You Have the Power to Choose Your Destiny

Which road will you choose to follow in your life? Sometimes we feel overwhelmed with our circumstances or the cares of this world, but we don't need to be. We have been given a tremendous gift from God, our Creator. It is our minds. We are made in the image of God. As He is creative, we can be creative.

In a letter of encouragement from Paul to Timothy, who was facing trials and tribulations, (2 Timothy 1:7) Paul reminds Timothy that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and self-control. I get excited when I read those words. God has given each of us a spirit of power, love, and self-control! He has given us the Holy Spirit to live within us to empower us, to guide us, to counsel us. Think of that! The Holy Spirit of God living inside of each of us to help us every step of the way through our lives!

But how can we know, how can we receive what the Holy Spirit wants to share with us? We have to open our hearts and minds to listen. We can hear through studying Scriptures, listening to the Godly people that God puts in our lives, praying (just talking with God), making a decision to seek God first in your life and then pursuing the fulfillment of that decision, and taking time to listen. Psalm 46:10 encourages us to "be still and know that I am God".

In Philippians 2:5, Paul encourages us to have the same mindset as Christ. In my opinion, we need to learn to look at our circumstances and life through the eyes of the Lord. We can do this by reading Scripture and finding out the characteristics of the Lord, and then doing our best, with the help of the Holy Spirit to line our thoughts up with His.

Through the ages, many similar quotes to this one emerged. "Your beliefs become your thoughts, Your thoughts become your words, Your words become your actions, Your actions become your habits, Your habits become your values, Your values become your destiny." ~ Mahatma Gandhi

What beliefs and thoughts do we want to embrace so that we can have the destiny we long for?

If we focus our thoughts on the Lord, little by little, we will be transformed into the person God created us to be. If we choose to focus on the things of this world, we will not.

In a previous post, I quoted a poem by Edgar A Guest. "You are the person who has to decide. Whether you'll do it or toss it aside; You are the person who makes up your mind. Whether you'll lead or will linger behind. Whether you'll try for the goal that's afar. Or just be contented to stay where you are."

I know that God's desire is to not leave you where you are. He wants to move you to a higher place: "For I know the plans I have for you, for good and not for evil, to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11.

God wants to have a relationship with you for eternity and He made a way for this to be possible through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who said, "I am the way the truth and the life: no one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6.

And my final scripture for this post is one that the Lord gave me at the beginning of my journey with Him. Amazingly, through the years, if people give me a spiritual-type gift, it relates to this scripture, so I guess it is the one I need to always hold onto. It is Proverbs 3:6-7 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him and He will direct your paths." I wonder if I received this particular scripture because I am always trying to figure things out and God would rather that I trust in following His lead.

There are many scriptures to hold on to. The Bible is full of them as a means of instruction for each of us. In addition, I am sure that as each of you seek the Lord, He will give you the scripture that will help you the most in your life. As we journey through life, we have choices to make. You are the person who has to decide. Which roads will you choose?

Breath of Heaven - Reflections

Breath of Heaven is a beautiful song which is played at Christmas. One day as I was listening to it, I began to meditate and think about the words. Below, in parenthesis and italics are my reflections. I hope they encourage you to think about the words of the song and your role; how you can carry Jesus with you everywhere you go and in all you do, so that you can reflect God's love to all those you meet.

I have traveled many moonless nights

Cold and weary with a babe inside

(How often have we felt as if we were moving through life in the darkness of despair/hopelessness/fear? Feeling so tired of fighting to survive? And yet in our weakness, God has never left us nor forsaken us. [Deuteronomy 31:6,8 "Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you... And the Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear, or be dismayed."]

And I wonder what I've done

Holy father you have come

And chosen me now to carry your son

(I have wondered myself: What have I done to merit the grace of God in my life. I could never earn this phenomenal grace. But it's not about me; it's about how much God loves me [and you - each one of us] [John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life] And all God asks of us is found in [Matthew 22:37,38 Jesus declared, love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself."] Just as God had chosen Mary to carry and give birth to Jesus, our Savior, God has chosen each one of us to carry His Son, Jesus, with us everywhere we go, so that as we reflect the love of God (Jesus), people will be drawn closer to God.)

I am waiting in a silent prayer

I am frightened by the load I bear

(How often are we in prayer, uncertain of the future, perhaps a little fearful to go forward to do what God has encouraged us to do?)

In a world as cold as stone

Must I walk this path alone?

Be with me now

Be with me now

Breath of heaven (Holy Spirit)

Hold me together

Be forever near me

Breath of heaven

Breath of heaven

Lighten my darkness

Pour over me your holiness

For you are holy

Breath of heaven

(We can always call on the name of Jesus and ask the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us in all the truth and to empower us to do what God has asked of us. [John 15:7 "If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you."])

