It will truly astound you at what God will be able to accomplish through your life when you surrender your all to Him!

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People get frustrated and burnt out when they do things that are not what God has told them to do.

But… when you are in the center of His Will, and even if you are not a creative person, the Holy Spirit will pour ideas into your mind that you would never think of otherwise.

The Holy Spirit has led me down some roads recently that I would have never thought of going down on my own. When I look back on what has happened, I can say that the experience has been awesome; however I feel as if I have stepped into the unknown (which I have) and in some ways I still do not see the end of the path. I can absolutely say one thing, though – I HAVE NOT BEEN BORED!

I must say that even though I might not know exactly where I am going, God always does and I can count on Him to lead me down the right path.

Being creative is not a natural gift I have ever had, and I have always been amazed at people who have great ideas that pop into their head at a moment’s notice. I generally struggle to come up with one idea that turns out to be mediocre at best.

I have truly been amazed the last few years at how the Holy Spirit has given me guidance to do things that I truly would never have given a single thought to doing on my own.

I encourage you to start asking God to show you the next step in what you are to do, and take it; no, you probably won’t be able to see the end result at first, but you can trust God to lead you step by step in the right direction.

Get to the point that you consider obedience to Him the top priority in your life. Don’t choose to stay in a “comfort zone” and miss the awesome things God wants to do in your life.

I am continually amazed that God would choose to use me for anything at all, and I wish I had a much greater faith to believe for things that would be totally impossible without intervention from Him.

I think of how many times I have tried to go in my own direction, and traveled far too long down the wrong road before God finally had to close a door to get my attention. The things I was doing were not bad, but were good things that were keeping me off track in getting God’s Best for my life.

There really is a huge difference in getting God’s Best and settling for just “good” – even “very good”. Satan will offer you “very good” to keep you from getting God’s Best.

Decide right now that you will not settle for anything less than being in the center of God’s Will for your life. It is an awesome place to be!

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It’s funny how we as humans want to always be master of our destiny and be in control of every detail. We want to make all the decisions and decide exactly what we will do and how it will be carried out.

God wants the Christian to live in the same way as a person who joins the military in whatever country they live. For the amount of time they signed a contract for, they are bound by law to obey whatever orders they receive and do it willingly. There are probably very few times they can see the whole picture of how everything fits together. They are only responsible for doing their particular job and are not to worry about any other of the details or how they might be carried out.

That is basically how God works. Sometimes He will show you the whole picture, but most of the time you have to look back and see how many unusual and awesome circumstances have fit together to bring you to the point you are now.

God sometimes decides to work in the lives of several people at once, so He has different scenarios He is working out. You may not need to know all the details because it might cause you to think you know where God is headed and you might try to second guess Him.

If you have asked Jesus to be your Lord and Savior, take a huge step and let God lead you in a new direction. Even though it might seem as if you are stepping out into the unknown, God is always in control and knows exactly where you are going; He is leading you, so you have no need to worry about getting lost.

Don’t play it safe and stay in your comfort zone any longer. Take an awesome ride with God as your Captain. I can say with certainty that life won’t be boring and mundane.

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1. Be Illuminated By The Light!

We all live in darkness until we let Jesus come into our heart through salvation, but as I look at the picture above I am reminded that many Christians seem to have as many dark areas in their lives as those that are illuminated by the white light.

The white lines and spaces seem to billow on top of the black ones as if they are trying to cover them up, which is what I was doing by trying so hard to always show my best to others.

I grew up trying to be a people-pleaser, so it was especially important for me to make people think I was a really good person and always show them my best side. I was a good person in the sense of never causing my parents any major problems, or never experimenting with drugs or alcohol, or never getting involved in anything that was majorly bad.

In the past I have been much more concerned over what others thought about me than what God thought about me. Because of this, deep down I think I may have developed an attitude of thinking that God was pleased with me because of all my good works.

