When I'm My Problem.....

More and more I'm seeing, in my own life, that answers to prayer are right before me. I contain the answer and control the outcome, and if I'd only examine myself and my life more closely I'd get a revelation of why the problem exists. However, there are times when I could do something to help a circumstance and I just pray and pray and pray...waiting for God to fix everything in an instant.

Praying is a good thing - we're called to pray. But sometimes we have to physically do something to change our lives instead of passively expecting God to make it all better. Sometimes we're the reason it's not all better.

We might not be able to do the things we've always done if we want life to be different, and we shouldn't sit and wonder why our prayers aren't working if we're negating them by our own actions. Sometimes our prayers can be answered by making a few changes in our lives instead of praying harder. Prayer is immensely important, but it's not a substitute for self control, being honest with yourself, making wise decisions or taking responsibility. 
 
Thank God that His grace is unending and He is patient with us, but His grace also teaches us to say 'no' to ungodliness (Titus 2:11-12). There comes a time when we have to look in the mirror and see ourselves in our raw, human form....then accept the love and grace of God as empowerment to change!

Un-Contained Power

When God created the oceans He filled them with beauty and power – man has even harvested that power in the form of hydro-electricity. But God assigned a boundary to the oceans when He said “you may come this far...your powerful and majestic waves must stop here” (Job 38:10). We’ve seen the natural results when waters overstep their boundaries: the effects can be disastrous. God’s assigned border for waters is the shore, regardless of the fact that they have an immense power to reach outside of their God-given limitations.

Power, beauty, strength, ability and even money, when allowed to run rampant, can lead us outside of God’s boundaries for our lives and onto the shores of another person’s God-given turf. Having the mindset that God has given us these things and we are limitless can be damaging to both us and those whose assignments we have the ability to usurp. Even the oceans, when they so easily flow outside of their natural boundaries, come back to their own shores carrying debris and filth. A clean-up process follows in which a multitude of people and much equipment is needed to cleanse and restore them.
God has given us each power and purpose, but He has also set boundaries for the use of that power and the proper fulfillment of our purpose. Consider Paul, whom God assigned to minister to the Gentiles. Not only did Paul go specifically to the Gentiles, but he was careful to go in God’s timing, never pushing the door open, but waiting for God to lead him in (1 Cor. 16:9). Paul had the power and freedom to go wherever he chose, but he confined himself to his own assignment, telling the Corinthians “…we do not extend ourselves beyond proper limits, but will confine our activity to the sphere of service God himself has assigned to us, a sphere that also includes you” (paraphrased 2 Cor. 10:13).

What if Jesus had gone outside of the boundaries of His assignment? What if He had used His power to rule over the Roman Empire, stepping into an earthly authority which would give Him the right to release the Israelites from Roman rule? While a temporary, earthly victory might have been gained, Heaven’s purposes and Roman authority would have been usurped and disastrous results would have followed.

The Bible is full of instructions about what to and not to do, indicating that we have the power to make a choice and follow through. But containing that power in a God-given manner is what brings God’s results: power given must be contained within God’s boundaries, or it is power abused.
Do you know your God-given power and the sphere of influence where you’re to use that power? God is no respecter of persons – if He showed Paul where and how to use His power, He will show each of us!

Once a loser......

When you're ready to write someone off, or you're feeling like you've been written off, remember Paul, King David and Moses. Between the three of them, they participated in murder, adultery and lying, yet each was given the immense grace of God to fulfill God's will and complete his God-given life assignment.

God was not waiting with a hammer to strike each of them, He was waiting for the right moment to snatch them out of the hands of the enemy and set them under His hand of grace! It takes one encounter with God to completely melt the hardness off of one's heart and immerse them in the empowering grace of God. 

So that person you see as a loser - God loves him and is eager to pour out His grace on him! And even though you've made some serious mistakes and your sins have affected the people around you, God's grace brings repentance and rejuvenation! 

One encounter - that's all it takes for the grace of God to turn the hardest hearts toward heaven and set them on the journey to fulfilling God's plans! "Once a loser" is not "always a loser"; once a loser is simply the story before the acceptance of God's grace, and it's later the testimony of the goodness of God.

God is looking for those who are "losers" and rebels in the eyes of others - eagerly desiring to pour out His grace and empowerment! No application needed - if it's you, just submit your heart! If it's someone else in your life, just fill out the application and submit it to heaven on their behalf: a name and a prayer are all that's needed.

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