Have you given Him your ALL?

As christians, we say that we surrender everything to God. We say we want Him to be in control of our lives, but are we truly giving Him our all? A friend of mine recently shared her testimony and it has stuck with me. She talked about how though she was a christian, there was a small area of her life that she refused to give to God. She wanted to maintain control of that area and make her own choices regarding it. She was afraid of what God might have her to do and told herself she didn't want that for her life. But once she let go and gave that area to God, He truly blessed her in ways she couldn't imagine. I believe we women are like that too, sometimes. If you're anything like me, I've always liked to be in control. If you tell me I can't do something, I will try all the harder to make it happen. We want financial security for our families. We want a house and college for our kids and security. And sometimes, God has other plans. He said He would always provide for our needs, didn't He? Then we shouldn't need to worry about these things,right. But yet, we do. Yes, I agree we should be good stewards of our finances and use wisdom. But what about God's plans for your life? Are you limiting God. Are you limiting God to your paycheck? I've been guilty of that. We live in a very uncertain world these days. Do we really know the awesomeness of the God we serve? He controls everything. He controls the winds. He can make something from nothing. We say we want to serve God and then when He shows us a direction He wants us to go, we are quick to say, "Not that." and come up with excuses why we can't. Moses was called by God to bring the children of Israel out of bondage but what did he do at first? Resist and throw out excuses for why he couldn't do it. Can't talk well, people won't listen to me, etc. God has already put within you what you need to accomplish the task. He will not ask more of you than what He knows you can handle. He will not lead you somewhere without equipping you with whatever you need to accomplish the goal. We just have to trust Him. Do you know what God has planned for your life? Are you truly seeking God about it or are you keeping something a "hands off" area because you see your future differently. Our plans are not God's plans, His ways are not our ways. But His way is always better. How many times do we look back and see that He knew what He was doing after all? And it turned out much greater than we could've imagined. He sees the bigger picture if we can just trust Him with every area and not hold anything back. I may not see what God has planned, but I know if I trust in Him to guide me, and am obedient to His word, He will make a way. Abraham did not question God when He told him to offer his only son as a sacrifice, but he went on the journey anyway. God was testing his obedience. Was he truly willing to do it? He obeyed and trusted God to "provide the sacrifice." He didn't know how it would happen, and I'm sure he questioned, but he still obeyed. Now, we all know that God stopped Abraham from following through with it. It was just a test. But when God tells us to do something, do we question God and refuse? Or do we trust Him so completely that we say, "Not my will, but thine". Do we have faith like that?

God Said It, I Believe It!

Ok.  So you may have noticed I've made a few changes here...new name, layout,etc.  I've had some time away from blogging and have come back rejuvinated.  As my fellow bloggers might relate to this, I thought I'd share...I started blogging with the idea to share my testimony and encourage other women with what I had learned from my own experiences.  Good idea...until I came to a place where I felt I had nothing left to offer..no riveting revelation and no great thought to write about. I was in a lull, a drought.  All I could see was the circumstances that surrounded me and got my eyes off of God.  It says in the Bible, "the Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away, Blessed be the name of the Lord".  God does not change just because we face a difficult situation in our lives.  He is still God.  A minister in my church said yesterday, "All Hell's breaking loose around me, I must be on the right track-Plow through!".  The devil's messing with you to try to break you, because he knows your victory is right around the corner and he wants to take that from you.  What a testimony you'll have then.  Think of the souls that will be encouraged by that victory.  You are SO close to the finish line.  Don't quit.  It's very easy to get our eyes off God when trials come and all we focus on is the trouble-"Lord, what am I going to do, how am I going to get out of this one, I just don't know..", sound like anyone you know?   What happened to our faith?  He's still God.  His word does not change.  He said it, that's all we need to know and claim it.  If we have been given the gift of the Holy Ghost, then we need to take the authority God has given to us and speak the word to that situation.  Pray over your families, your finances, your jobs, your homes, etc.  In this end day, we can't allow our minds to get sidetracked or we'll start to backside.  It happens little by little and soon you'll find yourself away from God saying, how did I get here.  Don't let that happen.  Keep your mind stayed on Him.  There's too much work to be done, too many souls to reach with the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Get busy doing something for God.  Idleness certainly leads to spiritual trouble.  Wherever you are, whatever place you find yourself to be, use what you have within you, be that willing vessel to be used by Him.  Make a choice and follow through with it, as the minister said yesterday.  Do you know what God has planned for your life? If not, make it a matter of prayer.  Let's start stirring up the gift that he's put within us-the Holy Ghost.  It was not given to us so we could just sit and do nothing with it.  Stir it up in you.  Let it flow out of you to help others.  Stay on fire for God.  If you don't use it, you'll lose it, as they say.  Have the faith to hang on through your trial and have immovable faith.  God said  it, that's all we need to know.  It will happen.  Believe it!  Take Him at His word.  Stand on the promises of God that cannot fail. I'm so thankful for a church that preaches the word of God and tells it like it  is.  a "feel good" gospel will not keep you.  We're fighting a battle in this end day, a battle for people's souls.  Many battles you're facing are not physical, but spiritual.  We have to fight them spiritually and we need to know how to do that.  If you're facing a struggle in your marriage, family, finances, etc, look beyond the surface, and take it to prayer.  Fight the battle on your knees.  It's the only way.  You'll see.   Thanks for visiting my blog today.  I hope it was encouraging to you and that you'll come back again.  God Bless You Today.   Tammy