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01 AprYears of a Life Worth Living

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I recently celebrated another birthday (praise God!), and as birthdays and new beginnings, in general, can have a way of doing, it caused me to reflect on my life journey so far.  The defining moments, losses, abundant blessings, and the hopes and dreams that still remain for the days and years ahead, were all before me.

In the days following my birthday, a favorite scripture surfaced again and again in my heart and mind:

“My son, forget not my law or teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments; For length of days and years of a life [worth living] and tranquility [inward and outward and continuing through old age till death], these shall they add to you.” (Proverbs 3:1, 2 AMP)

As I meditated on this Word, I gratefully concluded that my life has indeed been (and will continue to be) a life worth living.  The greatest thing about my life journey to date has been the privilege to walk it out with the Lord, growing in Him as I’ve grown up in life, with its ebbs and flows.  Knowing God–through His Word and by His Spirit–has made ALL the difference in my truly living and enjoying life.

In fact, I recall a profound lesson that God taught me on this.  As I stood outdoors one Spring afternoon years ago, the Lord spoke to my heart.  He called my attention to the people that were going to and fro in the normal course of their daily affairs and then He said this: “Look at all those people who think they are living and they don’t even know Me.”  It was a profound realization that I’d never considered before that moment.

Essentially, God was calling my attention to the stark contrast of what it means to exist (“the walking dead”) versus what it means to truly live.  Existence–movement, action, activity, etc.,–is something that every human experiences while alive.  But living only comes as a result of knowing God.  Living a life that’s actually worth living is what God offers and wants for His people.  Not mere existence, but life in abundance, to the full, until it overflows! (John 10:10, AMP.)

I’ve never forgotten that lesson, and I’m grateful that God’s Word remains steadfast through the seasons of life, guaranteeing that my life will continue to be full, blessed and worth the journey.  I’m loving life–in Him–and I wouldn’t have it any other way. For whatever you desire to achieve, experience and become in life, always be mindful to stay rooted in God and His Word and allow Him to give you the life you dream of.  Without question, it’s the only one worth living.

 

 

 

 

 

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30 JanConsider the Source

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Have you ever heard or read something that someone said–perhaps something personally offensive or hurtful–only to brush it off without a second thought after you consider the source? Using a filter of sorts, you are able to classify what’s worthy of your attention and acknowledgement and, just as importantly, what isn’t.  In most matters, it really is all about the source.

And guess what?  God feels the same way.  In fact, He explicitly lays out the ‘do’s and don’ts’ of taking advice, choosing companions and generally going about the business of life.

“BLESSED (HAPPY, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly [following their advice, their plans and purposes], nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful [and the mockers] gather.”  ~Psalm 1:1, AMP

This straightforward direction from Scripture couldn’t be more needed today.  With all the twisting of truth to try and make it fit popular culture and ungodly standards, we have to give more attention than ever to weighing everything–our beliefs, our values, our decisions–through the filter of God’s Word.  And where what’s being presented doesn’t line up with God’s standard, then we should disregard it and recognize that it has no relevance to our personal lives.

Whether or not the world thinks something is acceptable or the hottest thing smoking should have no bearing on what we, as believers, determine as right and good and moral and clean and decent and honorable.  The two will hardly, if ever, coincide, so there must be a conscious judgement of what’s allowed to influence who we are and how we live.

There are many “voices” in the world and all of them are saying something to either sway us closer to God and His will for us or to drive us further away from His standard.  We have the Greater One living within us to lead and guide us into all truth (John 16; 1 John 4:4), so let’s be more mindful than ever to stay away from the garbage of the world and its ways and to cling to God’s Word and His truth.

Let’s filter everything through THE SOURCE of God’s Word and live out the blessed, happy, enviable lives that belong to us as His people!


 

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31 DecGrateful, Grateful, Grateful

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If I had to choose a theme song for my life in 2011, it would be “Grateful” by Hezekiah Walker.  Nothing else quite sums up the overflowing thankfulness and joy that I feel.  2011 has been a stellar year for me–and for many others I know–and it’s all because and only because of God’s faithful love and grace and mercy.

The Lord never ceases to amaze me.  I could wax on and on about the answered prayers, special favor, breakthroughs, protection, mercy and abounding goodness that is His signature on my life; evidence of His gracious hand that is upon me for blessing and against my adversary for judgment.  But, more than the outward manifestations, I’m most grateful because I KNOW the Lord loves me.  Not because I’ve earned it in any shape or form, because I could never do enough to deserve it, but because He IS GOOD, and He IS LOVE.

