Jesus’ Blood Still Cleanses Guilt
My article on “The Destructive Power of Shame” speaks of something important for each of us to be on guard against. The promise of God is received by the righteousness that faith produces. If you are under the control of condemnation, your righteousness or standing is not steady. If you can’t stand, you can’t receive.
I want to encourage you to go back to the basics. Faith still works. The blood still cleanses guilt. The Word still changes our mind. The promise is still in place. Even if you think you know about the power of your tongue, examine the words that you speak and the ones that you listen to.
Don’t return to feelings as the confirmation of your right standing with God. Don’t look for outward signs for God’s approval. When did believers start saying, “If it doesn’t work out easily, it must not be God’s will.” Things didn’t look easy for Abraham. Things didn’t fall into place for Moses. There are times that we will follow God and nothing looks like its working. Those times require a firm footing. To overcome adversity, you have to know that God hears you and His answer is already on the way.
Shame destroys that kind of confidence. I want you to be on the hunt! If you encounter shame of any kind, take that thought captive. Take it before God in prayer and cross-examine it with the Word of God. The Word always wins. Declare, “ I have repented for that mistake” or “I am not guilty of that. It was out of my control.” Then, wash your mind and spirit with the blood of Jesus. Here are some scriptures to help you.
Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.
Psalm 25:2a O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed.
Isaiah 54:4a Fear not; for you shall not be ashamed; neither be confounded; for you shall not be put to shame.
Strength to Conceive Your Miracle
I have made a quality decision for my future. I choose to refuse to doubt! On this road toward my destiny, the pitfall that has caused the greatest delay in my progress is doubt.
As a pastor and Bible teacher, I should have seen it coming. I should have had my faith shield firmly clutched in my grasp. Instead, I found my attention being diverted by the dilemma. It wasn’t a sudden circumstance that captured my focus. It was like a slow, gradual fade until the light of faith was gone and the shadow of despair was surrounding me.
Then, life seemed difficult. Life without faith is limited to sense knowledge, will power and toiling. I tried to make good decisions. I tried to be responsible. I discovered that being reasonable was pulling me farther away from my purpose.
God spoke to my heart in the midst of my toiling and struggle. He pointed out that in the New Testament the emphasis for the believer was not placed on struggle or toiling. The emphasis is on believing. I began to look at Jesus, my example. He never dealt with obstacles or situations with natural forces. He used His faith!
I returned to the verses that I started my journey with some twenty years ago. I pulled out Mark 11:23 and realized that doubt is a verb! Jesus said to have faith. Then, He said “Don’t doubt!”
I looked up the word “doubt” and discovered it means, to withdraw from, to oppose, to stagger, to separate. Just like Peter, who took his focus from the Word to the waves, I took my eyes from the promise to the problem! I withdrew from believing. I was separated from confidence. I staggered like the unstable believer described in the book of James.
When you stagger, you lose your footing. You lose your balance! You lose the ground that you have gained.
No more! Doubt is an action that I can avoid. You can avoid doubt, too. Make the choice today! No more doubt!
Strength to Conceive Your Miracle
The Bible says in Hebrews 11 that Sarah received “strength to conceive.” There was a time when Sarah didn’t have the strength or ability to conceive. As a matter of fact, she spent most of her life in this condition of inability. But, Sarah received what she didn’t have the capacity to do in herself when she considered God to be “faithful”.
What is it that you don’t have the strength to conceive? Maybe you don’t have the financial strength to pay all of your bills. Perhaps, you don’t have the physical strength to conceive your healing. You can receive what you don’t currently have when you meditate upon God and His faithfulness.
Focusing on God’s ability and His willingness to work in your life will cause you to perceive the situation differently. Just like David, who had a different outlook as Goliath made his threats, you can see every thing with the Lord God Almighty as the greatest factor of the equation. Consider Jesus, His blood that speaks for you, his Name that belongs to you and His Word that works in your favor!
Protecting Your Progress
Progress is defined as: advancement, development forward motion toward a set goal. I have never met anyone who worked hard all week long desiring to be in a worse condition financially at the end of the week. We put forth effort in an attempt to make progress, to advance or to reach our goal.
