Humility

1 Cor 4:20, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.”  Power comes when we die to everything in ourselves and the Holy Spirit fills us with His presence. It is not your power, it is His.  True ministry gains its power through the humility of Christ. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Your attitude should be the same as Christ Jesus….who humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross,” Phil 2:3-8.

Grace

Our mistakes are opportunities for God to be glorified in us.  When we do something against someone, go to great lengths to make amends if you are able.  I guarantee you that if you apologize; they will see Jesus in you. Do not expect forgiveness from them, but know that the Lord extends His grace to you.  As the Church, it is our responsibility to be His Ambassador – that means you have all the rights of Heaven with you, but that also means you have a responsibility to represent the King on earth (“to whom much is given, much is required,” Luke 12:48). What an awesome opportunity to be a servant! 

Let go of the rope

People say to me that they are struggling with a situation. The reason we “struggle” is because we have lost our peace with God. The reason we have lost our peace is because we are trying to control our own circumstances or situation. Total surrender to Him is not helplessness – it is allowing God’s power to be released into your Spirit and your life. Let go of the rope, He is more than able to keep you from falling! (Jude 1:24).

The Promised Land

God has a Promised Land for each of us – we are to walk by faith and not by sight. The spies came back with a report of giants, Caleb saw ants….Nothing is impossible with God! The secret is in this verse, “But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it,” Numbers 14:24. Caleb followed a different spirit - the Holy Spirit, not the spirit of man, and followed God wholeheartedly. The promise is not only for you, but your children too! Our God does things wholeheartedly on our behalf when we are faithful to Him.

Active Faith

Faith without works is dead (James 2:20). This is more than doing church programs, it is acting on God’s Word.  Continue to read through James and you will discover Abraham was considered righteous  because he obeyed God in faith.  The Word is alive (Heb. 4:12) and is put into motion as Christ breathes His power into us (John 20:22) by the Holy Spirit.  Heart believing faith, based on the Word, is the transforming power of the Cross given to us for victory in every situation. 

We tend to look at what we don't have in life instead of what we do...we are agreeing with the enemy when we line up our thinking the world's way. We are called to "be in the world, but not of it", meaning we are to separate ourselves not just from "worldly" activities but our thoughts as well. The only way to transform your thoughts is by reading God's Word... you cannot apply the world's methods (positive thinking, astrology, hypnosis, etc.) to your life and expect to get God's results.
Romans 12:2, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will."

No matter what happens to us in this world, nothing can ever take away our relationship with Christ. No matter what people say about you, how they treat you, or circumstances that affect your life - nothing can take Him away from you (Romans 8:28-29). People come and go, jobs, careers, family members, but do not despair, He is with you. Hurts from others go deep, but Christ goes deeper still. Do not let the cares of this world turn you away from Him.