“…for God is love.  We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in His love” (1 John 4:8, 16, NLT).

Because the Scripture reveals God’s love for us again and again, we must choose to believe the love. That means in good times and not so good times.  Maybe you’re reading this now and facing some tough situations, dire outlooks or just recalling how 2011 has been a tough one on your end.  But the good news is that God’s love isn’t perceived based on your circumstances, but in spite of them!  Taking the focus off of your problems and putting it on God’s love, His promises to you and His faithfulness to be whatever you need Him to be is what will propel you forward.  After all, your circumstances are TEMPORARY, but God’s love is ETERNAL.

“So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen.  For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever” (2 Corinthians 4:18, NLT).

As we close out 2011 and prepare to enter 2012, now is the perfect time to fix your gaze on the eternity of God’s love for you and towards you.  Thank Him for His goodness in your life so far and stir your heart to receive more of it in the year ahead.  Believe His love.

God’s best is still ahead…and I’m so grateful that I can walk it out hand-in-hand with Him, resting in His love.

Happy New Year!  May 2012 be your best year yet!

 


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15 NovListen to My Heart?

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“Follow your heart.”  “What does your heart say to you?”  These and other familiar sayings resonate the truth that life was meant to be lived from the inside out–or, by heart.  However, it’s not just any heart that will serve you justice in this quest for living on a higher level.  In fact, the only heart that is reliable enough to be counted on is the heart that is filled with the Word of God.   Outside of these parameters, your heart can be counted on to lead you down a path that seems right, only to find the end thereof is death–or separation from God and His best (Proverbs 14:12).  And if you’re like me, that’s simply not an option any longer.

If ever there was anyone who knew how to successfully live above the fray and distractions and pulls of the outside world, it was Jesus.  And this is what He had to say on the matter:

“The good man from his inner good treasure flings forth good things, and the evil man out of his inner evil storehouse flings forth evil things.” (Matthew 12:35, AMP.)

A treasure is something that is stored up, akin to a valuable treasure chest that pirates seek out for their riches.  So when your heart stores up good things (i.e. the Word of God), then you’re in a position to fling forth good things from that storehouse and into your life!  You’re able to safely listen to and trust–and therefore live by–your heart.  And the reverse is equally true where negative, ungodly things, that are contrary to God’s Word, are allowed to be stored up in your heart.

Proverbs 4:23 admonishes to guard your heart with ALL diligence because out of it flows the issues of life (good or bad).  So before you determine to follow your heart, do a check-up to make sure your treasure chest is filled with the goodness of God’s Word.  From there, living by heart will be the best thing you ever did.


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30 SepExtreme Makeover: Spiritual Edition

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There’s no getting around it:  when you become a born-again believer, change is the order of the day! From the very beginning, old things are passed away and behold ALL things become new! (2 Corinthians 5:17.)  ALL things.  Did you see that?!  From the moment you decide to surrender to Christ, life as you once knew it ends, and a new, extreme makeover begins. 

So how do you get the most out of the great transformation that God has planned for you?  How do you realize your full potential in Christ?  The answer is through the power of the Word.  In fact, God ordained His Word as the ultimate change agent for sanctifying (or separating) His people from the dead, lifeless works of the flesh and past life–and into the newness of life in Christ Jesus.

 

“Sanctify them through thy truth.  Thy word is truth.” (John 17:17)

 

When Jesus prayed for His disciples, He went to the heart of what would totally transform them (and later us) and prepare them to take on the ministry that He would soon entrust to them.  He established His Word–His truth–as the one thing guaranteed to change simple, ordinary men prone to fear and doubt and erratic outbursts and denying Him and so on!  And the formula is the same today (Hebrews 13:8).

What changes do you desire to experience in your life?  For each and every one, submit to the Word.  Allow it to do its job of transforming you again and again–as you give it the rightful place in your life, your thoughts, your words and your conscience. (2 Timothy 2:15; Romans 12:1, 2.)  It will supernaturally begin to lift you out of old ways of thinking and doing and being into a freedom and victory that’s nothing short of heaven on earth.

Now, are you ready for your makeover?


 

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02 AugHope Is In!

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In my times of study and reading lately, I’ve been seeing a lot on hope–the absolute necessity of it and the power it wields in the life of a believer.  And just today, I was once again reminded of its power, along with a special word that God gave to me a few years ago.  I was so encouraged by it that I went on to share it in a letter to my ministry friends and partners.  And now, I want to share it with you.

The Word of God is eternal and never becomes outdated.  So it is just as relevant and powerful today as it was the day the Lord ministered it to me over four years ago.  Receive this powerful word from the Lord for your life and circumstances–and expect something good to happen to you!