Understand that God is interested in your progress. His plan for you includes advancement. He wants to develop your skills and abilities to continually increase your level in life.
In the book of Genesis, chapter twenty-six, the Bible tells us of a man called Isaac who was experiencing a time of famine. God instructed Isaac to stay in the place of famine. In the place of lack and despair, God blessed Isaac until verse thirteen says, “And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great.”
Recognize that this indicates a process of growth. He sowed and as a result increased until he grew into the place God had in mind.
In Matthew 13:32, Jesus teaches us that the kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed. He explains that when this seed is sown or planted, although it was the least, it will grow to become the greatest. There is unlimited potential in our lives, because the potential of God’s Word is without limits. This is the process of progress.
God has provided the seed of His Word to be our vehicle of progress. Just like Isaac, we can sow and increase. We can grow into the position that God has in mind. But, we will only succeed to the extent of the Word that is operating in our lives.
First, obey the direction or instruction of God for your life. Obedience to the Word will always produce the blessing. God instructed Isaac not to go down to Egypt but to hold his ground. We have to stand our ground and be in position for the blessing to work.
Secondly, sow the Word into the ground of your heart. The Word will cause you to change. It will produce the life of God in every area of your existence. Every promise is a seed of progress.
Isaac waxed great, went forward and grew until he became what God had promised. If you keep growing, you will become everything that God promised. Hold you ground! Plant your progress and come into being everything that God promised! You can learn how to protect your progress with my 4-part CD series entitled “Protecting Your Progress.” Visit my webstore to find out more.
Pressure? No Problem!
Pressure on your job; pressure in your finances; pressure in your relationships. Pressure is not prejudice. It attacks regardless of age, nationality, or religious belief. Every person on this earth has to deal with some form of pressure.
Pressure has come to steal your peace. It wants to paralyze your faith and hinder your progress. But, if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, I want you to listen closely. You are not positioned under the circumstance. When you received Jesus as Lord, you received His victory. You are designed by God to float in the flood and soar above the storm. God has equipped you to say, Pressure? No Problem!
Just like Peter who stepped out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus, maybe you have been distracted by the pressure of what you see. Peter looked at the wind and the waves and it twisted his perception. Matthew 14:30 in the Amplified Bibles says, “When he perceived and felt the strong wind.” The wind had nothing to do with Peter walking on the water. Don’t allow the pressure of your situation to rob you of a miracle moment! Don’t allow the pressure of what you see to steal what God has spoken to you! Rise above the pressure and declare, “Pressure? No problem!”
The book is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble or www.michellesteeleministries.com
Happiness can’t supply my strength.
How many believers are seeking happiness? In my own life, I can recognize the futile endeavors and attempts to find happiness that only ended in frustration.
Maybe you have thought, “If I had a nicer car, I would be happy.” Or, “If I had a different job, I would be happy.”
Happiness is not what we are really looking for. Joy is the thing that will fill that space in our life. The joy that God supplies is a spiritual force. It becomes the strength of the believer to provide stamina, endurance and victory.
Things can’t bring you joy. Situations can’t produce joy. But the great thing is that situations can’t steal your joy either. Things or the lack of things can’t affect your joy.
Joy is a fruit of the spirit. It is produced in your heart by the Word of God and the presence of His abiding Spirit.
Go after joy and maintain the strength in your heart!
Never walk by appearances!
Learning to distinguish between the voice of reason and the voice of faith is such an important part of my walk with Jesus Christ. I have been trained all of my life to respond to what I see, feel, or touch. My natural senses are trained to respond to my world.
But, as a believer, I have more than just the normal sensory mechanisms. I have a spiritual perception that is receiving signals and instructions from my Heavenly Father.
The problem arises when His instructions doesn’t line up with what the information I am receiving in my circumstance. I am learning to walk by what He says and not what my situation says.
The Bible warns me to walk by faith; not by sight. One version says, “never by appearance”. God is not always reasonable. His instruction to walk around the city of Jericho was unreasonable. Naaman thought God’s instruction was unreasonable and almost missed his miracle. I don’t want to miss God’s purpose and plan because I am more in touch with the natural voices of my life then His supernatural voice.
