“We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose” (Romans 8:28 AMP.)
WOW! I get excited when I read this passage. God is a partner in our labor working things together for us! What a pleasure it is to trust in Him, knowing that He is working behind the scenes on our behalf.
Recently in prayer I heard myself saying, “God, YOU are my partner and I have total confidence that You are bringing in the resources, people and establishing the plans in Your time frame!”
There’s a lot of change surrounding each one of us due to difficulties in this natural world; however, in this time of transition we use our faith and our passion to latch on to God’s will, and to the wealth that is available for transfer into the hands of those in the kingdom of God!
We are not down and defeated without hope or alternatives, BUT WE ARE UP, EXPECTANT AND DREAMING OF NEW POSSIBILITES IN CHANGING TIMES!
God’s Word is the true source of an image of a righteous man or woman. Slave owners in America in the early 1800s knew that people would not be slaves if they could read for themselves what God said about them, so they passed laws forbidding slaves to be taught to read and write.
Learning to read was the first step toward grasping President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. It was also the first step toward knowing God’s proclamation of a new position in Christ! James 1:23–24 (NLT 1996) says, “If you just listen and don’t obey, it is like looking at your face in a mirror but doing nothing to improve your appearance. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.”
There is no time like the present for worldwide reflection on what the future will hold for us as we peek over the edge into the New Year. Some are holding on in fear and trembling, many are afraid to predict anything good as the media pundits continue their barrage of bad news.
I can with confidence, however, predict that we are more than conquerors in every situation as the scripture declares. That is not written for fair weather economies, but for all time.
Why do people fear if they believe that the Creator of the universe lives inside of them?
Why do people expect the worst when all things are possible to those who believe, as Jesus has spoken?
Why do people think it will be a time of isolation, when Jesus said I will never leave you nor forsake you?
Our greatest days are right ahead of us as we navigate the waters in these rapids of the river of life. Every river has a little rough water but no concern. The boat was designed for the rapids. This is when it performs its best!
Relax in God’s boat. Jesus is in the boat with you, so enjoy the ride as it takes you through some twists and turns this coming year. You will be the better for it!
The story is told of a man who purchased passage on a cruise liner for himself and his family, paying the full fare for their grand adventure across the ocean.
Each day he and his family huddled in their quiet little berth consuming the sparse provisions they had packed for their trip. One day a steward noticed their emaciated faces and asked them why they were not enjoying the banquet with the other passengers. The father told him that he had only purchased passage on the ship but not the meals.
The steward explained to the man that his ticket covered passage and meals for his entire family. After dining on mere morsels for days, the family joyfully sat down to enjoy what had belonged to them all along.
David tells us in Psalm 103:2-3, “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases.”
Here are 7 things that will help you bring your dreams to pass:
1. Know you are not alone. How can you know your dream is in agreement with God? When it produces peace and brings out the best in you. Ask yourself these three questions: Is it good for God? Is it good for people? Is it good for me? If the answers are yes, then go for it!
2. Speak your dream to yourself. You are your best prophet. You know the future because you speak the future. If you don’t believe in yourself, then how can you expect others to believe in you? Use your words to bring up what is in your heart. Your words are signposts pointing to where you are going.
3. Find out what it will cost for your dream to come to pass. In Luke 14:28, Jesus told us to consider the cost before we build. Enthusiasm can carry you for a while, but accuracy in details is what carries you across the finish line of your dream. Study, preparation, and continued focus are necessary parts of the picture of your dream. Facts can change, and new ways of doing things may need to be discovered.
4. Find someone to agree with you. No load is too heavy when you have a friend to help you carry it. You don’t need a whole audience to cheer you on. One friend clapping is better than a gallon of water on a walk through the desert!
5. Don’t discuss your dream with those who could kill it. More dreams have died at the doorstep of a skeptical friend than in front of an army of enemies!
6. Discover the best role models who have succeeded in that field. Revelation can be caught quickly when the eye is imprinted. It is true that one picture is more valuable than a thousand words. Find someone doing what you want to do and look at them, and you will build your life on the shoulders of success.
7. Let time be your friend, not your enemy. Deal with time by not considering the past at all, and not thinking about the things you have no control over. Use your time to focus on what you want to have happen and what steps you can take today in that direction. God brings about our future and forgets our past!
After God the Holy Spirit used imagination to create the world, He gave us the gift of imagination to create our world.