Partner Letter, January 2007:

Dear Ministry Friend:

Welcome to 2007!   I pray that as you are settling into this New Year, that you have already begun to release your faith and expectancy for the great things that God would do in your life.  He has spoken and promised that this year will be The Year of the Open Door, a year of heavenly manifestations, and a year of increase and blessing like never before!  So it’s a time to rejoice, stir yourself up in the Word and prayer, and prepare to see God’s best to come to pass in your life.

God recently revealed a major key to me concerning our ability to lay hold of and experience these awesome promises, and that key is hope.  Not hope in the traditional, watered-down, uncertain sense that it’s commonly known for, but the powerful, bible-based hope that causes your faith to take on substance and produce the desired results (see Hebrews 11:1).

So what exactly is true bible hope?  In its simplest form, it is an intense, confident expectancy that something good is going to happen to you.  For instance, when you’re expecting a package to arrive that you’re longing to receive and you know the delivery is scheduled for that day, you will have an outstretched neck, looking for and expecting that package to be delivered.  It’s an active force that’s keeping you centered on the end result—your delivery.  So can you see that it’s not the dormant and lifeless thing that some would make it out to be?  Your hope is a gift given to you by God to under gird your faith and bring in the promises every time!

During a recent time of prayer, the Lord spoke the following to my heart: “Hope is in.  Hope is in.” Why would the Lord emphasize such a thing at this time?  Because for many, there is a need to regain our lost expectations.  Perhaps you have withstood some disappointments and delays in receiving what God has promised you or spoken to you about in the past.  But understand this—God still expects and plans for you to receive and accomplish all that He has ordained for your life (see Jeremiah 29:11).  So now is the time to reset your hope and reclaim those things of which you have let go.  It’s also time to set your hope anew on the great promises and declarations that have been given concerning 2007.

But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation (I Thessalonians 5:8). Hope is a part of our divine weaponry and God expects us to use it.  The hope of our salvation is the expectation of God’s promises—His covenant provision—coming to pass in our lives.  We must expect to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  We must expect that God’s Word will prevail in our lives and hold fast until the promise is manifested.

As you go forward in this New Year, follow the instructions given in I Corinthians 9:10: …For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. Whatever you do, do it in the spirit of hope—in the spirit of intense expectancy of something good happening in your life.  Sling off past failures and disappointments, reclaim any lost or forgotten dreams and visions, and begin to rejoice like never before because hope is in!

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10 JulFull Speed Ahead

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Wow!  It’s amazing to realize that 2011 is over half-way complete.  And just to think, it seems like only yesterday that I was sharing my reflections on 2010 and gearing up for all that 2011 has in store.  I also encouraged you to join me in making 2011 your best year yet.

So before too much more time elapses, I wanted to pause to connect with you and ask, “how’s it going?”  I want to hear from you, so I hope you’ll make some time to send me a personal update on your triumphs, struggles, goals, changes (big or small), new directions or whatever it is that has made 2011 a stand out year for you so far.

For me, it’s been a great year to date (Praise God!), but not without the challenges that life inevitably presents us all.  I’ve had some major highs, some occasional lows, and made some significant adjustments that I trust will further me along God’s perfect plan for my life and future.  And all of that while continuing to fight the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12).  So enjoying our best year yet doesn’t come without a cost, but the resulting victories are well worth it.

And even now–there’s still so much I have on my heart to fulfill.  So I’m pressing full speed ahead in the days, weeks and months to come.  In my self-determined effort alone, I won’t reach the ultimate pinnacles that I know await me in God’s blessing, so I’m continuing my resolve to put my entire trust over on Him, as my Partner in life, knowing that He is effectually at work in me both to will and to do of His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13).  That’s the master key to moving forward and the master key to true success.

So I trust you’ll join me as we continue this journey through 2011, looking to the Source of life and every good and perfect gift and knowing that, like you, He’s also committed to 2011 being your best year yet.  How do I know?  Because the good work He began in you and me, He’s faithful to complete until the day of Christ (Philippians 1:6).

So here’s to full speed ahead!

 

 

 

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02 MayGod’s Design for the Good Life!

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From the very beginning, God’s design for mankind has been the good life, in all of its splendor. Any doubt about it can be easily squelched when you look at the first family and God’s dealing with them in Genesis 1 and 2. And His plan hasn’t changed since.

Despite the knowledge of God’s plan, however, there are many who fail to realize it in their own lives. Simply put, there are many who haven’t discovered the keys to living a God-designed life. If that’s you (or someone you know), then fret no more, because I’m going to share some answers—from God Himself—that will help you get on with the business of living—and living very well, I might add.

