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.

We need to come to a place that we can learn to trust the Lord with those that we love.  Whatever your relationship struggles, it is possible to leave them in God’s hands. The Lord does not ask us to fix our friends or our family that is up to Him – our job is to pray, love them and allow Him to shine through us.  Many of us are wearing ourselves down with fear and worry about others; cast your burden on Him and He will take care of the rest. Remember, an “idol” can be a person; we must take care not to grieve the Lord by putting any one before Him (Exodus 20:3-4).

Plan A

There is no failure with God – He doesn’t have plan B, only plan A and He will move heaven and earth to make sure you stay on course. Our responsibility is to keep focused on the Word and agree with Him through prayer. Your enemy is the spirit of self-pity; keep ahead of it through prayer and the Word. “Commit thy works unto the Lord and thy THOUGHTS shall be established,” Proverbs 16:3. The only person who can label you a failure is you – God looks at you through the blood of Christ – perfect-righteous-blameless- He sees His perfect daughter through the work of the Cross.

WOI

You are a woman of influence. Your life matters, you influence your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers and strangers daily. Your life is precious to God and He entrusts you to reach out to others with the gifts He has given to you. We are ambassadors for Christ - do not let your fears, doubts or the opinions of others stop you from doing what the Lord has asked of you. The secret to being a woman of influence (WOI) is this: the deeper your intimacy is with the Lord, the greater your influence will be with others for Him, because we are the aroma or fragrance of Christ, " But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him" (2 Cor 2:14). Go girl!

The Atmosphere of Heaven

Begin to think and agree with the Word, it is our benchmark, our barometer on how to live….stop comparing yourself to the world’s standards, remember we are to be in the world, not a part of it – He enables us to do that with the power of His Word and the Holy Spirit.  He is the Word (John 1), He dwells within us, that is how are able to live out Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

 Much has been said recently about, Romans 4:17b, “the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.” You are not creating those things, they have been set aside for since the foundation of the world, and they have your name written on them in heaven. It is like having a storehouse and all you need to do is take your claim check to the Father and He will give you what HE HAS DECIDED IS ALREADY YOURS. This is not naming and claiming, this is asking and receiving. This is the atmosphere of heaven!

Power Living

Never underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit in your life. The same power that resurrected Jesus lives in YOU! The H.S. is not an "it", He is a Person of the Godhead, Jesus said, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you," Acts 1:8. His power is your power, agree with the the Holy Spirit in every area of your life today. How? By agreeing with His Word, which is coming into agreement with Heaven. The Word of God is settled, there is no dispute - when you agree with the Word, all of the power of Heaven is behind you and on your side! Nothing to worry about, nothing to fear; start living in the power of the Holy Spirit today.