But in reality my life was like the picture above – full of bright white light on the top and then had a lot of the black spaces below. I hadn’t even realized some of the areas where I needed change. It’s funny how we can talk ourselves into believing just about anything, or choose to only concentrate on the “good stuff.” It is easy to compare yourself to another person and think of yourself as more spiritual or holy.

I  learned quickly that the Holy Spirit can be very good at revealing those things that keep you from having God’s best, but you have to genuinely want Him to do it; AND the process is (what shall I say) less than fun.

Because of pride we sometimes try to keep those dark areas hidden so that no other person knows who we really are. We seem to forget that God knows and He is the most important one.

I challenge you right now to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal things in your life that are holding you back in total surrender to God. Then in a few months you will be able to look back and see that God has been able to use you more and more as you have gotten rid of the stuff that has been holding you back.

Life will never be boring again if you will surrender to God’s plan and get in on His way of doing things.

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Tom was gracious enough to let me borrow his photo, so I wanted to put a link to his site so you can check out his really great art:

http://www.tomgraffagnino.com/

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But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in my place, to represent Me and act on my behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you.

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Growing up in church and becoming a Christian at an early age, I had read this verse many times. In all those times of reading it, though, I never really understood it until one day it seemed my mind and understanding were wide open to grasp its meaning.

From that moment on, I never thought of the Holy Spirit in the same way. I knew that He became a part of my life from the moment I became a Christian, but for years I never gave Him a prominent place or even thought very much about Him being there.

WOW! what an awesome thing the Holy Spirit is to every Christian. Look at the above verse again. His help and wisdom cover every single area of our lives. We don’t have to make a big decision or stand on our own strength at any time.  We may choose to do so, but we don’t have to.

God knew that there would be times in our lives when we needed a Comforter who could really comfort us in a way that would make a huge difference in our lives. No other person is capable of doing that like the Holy Spirit.

I encourage you to read this verse several times and meditate on what it says. If you have asked Jesus into your heart, then you have this same Holy Spirit so ask Him to help you understand what this verse truly means.

He wants to open your eyes, heart, and mind to truths you have never understood before. It will be an awesome journey!

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1. Have You Ever Grieved the Holy Spirit?
2. My Dream and the Still, Small Voice of the Holy Spirit!

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He put a powerful word in my heart that it is very simple to follow God:

First, you learn to hear what God says

Then, you walk in obedience to that word.

He will never lead you wrong and you will always be using your time in the wisest way.

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Many Christians feel that they must be busy doing something that is religious or God won’t be pleased with them.

I know I used to feel that way. The first time the Holy Spirit instructed me not to take part in a major yearly event in the church, I was consumed with guilt. I won’t name it because then some of you might get the idea that it was the specific event that was wrong. The event was not wrong at all, but God had other plans for my life that week, and He revealed Himself to me in a way that I have never forgotten.

Sometimes I think that He just wants to see if we will obey Him – PERIOD, end of story. He also wants to see if we can just “be still and listen” to what He has to say. Sometimes He has to go to drastic measures to get our attention. When the Israelites were in the wilderness, when the Cloud that was over the Tabernacle moved, they were to pack all their belongings and follow it until it stopped. Then they were to set up camp again.

I’m sure they couldn’t always see the logic in where they stopped, but God was trying to teach them to have an ultimate obedience in Him.

Don’t get the idea that you should just not participate in an event because you don’t want to and say that God told you not to do it. I found out that some things happened that week that were not pleasing at all to God, and I think He may have wanted to spare me some stress and extra pain. He knew beforehand that all those things would happen.

Through the years I have found that if I walk each day with the three things above in mind, my days will definitely go much smoother. Then when I lay down to go to sleep, I have the definite assurance that what I have done has really counted for the Kingdom of God.

Try it and see what God does in your life!

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1. God made our magnificent sun (photos)!
2. Don’t Make Christianity Harder Than It Has To Be!