Do you wonder as you watch my face

If a wiser one should have had my place

But I offer all I am

For the mercy of your plan

Help me be strong

Help me be

Help me

(How often do we feel inadequate? But God is not looking for the accomplished person, He is looking for the person who will surrender him/herself to the Lord, as Mary did [Luke 1:38 "I am the Lord's servant, Mary answered. May Your word to me be fulfillied..."; God is looking for the person who is available; who will seek Him, listen, and obey. [1 Samuel 15:22 "And Samuel said, "Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice..."] If we give of ourselves, no matter how insignificant we may feel that is, it is not insignificant to the Lord. He will use it to fulfill His purposes. In the feeding of the five thousand, the little boy gave what he had - a few loaves and fish, and God increased it to feed the multitudes. God will do the same with us when we offer all we have, which is ourselves. And He will help us by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lord help me to be more willing to be willing to do your will, for in spite of any circumstances I may experience, I know you have a great plan for my life. [Jeremiah 29:11-13 "For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.")

Breath of heaven

Hold me together

Be forever near me

Breath of heaven

Breath of heaven

Lighten my darkness

Pour over me your holiness

For you are holy

Breath of heaven

Hold me together

Be forever near me

Breath of heaven

Breath of heaven

Lighten my darkness

Pour over me your holiness

For you are holy

Breath of heaven

Breath of heaven

Breath of heaven

Writer/s: Amy Lee Grant, Chris Eaton

Publisher: BMG Rights Management, Capitol CMG Publishing, Reservoir Media Management, Inc., Royalty Network

Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Obedience Can Change the World

I was thinking about obedience to the Lord and what that looks like in my life. Then I started thinking about how many people, who were inspired by the Lord to help me in some capacity, have impacted me.

As I have said in previous posts, I always believed in God, but was not aware of the personal relationship that I could have with Him, until I was 40 years old. I was in a dark time of my life and felt helpless and alone. It was then that my heart was prepared to receive God's love toward me. It started in small increments, a sentence at a time, because that is all I could grasp. Each show of love and hope came from a person whom God had inspired to help me. By their willingness (obedience) to say a kind word, do a kind deed, or give me a scripture reference for encouragement, little by little, I was drawn closer to the Lord. As a result of their efforts and the work of the Holy Spirit in me, I have lived my life for the Lord for the last 32 years.

Here are a few examples of their obedience: One lady, whom I met when I first moved to Sarasota, was always kind to me and always inquired about my children. Nine years after we met, I discovered that she was a pastor's wife and a mighty prayer warrior. I asked her if she had been praying for me. She said, "From the first day I met you." She never told me. She just acted kind towards me. The power of prayer is amazing. "The fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." James 5:16

Another was a neighbor I had met when I first moved to Sarasota. After a year, she moved away. Two years later, I started a retail business and was in desperate need of someone to work for me. I thought of her and as I was looking for her number to call her, she called me to ask if I needed any help. Amazing! She worked for me for two months and her mission was to tell me that "there is no power greater than God's and if my heart is right, I would be alright. God would take care of me."

An extreme example is my friend Dorothy, whom I wrote about in an earlier post. She was my mentor and taught me about the necessity to forgive, having absolute faith in God, and God's love. She came to speak with me every day for three years. Wow! Was I blessed! For whatever reason, God put it on Dorothy's heart to want to help me, she was obedient to do so, and I embraced the help. Even after three years, when she was dying, she said that she wished she could stay to help me more.

There are many more examples. Too many to mention. For example, early in my learning about the Lord, I was in group counseling. After a time, I wanted to have a party to thank everyone who made me feel as if I could call them in the middle of the night if I needed to. I didn't call, but they let me know that I could. I made the party list. When I was finished, I wept. The list had 75 names on it. I wept at the thought that God had touched the hearts of all those people and that they were all willing to answer the call, if needed.

So many people have helped me and during my life, I believe that I, in turn, have been able to impact others to show them the love of God.

As I pondered all the people that helped me and all the people that I have influenced, I realized that through the obedience to follow the leading of the Lord to show His love to others, we can change the world - one person at a time. Each of us has a sphere of influence: the people that God puts in our lives, whether for a moment or a lifetime. Like throwing a pebble in a lake and watching the ripples in the water as the pebble hits, each of us, being obedient to love like God loves us, can have a ripple effect on all those with whom we interact.

Think about all the people who have had a positive influence on your life and all those you have helped. I believe that you will be amazed at how many people are on your lists.

There are several scriptures that talk about obedience to the Lord. One internet search said that there were 100 Scriptures relating to obedience. Here are a few examples. John 13:35: Jesus is speaking and He says, "By this everyone will know that you are My disciples. If you love one another." In 1 Samuel 15:22, Samuel the prophet is speaking and asks, "Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord?" And then he says, "To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams." In John 14:15, Jesus says, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." 1 John 5:3 says, "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome." In John 14:23, Jesus says, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him." John 14:21, "Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me. and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him."

Let's commit to be more willing to be willing to be obedient to the leading of the Lord as we meet with all the people the Lord brings into our lives. We may not always see the fruit of our efforts, but be assured that through our love for one another, God is planting a seed that will come into fruition in each person's life. God bless you in your journey.