Inspirational

• 2 Chronicles 20:3, 5-6  And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jersualem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court. And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rules not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee? (Emphasis added)

2. Renew your focus upon the Lord

• 2 Chronicles 20:12 O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee. (Emphasis added)

3. Rely on the Spirit’s Leading

• 2 Chronicles 20:14-15 Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah,…  came the Spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation; And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, (Emphasis added)

4. Restrain your natural Inclinations or responses

• 2 Chronicles 20:15- 17  Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of ZIz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you. (Emphasis added)

5. Rejoice in anticipation of the Victory

• 2 Chronicles 20:21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever. And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. (Emphasis added)

1. Look for reasons to be grateful.
   • I Thess. 5:18 In every thing give thanks:
2. Do every task as unto the Lord.
   • Col. 3:17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
3. Seek God’s strength every day.
   • Phil. 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
   • Nehemiah 8:10 …For the joy of the Lord is your strength.

Abraham is familiar figure to most of us. God called Abraham beyond his comfort zone. I don’t know that he had ever heard of someone else going to Canaan. The bible doesn’t tell us. Neither do we know if God spoke to his dad, Terah. But we do know Abraham after his dad’s death, heard a word from the Lord. God’s Word was enough for him to point his family’s destiny in a different direction.

Gen. 12:1 –  “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”

Hebrews 11:8  – By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.”

We see through the life of Abraham that his faith in the Word of the Lord was stronger than the uncertain circumstances. When he received the word from the Lord, he wasn’t afraid to load up and leave.

Following God will always be worth it! 

As a 9 year old child, I remember hearing Daddy and Momma talk about what God had been dealing with them concerning the direction of our lives in ministry. We were comfortable in our pastorate at Lake Chapel House of Prayer in Mt. Vernon, TX, but Mom and Dad had heard a word from the Lord to “GO!” I was excited about the adventure, yet uncertain as to what it would look like. To many, it looked like Daddy and Momma had lost their mind in going on the missionary evangelist field with 8 children and the 9th one on the way. Yet, I never remember a time that they regretted their decision to follow God.

In the good and challenging times, God’s will is always the best place to be. 

I encourage you, dear friend, don’t ever let the circumstances shadow your faith in what has God called you to do. Trust God completely!

Let’s look at what will defeat the epidemic of fear in our world today.

The knowledge of who God is – LOVE – and the living or dwelling in Him, brings about a perfection of our love toward God and others.

Furthermore, God’s love gives us boldness which means according to Strong’s Concordance, “all out spokenness, confidence.”

We see that the opposite of boldness is fear. If God’s love produces boldness, than what produces fear?

We see in Genesis 3:10 after Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, they were afraid. So we see that disobedience and sin produces fear. But we also see from the disciples on the storm-tossed sea in Matthew 8 that a human response to unpleasant circumstances is fear. Jesus said unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? This takes it a step further, because Jesus brought it out that they had little faith. Galatians 5:6 says, “faith which worketh by love.” So, faith is made active by dwelling in love.

Verse 18 of I John 4 is a very familiar verse to many. Where it says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear:” There is no room for fear in a life full of God’s love.

The last part of the verse we started out with is a challenging statement, “As He is, so are we in this world.” I think of the saying, “You are the only Jesus some will ever see or the Bible some will ever read.” We need that holy boldness and confidence to be a bright and shining light to all those around us. This truth is convicting to me!

Oh, that we would be so full of God’s love in our minds and hearts that fear would find NO place in our lives and that we would influence others to live the same way.

• We can trust a God that was not created with human hands, but has forever been and will forever be.

• To take it a step further, it’s who God is to me and you that makes this of such significance – He is our refuge, habitation, or dwelling place.

• Our Heavenly Father want us to know Him as the One who will always be there (in the truest form) for us.

• Furthermore, God has chosen to place His everlasting arms underneath us to show us His love and care for us.

I’ve been reading lately in the book of Numbers about the children of Israel’s journeyings through the wilderness. If you have read your Bible for any length of time, you most likely have read the amazing miracles God worked for them on a daily basis. In Numbers 33, it records a multitude of times they moved. Oh, can I sympathize with all those ladies packing up their belongings time after time! 🙂

As I was reading this chapter, I came down to verse 9 which says, “And they removed from Marah, and came unto Elim: and in Elim were twelve fountains of water, and threescore and ten palm trees; and they pitched there.” 

