The LORD Will PERFECT …
Psalm 138:8
Have you ever felt like things can't get better, or if they were it would be a long time before they actually did? We have all had these moments, but it's good to know that God knows these things as well. God knows all of our issues... those things that we keep bottled up inside feeling too ashamed to tell others, but silently vowing to God that if he would just bring us through we will give him free reign in our lives. Those things that we may tell to others, but only part of the story for fear of being judged and cast away. You know the type of issues I'm talking about. Thank God for his word!! I love the fact that God loves us sooo much that he gives us all the answers through his word.
So, this is for the person who feels like I do sometimes … that nothing I do will bring a difference… that my walk and my witness are not as effective as I think … you know, those thoughts that the enemy wants you to think so that you will not do what God has called you to do. I have an encouraging word from the Lord, found in Psalm 138:8, which says:
"The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O Lord, endureth forever: forsake not the works of thine own hands."
The Lord is willing, but he's willing to do more than just save us. He is willing to "perfect" us! What does this mean though? To "perfect" means:
- being entirely without fault or defect: flawless
- pure; total
- complete
- mature
- improve, refine
God is willing to do all of this for us but it doesn't stop there. Not only is the Lord willing to "perfect" us but the verse says that he will perfect that which concerneth us. Isn't it great to know that God can make us right? He will not just make us right, but everything connected with our lives will come into order! "Concern" means:
- to be a care, trouble, or distress to
- to be of importance: matter
In other words, our "issues" … the "stuff" that we deal with on a daily place … whatever is not right in our lives, God will make them right. We simply have to make our lives available for his control
" … Thy Mercy, Oh Lord, endureth for ever:"
"Mercy" is God's way of showing how much he loves us by allowing us to experience things that we do not deserve. I am so happy that the Lord's love is real unlike our love towards each other sometimes!! The best thing about it is that his mercy endureth for ever. It is never ending … there is nothing that we can do that can "turn off" God's mercy towards us … he means what he says and his continuous loving actions towards us proves this fact.
".. for sake not the works of thine own hands."
The verse ends simply by asking God not to turn away from the work he has already started. To "forsake" means:
- to quit or leave entirely: withdraw from
Oh My! Can you imagine what your life would be like if God decided one day to just stop "being" God in your life? If God decided to "quit" or leave entirely … there would be no sunshine… no air… no rain… no wind… we would never see a new day again because we would die! Thank God his love is forever… his mercy is forever… his grace is forever… HE… the One and only TRUE GOD is FOREVER! We should be grateful that God does not forsake his role in our lives!
As we prepare for a new year … some of us can look back and see areas where we have grown … there are other areas that aren't as bad as they started out this year and there are still areas that we are still struggling in. Let us be encouraged by the word that says,
"The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me."
As we release ourselves to the power and control of God, we experience growth and as we experience growth we get power and when we get power, we see not only our lives change but EVERYTHING and EVERYONE connected with us!
© Copyright LaTrisha E. Milton December 10, 2007
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Monday, October 8, 2007
Count It ALL JOY!
Count It ALL Joy!
James 1:2-4
One of the most challenging scriptures for me to face and accept is James 1:2-4. For the longest I wanted this scripture to be an error simply because I didn’t want to go through the process of becoming complete in God by going through stuff. I must admit, that I still feel that way today, but I understand the process a lot better than I did when I was younger. These 3 verses are continuing to change my life as my trials continue to work my faith!
James 1:2 “Don’t Be Happy … Count it ALL JOY!”
After his greeting James begins by saying “Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations.” Even though this letter was written to believers, I can imagine the looks of “yeah right” or “Is this guy crazy??” I’ve learned that no matter how crazy it may sound, we should follow these instructions. Joy is something that comes from God! It is an emotion that is felt “underneath the skin (as my Pastor would say) …. That means no matter what comes in and out of our lives. James encourages us to count it all joy! *sigh* Alright James …
James 1:3 “Patience is our friend”
Thank God James explains himself! We aren’t supposed to have joy just to have joy while going through things. James explains that we have joy because as we go through our trials as believers we understand that our patience is worked as our faith is exercised.