I have never done any really bad things such as breaking the law and getting caught, or things that others would look upon as being really bad. I know I wasn’t the perfect child, but I never lived in open rebellion against my parents and caused them much distress like some children have. In school, my classmates used to laughingly call me a “goody two shoes” because I was too scared to do many rebellious things. My parents have always supported me in everything I have done, and I didn’t want them to be disappointed in me.

I think if you have lived your life being a “good person” it can be very easy to not see yourself as you really are. After all, you haven’t done really bad things so you don’t think of yourself as grieving God or the Holy Spirit with the ordinary things you do each day.

I have already admitted to being a people-pleaser in my younger years, so I was devastated when I realized how much I had taken the Holy Spirit for granted in my everyday life.

I found I had started to take for granted that He would always be there and I could just ask for wisdom and direction when I needed it. How could I take God so for granted when He has and continues to do so much for me? The last thing I ever wanted to do was grieve Him in any way.

Realizing this has changed my life. I don’t ever want to forget these particular words of Charles Spurgeon, so I have copied them off and put them in a place where I will see them on a regular basis. You might want to do the same thing, especially if you see yourself and your own life in these words.

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Oh, my friends, when I think how often you and I have let the devil in, I wonder the Spirit has not withdrawn from us. The perseverance of a saint for a single day is a multitude of miracles of mercy. When you consider that the Spirit is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity, and yet he dwells in the heart where sin often intrudes, a heart out of which come blasphemies, and murders, and all manner of evil thoughts, what if sometimes he is grieved, and retires and leaves us to ourselves for a season?

It is a marvel that he is there at all, for he must be daily grieved with these evil guests, these false traitors, these base intruders who thrust themselves into that little temple which he had honored with his presence, the temple of the heart of man.

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I fear I have taken much too lightly what Jesus did for me when He died on the cross and rose again. By going back to heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father, He made it possible for the Holy Spirit to come and reside in the heart of every person who believes in Him as their Lord and Savior.

If you have asked Jesus into your heart, you have the awesome gift of the Holy Spirit who lives inside you and wants to lead you in the right direction, but He is so much more than that. He is your comforter in time of trouble, the provider of your every need, and He always has your best interest at heart.

First thing each morning, thank the Holy Spirit for who He is and what He has done in your life. Also thank Him that you don’t have to make decisions on your own any more. It is a sad thing to live your life without His leadership and guidance because He is an awesome gift that has been given to every believer in Christ.

Please ask Him to reveal areas in your life where you need to change or grow and be obedient to His direction. Your life will truly take on new meaning.

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1. My Dream and the Still, Small Voice of the Holy Spirit!

For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the just shall live by faith.

I can’t remember how many times I have read this verse over my lifetime, but this time I have seen something I have never seen in it before – the righteousness of God is revealed from “faith to faith.”

Hebrews 11 is known as the Faith Chapter of the Bible. Many people of the Old Testament are listed as having a faith that God was pleased with. If you have not already read this chapter, please take the time to read and absorb it.

Verse 6 of the same chapter says that “without faith it is impossible to please him…”

I have never thought of it in this way, but since faith pleases God it makes perfect sense that He will relate to His Children in this way. God is omniscient and omnipresent, so He can be everywhere, hear every prayer, and meet every need all at the same time.

He sees the big picture of how everything fits together and knows exactly who He wants to use for particular tasks. When He chooses YOU for something, it is because He knows you are capable of handling it and are the best person suited for the job.

When  God tells us to do something that is way out of our comfort zone, most of us tend to look at all our faults, flaws, and  shortcomings and tell Him that He must have picked the wrong person because we can’t imagine that we would ever be capable of doing something of such a great magnitude.

From my own experience, I have found that the times of my greatest growth are the ones where I have been the most out of my comfort zone. I know I can trust God with my life even if I don ‘t always know the direction He is taking me for a time.

So when you have completed one task of faith, He has another one for you to start. The next time you feel you are being stretched to the faith limit, remember that is how you grow as a Christian. Then remember that God wants to stretch and grow you so that you can be used for His Glory. When you think of it that way, faith doesn’t seem quite so hard.