When I graduated from Bible school there were no churches waiting for me to come and preach. There were no countries calling on me for the bits of wisdom I had learned. There were no church boards asking me to be a pastor. So I went out to the small city airport near my house, pulled up a chair with a good view of the airplanes as they came and went, and began to dream of flying on those planes as they headed into the sky.
At that point I was starting to build a vision for world travel. Now, after 30 years of traveling to over 60 nations, I can say that the dream at the beginning has become the reality of today.
In the world of tennis, a game which I greatly enjoy, there is a basic rule that carries me through the emotional ups and downs of a match. More than once I have snatched victory from the hands of defeat by remembering this simple principle. It is the one thing I must do to win: keep my eye on the ball!
I am not fighting my opponent, the sun, the wind, the crowd, or myself. My opponent can distract me with movement, a verbal outburst, or delays, but he cannot change the ball.
In life you can experience changes in the economy, the people around you, the environment, and other circumstances. But one thing should not change: keep your eye on where you are going!
Talk about where you are going. Think about where you are going. Be passionate about where you are going. Believe in where you are going.
What about the temporary score? What if you are behind? That doesn’t change where you are going, so why think about it? Don’t let your mind go into the gutter of worry, fear, or anxiety about what might happen. In tennis, if you take your eye off the ball, you lose sight of the only thing you can control. If you allow yourself to be distracted, defeat is guaranteed.
Today, make a quality decision to keep your eyes on what you want. Celebrate it. Pray about it. Think on it only. Jesus said that whatever you desire, when you pray, believe you receive it and you shall have it!
Laying a foundation is not the easy part of a building project, but it is the guarantee of your future work. To illustrate the importance of this unseen, under-appreciated work that makes our lives possible, I recall a unique place on the earth that would not be found in anybody’s tour guide book.
As we were pioneering miracle evangelism in Central Asia, we were given a rare opportunity to stay at the presidential palace built for Russian leader, Leonid Brezhnev. At first glance it looked like a beautiful place for inspiration with its marbled walls and golden framework, but between meetings it quickly turned into an amusing challenge of survival!
We nicknamed this place the ‘ice palace’ because they built it without proper connections to the city heating system, nor did it have any individual heating system. We sat around wrapped in heavy blankets watching our breath fog the room. To prepare sermons, I moved my desk into the bathroom and steamed up the shower to create enough heat to write. What had looked glamorous on the outside became an icebox of endurance on the inside.
Our outside value is only as good as our inside function. Consider what you build, and don’t forget the plumbing!
Discovery is a powerful word that opens up vast opportunity. Children have no limits on their curiosity or willingness to try out new things. In fact, their openness is so great that it could cause personal injury or peril. As we grow older, we seem to lose the ‘YES’ in life, and words like ‘routine,” institution,’ ‘insurance,’ ‘protection,’ and ‘safety’ become commonplace in our vocabulary.
I remember moving to Russia and finding a society that was based on the word “NO.” How could it be that this dynamic, creative society was cloaked in such negative expectation? Yet, for many of us today, regardless of our society, we allow the phrases “No! You can’t!” “No! You shouldn’t!” “No! That’s not right!” “No! It’s not possible!” to control our destinies!
Let’s realize today that Christ takes the parentheses off our lives. He puts a plus on our future because He says, All things are possible, only believe! Mark 9:23 paraphrased
Today we complete your toolbox with the final tool to help you on your journey to realizing your goals and aspirations with confidence!
Tool #3: Track Your Progress!
Journal writing is one of the best tools for organizing mental clutter, by capturing thoughts and emotions in writing. After my mentor’s wife of 53 years passed away, he began documenting their life together and the “Why?” behind her early demise. “When I finished writing this book,” he said, “I knew I was ready to move forward. I was healed.”
You can create different journals for different parts of your journey. One may be for personal healing and insight, while another may be an “idea journal” reserved for capturing inspiration.
How do you use an idea journal? Keep a small notebook in your purse or pocket and jot down your ideas throughout the day. Often during quiet moments of reflection, you’ll find your written ideas weave an interesting tapestry.
Early morning is another vital time for journaling your thoughts! Keep a notepad by your bed—I like to call mine my morning ‘think-pad.’ Glean these early thoughts before a child or a morning hello interrupts your clarity. Never minimize the importance of capturing these early thoughts! Your heart and mind are working while you sleep, planning life’s journey! Start each day with your idea journal, capturing your morning revelation.
If you need to simplify, an electronic journal, cellphone or voice recorder can help you record your fresh ideas and the answers to your soul-searching questions!