Let me explain, as believers there are things that we should just know (be assured of) because of our relationship with God. For example:
1. We KNOW according to Romans 10:9 that if we confess with our mouths the Lord Jesus and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, we SHALL be saved.
2. We KNOW according to Proverbs 3:5-6 that if we trust God and not lean to our own understanding and acknowledge God in all our ways he WILL direct our path.
3. We KNOW according to John 16:33 that we are not exempt from trials and tribulations but Jesus has encouraged us by letting us know that he HAS (ALREADY) overcome the world.
4. We KNOW according to Hebrews 13:5 that God has PROMISED never to leave or forsake us.
The list goes on and on, you get my point now I hope. The verse continues on by saying, “the trying of your faith worketh patience.” Faith is the foundation to everything we believe. Hebrews 11:1 gives us the definition of faith. Basically, faith is the belief that something that has not yet been manifested in the natural is going to arrive. What you are believing God for may not come when you want it to and this is where your patience is worked. “Patient” according to the dictionary means:
- bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint
- steadfast despite opposition, difficulty or adversity
- able or willing to bear
Patience is simply allowing the process to take its course no matter how long or difficult it may be, KNOWING that what you are believing God for is going to manifest at the appointed time. This is MUCH easier said than done! This is only the beginning of the process though.
James 1:4 “Patience Perfects Us”
Verse 4 helps us understand that faith doesn’t just work patience but patience works us. Patience brings out a lot in us. While we are waiting, we can become frustrated and we may even get to the point where we want to give up. If we allow patience to have her perfect work in us it will produce the characteristics of God in us. The more characteristics of God we have the more we will realize and recognize that he has everything that we need.
James began his letter with a powerful word for the believer. Joy causes us to press through our pains, trials, tribulations and suffering because we KNOW, according to Romans 8:28 that all things work together for our good. The things that we go through, whether it is something God allows to happen or if it is our own disobedience that got us there, are meant to perfect us and make us complete in Christ so that we might reflect Him.
“Count it ALL JOY!”
© Copyright LaTrisha E. Milton October 6, 2007
James 1:2-4
One of the most challenging scriptures for me to face and accept is James 1:2-4. For the longest I wanted this scripture to be an error simply because I didn’t want to go through the process of becoming complete in God by going through stuff. I must admit, that I still feel that way today, but I understand the process a lot better than I did when I was younger. These 3 verses are continuing to change my life as my trials continue to work my faith!
James 1:2 “Don’t Be Happy … Count it ALL JOY!”
After his greeting James begins by saying “Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations.” Even though this letter was written to believers, I can imagine the looks of “yeah right” or “Is this guy crazy??” I’ve learned that no matter how crazy it may sound, we should follow these instructions. Joy is something that comes from God! It is an emotion that is felt “underneath the skin (as my Pastor would say) …. That means no matter what comes in and out of our lives. James encourages us to count it all joy! *sigh* Alright James …
James 1:3 “Patience is our friend”
Thank God James explains himself! We aren’t supposed to have joy just to have joy while going through things. James explains that we have joy because as we go through our trials as believers we understand that our patience is worked as our faith is exercised.
Let me explain, as believers there are things that we should just know (be assured of) because of our relationship with God. For example:
1. We KNOW according to Romans 10:9 that if we confess with our mouths the Lord Jesus and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, we SHALL be saved.
2. We KNOW according to Proverbs 3:5-6 that if we trust God and not lean to our own understanding and acknowledge God in all our ways he WILL direct our path.
3. We KNOW according to John 16:33 that we are not exempt from trials and tribulations but Jesus has encouraged us by letting us know that he HAS (ALREADY) overcome the world.
