Saving Souls

Even when we’re our own worst enemy, God is still our best friend.   And He Who has begun a good work in you will complete it. (Philippians 1:6 NKJV)

One day when Jordan was just a baby, I went out the back door of our house to my car that was in the driveway.  As I got in the car, I remember thinking, “Now something’s missing.  What is it?”  And suddenly, I realized, “It’s the baby!  Go get the baby!”

I had forgotten to put Jordan in the car because I was a new mother and I wasn’t used to having a child.  Now I was only a few steps away from the house where Jordan was.  It was a really dumb thing I did, and thank God nothing bad happened to my child.

But I can’t tell you how much and how long I persecuted myself over that.  I thought I had to be the worst mother who had ever lived!  Day and night the devil tormented me and I tormented myself about what a terrible person I was.

Don’t help the devil

And then I realized, hey, this needs to stop! I made a mistake, I repented to God, and I asked Him to help me think clearly and with the mind of Christ.  But it led me to realize how quickly we can begin to be a “help” to satan in beating ourselves up emotionally.  If we’re not careful, satan can use us to abuse ourselves!

I think that all of us, as women, have done that to ourselves at one time or another because we are more emotionally made.  But I want you to know today that the spirit of persecuting yourself and beating yourself up is not from God.   The God of the Bible is not a God of persecution, but a God of love and forgiveness…a God who wants to give you a new start in your life.

You’re Not a Failure

We all make mistakes every day. I was reading a book recently about Thomas Edison, and I learned that along his way to inventing the light bulb he made 6,000 mistakes!  But when someone would remind him that he’d been a failure 6,000 times, he never agreed with that statement.  He always said, “No.  I just learned 6,000 ways not to make a light bulb!”

Failing doesn’t make you a failure! When you go to bed at night, you can get on your face before God and say, “Lord, I’m sorry for the mistakes I’ve made today.  Please give me a new start tomorrow and help me do it right.”  And according to the Word of God, He not only forgives your sins, or mistakes, He also forgets them (Micah 7:19).

No condemnation in Christ

Once you’ve given your mistakes to God, it’s important to remember that He has forgiven you and given you a new start.    When the devil tries to make you feel guilty for your past, hold fast to God’s promise in Romans 8:1, which says there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.

I believe that when we keep a positive, Word-centered, determined attitude and allow God to work in us, He can complete the good work He has begun in all of our lives.

And if God is for us, who can ever be against us? (Romans 8:31 NLT).

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Don’t fall into the over-spending trap this holiday season.  With God’s help, wise decision-making, and a spending strategy for the future, you can get out from under the oppression of debt…and stay out!

 With the holidays fast approaching, I want to talk to you about something very important—debt.  Statistics show that most Americans overspend their holiday budgets by 15% to 30%.  And that often means that they go into debt.

I hate debt, don’t you?  The Bible says that when we are in debt, we are a servant to the lender (Proverbs 22:7).  I believe debt is the scourge of this nation.  And since March of this year, this ministry has been on an all-out assault against debt.  According to Bible, I believe God wants you to be free from the oppression of debt! 

 Start Where You Are

Second Kings 7:3-8 KJV tells about four lepers in the city of Samaria who rose up and, with God’s help, got free from the oppression that was facing them.  

The Samaritans were starving because an enemy had surrounded their city.  These lepers were desperate as they sat outside the city gate, just like those of us who may be in a dire situation today…facing debt, sickness, disease, fear, family problems, or any form of lack. 

But those men looked at each other in their seemingly hopeless condition and said, “Why sit we here until we die?” (v. 3). I believe we could ask ourselves the same question: Why do we sit in the middle of our debt and lack any longer without doing something? Those lepers took action.  They stood up and, in the condition they were in, they began a march of faith to the enemy camp.

 When You Step Out, God Can Step In

It looked crazy for these sick men—who had no armor, no swords, no shields—to get up and march toward the enemy.  They had nothing…except their faith.  But when we make the decision to obey God, faith is enough to start with!

As a seed of faith, the lepers set out on a march against their enemy.  And when they stepped out, God stepped in and did something supernatural for them! 

As the lepers got close to the enemy camp, God began to multiply the sound of their footsteps.  Their enemy heard what sounded like a massive army and fled for their lives, leaving their food and belongings behind!  The lepers sent word of their victory back to the people of Samaria, who came to the camp and carried away the spoils.  It was a miracle!

When those four desperate men marched in faith toward the enemy, God met them supernaturally at their point of need and caused their enemy to flee!

 Sow Your Way to Freedom!

Do you need God to do something supernatural in your life today?  I believe God can bring it to pass when you sow a seed for your own deliverance like the lepers did! 