Wow! What abundance of provision – twelve fountains of water! They were living with abundance of provision here.

But then it was time to leave and it wasn’t too many verses later, verse 14 to be exact, before it is recorded, “And they removed from Alush, and encamped at Rephidim, where was no water for the people to drink.” Now we see that they are in a place of drought. No doubt they wondered, maybe even aloud, “Why here?”

But, we can ask what kept them journeying even when the circumstances around didn’t seem favourable?  Remember, they weren’t just following their feelings or the circumstantial evidence. They were being supernaturally lead by the LORD!

Exodus 13:21-22 says, “And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: 22 He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.”

In answer to the question we addressed earlier, I believe they were assured of God’s leading; therefore, they didn’t have to fear what they would face. God’s presence was with them. Their Jehovah Jirah (Provider) was leading them!

In application, we don’t have to live in fear when we experience unpleasant circumstances. Nor should we question God’s love for us during those times. Instead we should look up to our Father with childlike faith in HIs abundance, and trust His leading at ALL TIMES. As children of God, may we arise to faithfulness in our relationship to God no matter what we are going through: for we are assured of His presence.

Hebrews 13:5-6 says, “...for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”

I would love to hear any comments or further insight you would like to share. Please comment here on the website or email me at joanna@hopeforthehome.net.

How to Use Acceptance to Bless Others

{Thoughts from a message by Dr. S.M. Davis that challenged our family.}

Mark 10:13 And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. 15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. 16 And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.

1. Seek to give acceptance to everyone whom God brings across your path

Giving acceptance is a choice you make followed by an action you display.

We will live a life of fulfillment and joy when we spend our lives giving acceptance instead of seeking it. You may ask, how can I communicate acceptance?

Here are 3 ways we communicate acceptance:

1. Smile
2. Small talk
3. Friendly touch

2. Try to not communicate rejection to anyone

Rejection as well as acceptance is easily sensed by others. The attitudes of those around will reflect whether they are feeling rejection or acceptance. Our Christianity isn’t Christ-like if the only ones we accept are the ones that are just like us.

3. Try to communicate acceptance even when you can’t give approval.

Hate the sin, love the sinner. Jesus strove to give acceptance to everyone. By His acceptance of the sinner, He portrayed His depth of love for their souls. Yes, His ultimate goal was for them to be saved. However, they weren’t open to His salvation until they saw His love and care for them. We must in the same way seek to be filled with God’s love for others.

How has giving acceptance to others benefitted your life? Please comment.

What promise has God given you that you have not claimed as your own?

The claiming of a promise does not come without a distinct battle with human reasoning.

We can look at Abraham and Sarah and the promise God gave them concerning their descendants. The human possibilities were non-existent. Yet, God chose to use a powerful question to dispel the doubt, “Is any thing too hard for the Lord?” (Gen. 18:14)

God is the creator of all things. How could we ever think that any promise is beyond His power to fulfill? Acts 2:39 says, “The promise is unto you, and to your children…” The empowerment of the Holy Ghost is for us personally and for our descendants. It’s that clear. We must lay hold of that promise by faith in God’s eternal Word, his unchanging nature, and the power of the Holy Ghost.

A revival of faith will come by refreshing your memory with the truth of who He is. Our God is faithful! Hebrews 13:5 says, Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever. Another scripture in Malachi 3:6 says, “For I am the Lord, I change not:…” God will always be true to His promises. 2 Corinthians 1:20 says, “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. “

So, when we see a promise such as the one mentioned earlier in Acts 2:39, claim it as if it has your own name, family, or descendant’s name attached to it. God has been and will always be faithful to His promises.

Now, we will look into the how-to of claiming God’s promises. The most foundational and essential element of claiming God’s promises is faith. “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” (Heb. 11:6)

In cultivating our faith, we must dig deep into the Word of God and thereby, into the nature of who God is. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17)

Another element of building faith is to look for evidence of God’s promises being fulfilled in other’s lives. This is why the stories in the Bible are so essential to read and meditate upon. Acts 2:17 records the prophecy of Joel in chapter 2:28 “ your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.” We see a vivid example of God performing this promise in the home of Phillip. Acts 21:9 says of Phillip, “the same man had 4 daughters, virgins, which did prophesy.”

I encourage you to seek after God’s promises for you personally, for your family and your descendants. Claim the promises of God by faith, and watch God fulfill His promises to you!

A Promise is in Your Inbox, will you open it?