4. We KNOW according to Hebrews 13:5 that God has PROMISED never to leave or forsake us.
The list goes on and on, you get my point now I hope. The verse continues on by saying, “the trying of your faith worketh patience.” Faith is the foundation to everything we believe. Hebrews 11:1 gives us the definition of faith. Basically, faith is the belief that something that has not yet been manifested in the natural is going to arrive. What you are believing God for may not come when you want it to and this is where your patience is worked. “Patient” according to the dictionary means:
- bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint
- steadfast despite opposition, difficulty or adversity
- able or willing to bear
Patience is simply allowing the process to take its course no matter how long or difficult it may be, KNOWING that what you are believing God for is going to manifest at the appointed time. This is MUCH easier said than done! This is only the beginning of the process though.
James 1:4 “Patience Perfects Us”
Verse 4 helps us understand that faith doesn’t just work patience but patience works us. Patience brings out a lot in us. While we are waiting, we can become frustrated and we may even get to the point where we want to give up. If we allow patience to have her perfect work in us it will produce the characteristics of God in us. The more characteristics of God we have the more we will realize and recognize that he has everything that we need.
James began his letter with a powerful word for the believer. Joy causes us to press through our pains, trials, tribulations and suffering because we KNOW, according to Romans 8:28 that all things work together for our good. The things that we go through, whether it is something God allows to happen or if it is our own disobedience that got us there, are meant to perfect us and make us complete in Christ so that we might reflect Him.
“Count it ALL JOY!”
© Copyright LaTrisha E. Milton October 6, 2007
Monday, September 10, 2007
God Wants YOU to Want Him!
God Wants YOU to Want HIM!
Romans 2:4
Key Verse:
"You surely don't think much of God's wonderful goodness or of his patience and willingness to put up with you. Don't you know that the reason God is good t you is because hw wants you to turn to him?" Romans 2:4 (Contemporary English Version)
We live in a world today where we take everything for granted. We wake up every morning and never give it a second thought to say, "Thank You" to our God. We are able to go to our closets and pick out what we want to wear for that day. We go into our bathrooms and turn on warm water to wash our faces and take a bath/shower. We leave out of our apartments/houses to get in our own vehicles... we arrive at our jobs and businesses to do our work, but not once throughout the day do we acknowledge God for his love and merciful kindness towards us. On top of that, we live our lives in a manner that is comfortable to us and not according to the plan that God designed for us in his word, yet God CONTINUES to provide for us and bless us. What an AWESOME and loving God we serve ... but why does he continue to be there for us when so many times we don't acknowledge his presence in our lives?
Romans chapter 2 talks about God's judgement and the fact that we have a tendency to point out others' shortcomings and downfalls before our own and according to this chapter many times the faults we point out in someone else's life is actually an issue that we are dealing with in our own lives. Verse 4 makes something clear though, many times we really don't appreciate how good God is to us and how much stuff he takes from us. This verse makes it clear that God loves us FOR REAL and he puts up with our stuff because he wants us to want him to the point that we would actually give up our own will to take on his will. The key word is, "want" ... God doesn't NEED us to walk according to his word, he WANTS us to. I looked up the word "want" and saw 2 definitions that were interesting to me.
The first definition that caught my attention said, "to desire to come, go, be." A desire is a longing or craving for something or someone. When you think of God's goodness in your life there should be a part of you that longs to please Him and as a result you begin to seek out those things that bring him pleasure. You COME to know Him through His word, you GO in a new direction by living according to His word and as a result you BEcome who you are supposed to be in Him.
Another definition said, "to suffer from the lack of." Suffer means "to submit to or be forced to endure." God suffers (believe it or not) and we suffer when we refuse to want him the way he wants us. God suffers because he has no one to live through and share with others the reality of who He is, and as a result He only ends up with silent testimonies that are never heard and a testimony that is never heard can never make an impact on someone's life, allowing them to come into the knowledge of knowing the TRUE and LIVING God. We suffer because without God living in and through us we can never reach our full potential and those who we are assigned to minister to will never turn to God, so that he can use us to minister to them.
