got there, they saw that the stone was rolled away.  They saw that all their concern and worry was for nothing because God had sent an angel to roll the stone away. 

Likewise, when the children of Israel got to the Red Sea all they could see was the sea.  They too felt they were stuck and couldn’t move forward.  But God told Moses to tell the people to go forward and for him to lift up his rod and stretch out his hand over the sea and divide it.

Exodus 14:21

“And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land and the waters were divided.”

While Israel was resting, God caused the sea to be divided and the land to be dried.  They may have gone to sleep with the sea on their mind, but when they rose up, they saw that all their concern and worry was for nothing.  God had cleared the way for them to go forward.

Sometimes all we need to do is to take another look, but not with our natural eyes but with the eyes of faith.  When we do, we’ll see that grace has gone before us and has moved every stone and cleared the way for us to go forward.

Stand Firm In The Faith

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devil, distractions, faith, Father, Firm, help, Jesus, power, stand

Our faith is most precious because without it we cannot please God.  It is therefore of the utmost importance that we guard it with our entire being. There can be no breaks when it comes to guarding our faith.  We must be alert and on our guard at all times. 

The devil is constantly trying to get us to move out of faith because he knows that we cannot possess the land without faith.  The children of Israel didn’t possess the promise land when they could have because they had no faith.  Likewise, we cannot possess all that Christ died for us to have if we have no faith.  I Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”  Make no mistake it’s the devil who is walking about seeking whom he may devour not people or things.  He will use whoever and whatever lends itself to him to come after your faith.  Guarding your faith may mean that you will have to separate yourself from people, places and things in order to stay stedfast and firm in your faith. David separated himself from his army and encourage himself in the Lord after the enemy had invaded Ziklag and captured their women and children. I Samuel 30:6, “And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters; but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.”  David had to remove himself from all the negative talk and space in order to hear from God.   Peter said “be sober, be vigilant.” About what you ask?  About knowing who we are, what we have, and what we can do in Christ.  For a person who knows who they are; what they have and what they can do in Christ cannot be devoured.

Faith is both offensive and defensive.  We use it to gain and to defend.  I Peter 5:9, says “whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.”  Notice it says, “whom resist stedfast in the faith”.  While we are using faith to lay hold on the things of God, we are also using faith to resist the things of the devil.  Our faith rejects and resists the things of the devil and accepts and receives the things of God.  This is why the devil comes after our faith so hard.  He knows that if we stand firm in faith we will accomplish our goals, realize our dreams and fulfil our destinies.  We need only remember that our Father God has never failed or gone back on His word.  He has proven over and over again His faithfulness.  As we read and reflect on God’s faithfulness it strengthens our faith and empowers us to stand firm on His word.  You are not alone.  All who will to possess the things of God are faced with the same distractions and many are standing firm and possessing all.

Take The Challenge – Goodness

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deborah chandler ministries, fruits, fruits of the Spirit, Goodness, help, salt and light, take the challenge

Congratulations! We are halfway through our fruit challenge.  I hope this challenge is helping you to focus more on the work of the Holy Spirit in you and less on your own works.  Last week we talked about gentleness.  We learned that the kind of gentleness the Holy Spirit produces in us takes into consideration another’s inabilities and weaknesses.  How’d you do?  In places where you would have been harsh did you allow the fruit of gentleness to flow through?  I do hope so.

This week our challenge is in the fruit of Goodness.  The kind of goodness that Paul is talking about in Galatians 5:22 is not only goodness in character but also beneficial in its effect.   This kind of goodness is seen in Jesus in Acts  10:38 which says, “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power; who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.”  This is the kind of goodness that the Holy Spirit produces in us.   It’s the ability to benefit and make a difference in someone’s life.   The scripture says that “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power.”  Jesus used that anointing and power to make a difference in the world.  Well, we too have been anointed with the same Holy Ghost and power to do the same things that Jesus did.  We are anointed to go about in this world and do good.  We are anointed to be salt and light in the world.  All we have to do is locate a need.  As we go about our day and daily routine we are confronted with opportunities to do good all we have to do is do it.  Remember, you are anointed with the Holy Ghost and with power, in other words you were re-created to do good.

Therefore, throughout this week let’s yield to the Holy Spirit as we go about our day and use the power that’s given to us to do good.  II Corinthians 9:8 says, And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.”  God will always supply us with what we need to do good and no act of love is too small.