It is a simple matter of believing that what God has said will come to pass. Try it and see how your life changes for the better.

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1. Faith: The foundation for real things!

If there is one thing we need more of in the church, it is true discernment that only the Holy Spirit can give.

In Matthew, Jesus warns us about people with whom we come in contact in the church or in our everyday lives who have a set agenda to fool the Children of God in order to cause chaos and destruction. The following verses are part of the famous “Sermon on the Mount” that Jesus gave to His followers in Chapters 5-7. He wanted to give them good, practical instruction on how to live their everyday lives in victory.

Mat 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Mat 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Mat 7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
Mat 7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Mat 7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Mat 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

We have all done things that we regret and wish we could take back, but most of us don’t sit around and think of ways we can intentionally cause chaos and destruction; therefore, it is hard for us to believe that someone else could ever entertain the thought of doing that. After all, isn’t everybody at least a GOOD person who would dare to step foot inside the doors of the church? That is certainly what we want to believe.

Most of us don’t want to entertain the thought that someone would want to go to church for anything other than the right reason, so many times we can be fooled easily by someone who says and does all the right things, no matter what their motive and spiritual condition.

This is why it is critical not only for leaders, but every member of God’s Church to ask for discernment.

fruit – that which originates or comes from something, an effect, result

Jesus said in the verses above that we will always be able to know what people really stand for by the fruit they bear. Especially in matters where the church is involved, we must learn to ask guidance from the Holy Spirit so that we know the absolute truth.

Even though a person’s life might look good from the outside for awhile, if they are not REAL it will eventually show. The Holy Spirit can put a “check” in your Spirit about that person, though, way before others might be able to see it physically and possibly save you heartache.

Make it a point to ask Him for discernment at the beginning of each day so that you can make decisions that will only have good consequences for the future; then when the Holy Spirit speaks to your heart about a certain matter, be obedient to what He tells you to do.

The Holy Spirit always has your best interest at heart and will never lead you down a road to destruction like Satan would love to do. Don’t try to navigate life’s rough seas with your strength alone. Let the might power of God be your guiding force. That is the only way you can live in victory.

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Isn’t it amazing that we as humans can fall into a rut so quickly, even if we don’t like our situation? The most important thing seems to be that we get into a routine and feel comfortable about our lives. Most of us detest even the slightest change as we feel it throws us completely off balance.

Even though deep down we know we can’t control outward things that might happen, we convince ourselves that as long as our life stays in the same unchanging rut, we have complete control over our little corner of the world.

The problem with that way of thinking is that many Christians have put God in a box and expect Him to conform to their way of thinking and bless whatever they decide to do.

God will never be able to work in our lives the way He desires as long as we have this way of thinking.

Even though it is a scary thing to step out into the unknown and trust God to lead you down a road where you can’t always see what the end result will be, that is the way He desires you to live if you are His Child. After all, He is God and always has everything under control down to the smallest detail. He already knows everything you will face in the future, where He desires to lead you, and He can see the road clearly when the fog threatens to completely envelop you and you can’t see to even take a baby step.

If you can learn to trust God in that way, you won’t be paralyzed with fear to step out into the unknown. He knows your strengths, weaknesses, and limitations much better than you ever could, and from His perspective all you can do is be victorious if you will trust Him.

When He tells you to do something, He doesn’t expect you to do it in your own power or with your own abilities. He wants you to lean on and trust Him to work through you, so you should never be afraid to trust Him with every area of your life. He loves you more than any other person ever could and only wants the best for you in every way.

Don’t stay in that “comfort zone” any longer. It WILL be scary at first, but God will meet you exactly where you are now and make you into the person He can use for His Glory.

Don’t spend another minute being ORDINARY when God wants to do something EXTRAORDINARY in your life. All you have to do is take the first step and walk in His Power instead of your own.

Check out my other sites:

Handbook for Victorious Christian Living – practical ways to learn to live a victorious Christian life

Blueprint for Victorious Christian Living

Power of the Living Word

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