When you and I take a step of faith and plant our seed unto God, I believe satan trembles…because he knows the power of a seed multiplied!

I challenge you to do what I’ve been doing these last few months.  Determine in your heart to get out of debt and stay out, then begin to sow seeds of faith like you’ve never sown before.  Then make a declaration of your faith that you are going to sow your way out of debt and never be bound by it again!

None of us were there 2,000 years ago when Jesus was crucified on the Cross.  We didn’t see what He endured that day when He was beaten and reviled and hung on a cross to die.

The Bible calls Jesus the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8).  This was God’s plan:  before we were ever born…before the world was even created…Jesus went to the Cross for you and for me.

 Jesus Paid the Price

 When I went to see Mel Gibson’s movie The Passion of the Christ, I wept through nearly all of the film.  As I looked around the theater that night, I saw that most of the audience was weeping too. 

I think we were completely overwhelmed by the love of God that was so accurately and powerfully portrayed in the movie.  We couldn’t help but weep when we saw that God loved us so much that He gave His only Son to pay the price for our sin. 

Think of the love Jesus had for us in taking the terrible punishment that was inflicted upon Him.  He paid the price that we deserved to pay so we could be free from sin. 

Thank God, Jesus never has to go through that terrible torture again!  As He hung there between heaven and earth, He declared, It is finished (John 19:30).  The price was paid once and for all!  And He believed that you and I were worth the price He paid.

 Healing Is Yours!

 In those days, a sentence of 40 lashes was virtually a death sentence.  So the authorities gave Jesus 39 lashes, just one lash short of killing him, and the beating left Him virtually unrecognizable. 

But the Bible says that every one of those stripes was for our healing: he [Jesus] was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5 NIV).  And you can receive that healing today.

The greatest way to show your gratitude for what Jesus did on the Cross is to receive His gifts—including healing and salvation—in every area of your life.  I encourage you to give total control of your life to Him today.  Lay everything down before Him at the Cross and receive everything He’s done for you. 

If you’ve never received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you can do it now by praying this simple prayer with me:

Lord, I repent of every sin, and I lay my sins at the Cross where You bore it all for me.  I denounce the devil and all his works.  By my faith I receive Him as my Savior, my Healer, and my Deliverer.  I declare that I am born again!  Amen.

The blessing of the LORD makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.

–Proverbs 10:22 NLT

     Down the road from my house there is a big yellow Humvee—or “Hummer”—sitting on a pedestal outside a large bingo hall.  Close by there is a huge billboard declaring that you can win the Hummer, and how much money has been won at the bingo hall. 

Basically the sign is saying that if you come in and play their games of chance, the reward system they have set up will work for you.  Of course, it doesn’t say how much money has been lost, or what effect it has had on people’s finances and their lives.

 You Can Succeed Every Time

 All across America, people go into gambling establishments—or bet on horses, or buy lottery tickets—and when they come out, they often don’t have money for milk or diapers or house payments.  It is a reverse reward system that has an enormous amount of failure, risk, guilt, and devastation that never gets displayed.

But God has a reward system, based on His eternal Word, in which you can succeed every time!  

God’s system is planting your seed for a harvest.  And Galatians 6:9 NKJV says, Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.  Notice it says we shall reap—that means when you believe and act on God’s Word, you can win every time!            

But with God’s system we don’t always win at the exact moment we want to win.  And  if we don’t get a miracle in 24 hours, on our own timetable, we may start doubt God and speak negative words.  Before you know it, we’ve poured gasoline on our seed.

The devil hates it when you plant your seed, because he knows a harvest is on the way.  He bombards your mind with doubt.  He tells you that God’s reward system is a lie.  Even though God tells us Give and it shall be given unto you (Luke 6:38), the devil will tell you that you have a better chance hitting the lottery or some other system that involves the luck of the draw.

 Get Bolder!

 God’s system works.  We just have to keep our eyes on our Source, His supply, and His perfect timing.

That’s what Peter did in Acts 4, when he was being threatened not to preach in the name of Jesus.  Peter didn’t doubt God.  He didn’t rehearse the problem by thinking on it or talking about it.  He just said, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servant to speak your word with great boldness. (v. 29 NIV). 

Instead of focusing on the problem, Peter focused on the solution and prayed for boldness! 

When you face trouble and discouragement, don’t give up—just get bolder!  Don’t let the devil talk you out of your seed-planting…or he can rob you of your harvest.  Be bold in sowing for your miracle, and in believing God for the harvest.  According to His own Word, His reward system is sure.  And in due season, you shall reap if you don’t lose heart!