Through The Valley Of The Shadow Of Death

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dont fear, evil words, fear, help, peace, the Lord is my shepherd, threatenings

Psalms 23:4

“Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

When you are going through the valley of the shadow of death there are some things that you must realize.  First, you must realize it’s not real, it’s only a shadow.  Shadow’s are reflections of an object that has been made visible by the sun or light.  The object can be and usually is a great distance away.  Therefore, the shadow is only the threat of something evil or negative happening.   Second, fear no evil.  In other words don’t be afraid that the evil that is threatening to come upon you will materialize.  Here’s why, God is with you! He is protecting you, leading and guiding you.  His glory covers you. Psalms 91:7 says “A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.” And verses 9 and 10, “Because thou has made the Lord,which is my refuge, even the most High thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.” Why, because you are in Him.

The valley of the shadow of death is only the threatenings of the enemy.  Empty words with no power to do you any harm.  Isaiah 51:12-13, “I, even I, am He who comforts you.  Who are you that you fear mortal men, the sons of men, who are but grass, that you forget the Lord your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth that you live in constant terror every day because of the wrath of the oppressor, who is bent on destruction? For where is the wrath of the oppressor?”  Child of God, where are all those things that the enemy been threatening you with?  None of it has come to pass and it never will.  The only reason you can see the enemy’s shadow is because the light of God presence reveals all things.

When Sennacherib came upon Jerusalem to invade it he sent Rabshakeh to king Hezekiah with a great army.  He stood and threaten Hezekiah and all Jerusalem saying, “…Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, what confidence is this wherein thou trustest?  I say, sayest thou, (but they are but vain words) I have counsel and strength for war; now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me?” (Isa. 36:4-5)  After hearing this Hezekiah sent men to Isaiah the prophet and here is what the Lord said, “…Thus saith the Lord, Be not afraid of the words that thou has heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.  Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.” (Isa. 37:6-7).

David started the 23rd Psalms with “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”  Listen, as you see the Lord as the one that protects, keeps, leads and guides you there is nothing to fear and you can rest assure that the devil is in bigggggg trouble.

Hope Against Hope!

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change, expectation, help, hope, hope against hope, Jesus is hope

Many people are facing difficult times this holiday season.  Some are facing foreclosure  others are facing unemployment and some are facing divorce.  But in the midst of it all there is hope.  Hope is the expectation of change.  When there seems to be no expectation of things changing in the natural look to Jesus He is your expectation of Change He is your hope.

When Jesus is your hope it takes your expectation to an unlimited level.  It goes beyond what you can ever dream or imagine.  Abraham knew that there was no natural hope that he and Sarah would have a child his hope was limited in the natural but the scripture said, “Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, so shall thy seed be” (Rom. 4:18).  Abraham looked to an unlimited power for his hope.

It doesn’t matter how dismal or unchangeable things look in the natural the power of God which is Jesus Christ has preeminence over all things in the natural.  You may have lost your home to foreclosure, and have concluded that there is no hope of getting it back or getting another one.  Hope against hope.  I know a women who lost her home to foreclosure and the house was sold at auction.  The new owners knocked on the door and told her that they now owned the house.  However, she didn’t give up she hope against hope.  Come to find out her home hadn’t been sold and she was able to maintain ownership.

Psalm 42:5 says, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? Hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance.”  In other words, lift your head up and don’t let your heart be trouble or sad  Jesus is your hope and help.  He will cause an unchangeable situation to change.

God’s Grace Abounds Towards You!

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abounding grace, abounds, deliverance, favor, God, grace, help, Jesus, love, provision

2 Corinthians 9:8

“And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.”

Nothing can stop God’s grace towards you, nothing.  God is able to cause His grace to continuously increase in your life so that no matter what crops up in your life His grace is there to provide.  In other words you will never be without His grace.

Here is what this really means to us.  It means that unemployment can’t stop His grace of provision; sickness can’t stop His grace of healing; depression can’t stop His grace of joy and tribulation and persecution can’t stop His grace of deliverance.  Nothing can stop His grace from flowing in your life.  Romans 8:35 says, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?”  Paul goes on to say in verse 37 “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that love us.”  God commended His love toward us when He gave us His Son and God doesn’t give and take back. Even amidst all these things God’s grace abounds towards us.