We must get to the point that realize and recognize that God is good to us so that we can see that God wants to be in fellowship and RELATIONSHIP with us. This message is not meant to condemn, but to redirect. God has been sooo good to us and because of that fact we need to put God back in his proper place in our lives and that is FIRST! Respond to God's goodness today by giving him COMPLETE control in your life.
(c) Copyright LaTrisha E. Milton September 7, 2007
Romans 2:4
Key Verse:
"You surely don't think much of God's wonderful goodness or of his patience and willingness to put up with you. Don't you know that the reason God is good t you is because hw wants you to turn to him?" Romans 2:4 (Contemporary English Version)
We live in a world today where we take everything for granted. We wake up every morning and never give it a second thought to say, "Thank You" to our God. We are able to go to our closets and pick out what we want to wear for that day. We go into our bathrooms and turn on warm water to wash our faces and take a bath/shower. We leave out of our apartments/houses to get in our own vehicles... we arrive at our jobs and businesses to do our work, but not once throughout the day do we acknowledge God for his love and merciful kindness towards us. On top of that, we live our lives in a manner that is comfortable to us and not according to the plan that God designed for us in his word, yet God CONTINUES to provide for us and bless us. What an AWESOME and loving God we serve ... but why does he continue to be there for us when so many times we don't acknowledge his presence in our lives?
Romans chapter 2 talks about God's judgement and the fact that we have a tendency to point out others' shortcomings and downfalls before our own and according to this chapter many times the faults we point out in someone else's life is actually an issue that we are dealing with in our own lives. Verse 4 makes something clear though, many times we really don't appreciate how good God is to us and how much stuff he takes from us. This verse makes it clear that God loves us FOR REAL and he puts up with our stuff because he wants us to want him to the point that we would actually give up our own will to take on his will. The key word is, "want" ... God doesn't NEED us to walk according to his word, he WANTS us to. I looked up the word "want" and saw 2 definitions that were interesting to me.
The first definition that caught my attention said, "to desire to come, go, be." A desire is a longing or craving for something or someone. When you think of God's goodness in your life there should be a part of you that longs to please Him and as a result you begin to seek out those things that bring him pleasure. You COME to know Him through His word, you GO in a new direction by living according to His word and as a result you BEcome who you are supposed to be in Him.
Another definition said, "to suffer from the lack of." Suffer means "to submit to or be forced to endure." God suffers (believe it or not) and we suffer when we refuse to want him the way he wants us. God suffers because he has no one to live through and share with others the reality of who He is, and as a result He only ends up with silent testimonies that are never heard and a testimony that is never heard can never make an impact on someone's life, allowing them to come into the knowledge of knowing the TRUE and LIVING God. We suffer because without God living in and through us we can never reach our full potential and those who we are assigned to minister to will never turn to God, so that he can use us to minister to them.
We must get to the point that realize and recognize that God is good to us so that we can see that God wants to be in fellowship and RELATIONSHIP with us. This message is not meant to condemn, but to redirect. God has been sooo good to us and because of that fact we need to put God back in his proper place in our lives and that is FIRST! Respond to God's goodness today by giving him COMPLETE control in your life.
(c) Copyright LaTrisha E. Milton September 7, 2007
Thursday, August 16, 2007
"Silence Moments"
Jeremiah 1:5
I have been on a 3 day fast and God lead me to eat only 1 meal a day, and only drink liquids there after, no internet outside of work, no music in the house or in the car, no television, and no phone after 8:00pm. This has been the most quiet time of my life besides when I am sleeping at night. This has also been the most uncomfortable time simply because I have been forced to be alone with myself and my thoughts.
Silence according to the dictionary is:
- an absence of sound
- forbearance from speech or noise: stillness
- to refrain from expression: suppress
Silence (God's revelation to me), is the place where not only the things around us are still but it is the place where after the outside is turned off you can hear loud and clear those things on the inside that are still rattling, loose and out of control. It gives God an opportunity to deal with you and those things on the inside. Silence is the place that we are the most vulnerable beacuse, it is in the silence that we must face our true selves and watch God move in our lives. Sound and noise keeps us from hearing and even seeing those things that we should be focused on. Unfortunately, so many believers miss out on what God wants for them simply because they don't take the time to be still in the silence.