Enjoying Life and Seeing Good Days

“What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?” (Psalm 34:12).

I think it’s safe to say that we’ll all raise our hands in response to this question. So with the motivation in place, let’s go further in Psalm 34 to see what we must DO to go from desire to possession:

1.  Watch your mouth! Keep your talk in line with God’s will and Word, which are one in the same. Our words are spiritual containers that carry forth the life (or death) that we release and from there determine the course of our lives. So we must diligently guard our mouths and speak forth the life we desire only and nothing else.  And of course, every other type of evil speech (lying, gossip, backbiting, slander, unbelief, etc.) is forbidden.  “Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile” (v.13).

2.  Rid your life of any sinful habits and behaviors and do what’s right, and while you’re at it, seek peace (with God and man) and continuously pursue it. Like all areas of development, this area will require commitment to stick with it, even when you make a mistake and miss it. In those times you may be tempted to give up and quit, but don’t. You have the help of the Holy Spirit and all of Heaven rooting you on, so go for it and never stop. “Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace and pursue it” (v. 14).

And there we have it—the tried and true prescription for the good life in a few simple steps. As we obey these instructions, we are promised a long, abundant life, marked with God’s goodness! And that was His design all the time.

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29 MarDon’t Label Me

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It seems that we have labels or tags for everything.  While some can be benign, and perhaps even desirable, such as designer labels, luxury brands, or labels of status and achievement, others can be insulting and even threaten to limit the realm of possibilities for the ones so tagged.

With all the labeling that goes on, it’s important that we don’t allow others to label us–define us–but instead that we label and determine and decree who we are for ourselves.  And according to God’s beautiful plan for us.  Why is this so important?  Because the world is fickle and whimsical and always changing its mind and opinions.  One day it’ll label you as the greatest thing happening only to drop you flat the next.  With those ups and downs come the potential for instability, disillusionment and a host of other unhealthy byproducts.  But with God, there’s truth, constancy and stability.

You would think that this is unique to our generation, but it’s not.  It dates back to bible days and likely the history of mankind as a whole.  A prime example from the Word of God shows how others labeled one woman, only to have that label shredded to pieces, as she trusted God and embraced her greatness instead:

“What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age!  People used to say she was barren [label], but she’s already in her sixth month.  For nothing is impossible with God.” (Luke 1:36, 37, NLT.)

Elizabeth–nor God–allowed what others had to say about her, the “barren” label they had placed on her, to determine who and what she ultimately became in life–the mother of one of the greatest prophets, John the Baptist!  Surely she was aware of what they were saying all those years that passed without her conceiving, but she didn’t let that keep her from God’s beautiful plan for her life.  She kept her focus on the limitless power of God and allowed that to define her, her expectations and ultimately her destiny.

Let’s do the same and shed any labels that go against who we truly are or aspire to be, what we desire and what God has designed for us.  Let’s refuse to accept any other labels but His.

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22 FebHealing: Stand for It!

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In life, I believe there are certain things you shouldn’t stand for.  On the flip side, however, some things are worth standing for–for as long as it takes.  Healing is one such thing.  And while healing and divine health are the birth rights of every born again believer, it doesn’t always come automatically or easily.  At such times, we must be willing to stand for our rights so that we can ultimately receive and carry away the promised blessing.

God wants us to fight the good fight of faith so that we can lay hold of eternal life–or the God-kind of life.  This is life void of sickness, weakness, pain and sorrow and life full of health, strength, vitality and longevity.  As much as you desire to be healed, God wants it for you even more.  He shed His blood to make sure you could have it, so no matter how long it takes to manifest, don’t give up on your healing breakthrough.

Begin to intensify your stand for healing and against sickness and disease.  Speak to the mountains of sickness that plague you.  Confess God’s healing promises over yourself regularly.  The Word is medicine and health to all your flesh (Proverbs 4:22).  As you refuse to let go of your stance of faith, the Word guarantees your victory.  Further, seek God for guidance on your specific path to healing.  There are many–including traditional medicine, divine healing, homeopathic remedies, and so on.  Let God lead you along His designated path of healing.  For whichever path He chooses, the end result will be the glorious blessing of healing and sustained health.

And having done all to stand….CONTINUE TO STAND (Ephesians 6: 10-18).  For in due season you shall reap if you don’t give up and quit.  Healing belongs to you; now stand for it!

P.S.  For more faith-building teaching on healing, visit our media center at dawnrichards.org or our iTunes podcast.

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