Therefore, stop thinking that God doesn’t see, hear and know your situation.  He does and He is providing for you.  Throughout Israel’s journey in the wilderness God’s grace was abounding towards them.  Their clothes didn’t get old, their shoes didn’t wear out, and they had food to eat and water to drink right in the midst of the desert because God’s grace was abounding towards them. But they were too busy complaining instead of looking for God’s grace.

Take the time today to see how God’s grace is abounding toward you in your situation. If you are unemployed and believing for a job, don’t look at what you don’t have, look for God’s grace instead.  See how God’s grace is providing for you in the midst of your situation.  When you do you will see that you always having all sufficiency in all things are able to abound in every good work.

Think Of The Father’s Love

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compassion, God, help, Jesus, love, mediate, strength, think

John 3:16

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Whenever I am faced with a situation or circumstance in life that could cause me to feel down I think of the Father’s love for me.  And as I mediate on His love for me, it releases in me His strength.

In the natural when you know that someone loves you, you know that that person has your back.  You know that you can call on them anytime and they will do whatever they can do to help you because they love you. Well, how much more our heavenly Father?  Isaiah 49:15-16 says, “Can a women forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.”

However, the enemy doesn’t want you to think on God’s love for you, he wants you to think that you are all alone and nobody cares and God loves everybody but you.  He knows that if he can get you to think like that he can get you to feel like that.  His plan is to drain you of your strength and make you feel weak and hopeless.  Your thinking affects how you feel.  Change your thinking and change how you feel.

Instead mediate on the love God has for you.  Think of how God loved you so much  He gave you His Son as surety that every term of the new covenant will be fulfilled in your life (Heb 7:22).  Think of how it please the Father to bruise His Son to save you (Isa 53:10).  Hear his voice saying I love you so much that I given you my only begotten Son.

Angels Camped Out!

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angels, danger, harm, help, keeper

Psalms 34:7

“The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him and delivereth them.

“Wow! isn’t it great to know that we have angels camping out around us delivering us out of harms way. Some years ago I was living in a neighborhood that wasn’t so safe.  I had a friend who I was ministering to who also lived in the neighborhood.  He was mixed up with the wrong people and owed them money.   One day the guys he owed the money to came to my apartment.  I knew them also because I had ministered to them.  I was know as the church lady in the neighborhood.   They knocked on my door and ask if they could talk to me.  I opened the door and talked to them at the door.   Not sensing anything wrong I asked them to come in to talk.  When they step over the threshold their faces changed, the confidence that they had before had left.  Suddenly they were apologizing to me and I didn’t know why.  They said “were sorry we’re not going to do anything.”  I was stunned.  As I was standing there wondering what they were talking about  I  noticed that they were not looking at me they were looking over me.  I turned around to see what they were looking at and saw nothing.  They left out apologizing as they were leaving.

Here is what happened, they came to do me harm but the angel of the Lord was there camped out in my apartment.  I couldn’t see him but they saw him and when they did they were afraid.     Hebrews 1:14 says “are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation” talking about angels.

God has given us angels to deliver us out of harms way.   If you are ever faced with a situation where you find yourself in danger whether by your own doing or by someone else know this, you are not alone angels are encamped round about you to deliver you out of harms way.

Living Water!

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healing, help, HolySpirit, living, Praying, Refreshing, restoring, Water

St. John 7:38

“He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”

Jesus died to give us living water.  When the solidiers pieced Him in the side the scripture said out came blood and water (John 19:34).  The water represents the Holy Spirit.  Jesus died to give us His Spirit so that we can live and when we receive Him we are born of His Spirit.   But He also said “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”   Not drops, but rivers of living water.  Ezekiel saw the river as healing waters, healing everything that it touched (Ezekiel 47:8-9) and when we pray in the Spirit the river flows from our bellies and moves over our lives restoring, reviving, healing and covering every area of our lives.

Romans 8:26 says “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groaning which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”

We don’t have to wait to get to church to pray in the Spirit.  Paul says in Ephesians 6:18 “Praying always with all prayer and supplications in the Spirit…”  You can pray in the Spirit in your car while you’re driving, or while you’re doing the dishes, or even taking out the trash.   Every time you pray in the Spirit you are releasing healing waters to flow over your life.    So go ahead open up and let the living water flow!