In the first chapter of Jeremiah around the 5th verse, God and Jeremiah had a conversation and it was God who started it. Here's what he said,
"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee: and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet to the nations."
What a way to start a conversation?! I can imagine that Jeremiah, as young as he was, had to be in a "silence moment" in his life to receive such an awesome message from God. As you continue reading, you will find that Jeremiah tries to explain to God why he is not the one for the job and God seals the deal by anointing and equipping him for the assignment in verse 9:
"The Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth."
In our "silence moments" God will not only reveal our assignments but he will anoint and equip us. I am so glad that no matter how we may try to convince God of why we're not the ones he simply gives us what we need so we will not have an excuse to quit.
There are so many other examples in the word of people who I believe had "silence moments" and they received their assignments and anointing from God and went on to do awesome things for him. We can look at the stories of Abraham (leave your family and go to a place that I will tell you once you get there), Moses (You are the one I will send to tell Pharoah to let my people go), David (a man after God's own heart who DEFEATED the giant Goliath), Solomon, Paul, Jesus... the list goes on and on.
This message is short but simple. Take time to have "silence moments" because it is in those moments that God has an opportunity to share his plan with you. You will have a chance to respond to God but in the end your response will mean nothing because you will be equipped with everything you need to complete your assignment!
(c) Copyright LaTrisha E. Milton August 15,2007
Jeremiah 1:5
I have been on a 3 day fast and God lead me to eat only 1 meal a day, and only drink liquids there after, no internet outside of work, no music in the house or in the car, no television, and no phone after 8:00pm. This has been the most quiet time of my life besides when I am sleeping at night. This has also been the most uncomfortable time simply because I have been forced to be alone with myself and my thoughts.
Silence according to the dictionary is:
- an absence of sound
- forbearance from speech or noise: stillness
- to refrain from expression: suppress
Silence (God's revelation to me), is the place where not only the things around us are still but it is the place where after the outside is turned off you can hear loud and clear those things on the inside that are still rattling, loose and out of control. It gives God an opportunity to deal with you and those things on the inside. Silence is the place that we are the most vulnerable beacuse, it is in the silence that we must face our true selves and watch God move in our lives. Sound and noise keeps us from hearing and even seeing those things that we should be focused on. Unfortunately, so many believers miss out on what God wants for them simply because they don't take the time to be still in the silence.
In the first chapter of Jeremiah around the 5th verse, God and Jeremiah had a conversation and it was God who started it. Here's what he said,
"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee: and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet to the nations."
What a way to start a conversation?! I can imagine that Jeremiah, as young as he was, had to be in a "silence moment" in his life to receive such an awesome message from God. As you continue reading, you will find that Jeremiah tries to explain to God why he is not the one for the job and God seals the deal by anointing and equipping him for the assignment in verse 9:
"The Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth."
In our "silence moments" God will not only reveal our assignments but he will anoint and equip us. I am so glad that no matter how we may try to convince God of why we're not the ones he simply gives us what we need so we will not have an excuse to quit.
There are so many other examples in the word of people who I believe had "silence moments" and they received their assignments and anointing from God and went on to do awesome things for him. We can look at the stories of Abraham (leave your family and go to a place that I will tell you once you get there), Moses (You are the one I will send to tell Pharoah to let my people go), David (a man after God's own heart who DEFEATED the giant Goliath), Solomon, Paul, Jesus... the list goes on and on.
This message is short but simple. Take time to have "silence moments" because it is in those moments that God has an opportunity to share his plan with you. You will have a chance to respond to God but in the end your response will mean nothing because you will be equipped with everything you need to complete your assignment!
(c) Copyright LaTrisha E. Milton August 15,2007
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