YOU CAN DO IT!

"All that the Lord has said will we do" (Exodus 24:7 NKJV).






Would you like to know how you can make the Word of God personal to you? Would you like to know how the Word of God can be more effective in your everyday life? The answer is simple: you must receive the Word of God as a real, relevant, relatable and practical Word. You cannot look at the Word of God as being merely theoretical.

Although the Bible contains excellent advice and illuminating insights, the purpose of the Bible is not simply to provide interesting insights and advice for us to muse over. The Word of God is an authoritative, indisputable statement of eternal truth. It is to be given real-world application.

Jesus said, "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house upon the rock" (Mt 7:24 NKJV). The man who utilized a rock-solid foundation in building his house withstood the fiercely tempestuous storm. In stark contrast, Jesus warns, "Everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them," is a fool, and the turbulent storms will destroy his foundation and, in turn, his house (v. 26-27).

Notice that the man was not chastised because he built an inadequate structure. The man was not at fault for failing to hear. He was not faulted for failing to understand or even believe the Word of the Lord. No, the man was faulted for failing to act on them. "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says...the man who looks intently into the perfect law...not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it he will be blessed in what he does" (Jas 1:22-25 NIV).

We can easily get caught up in self-deception if we think reading, knowing, and even believing God’s Word fulfills our obligation to it. God desires to bring to pass -- to fulfill -- His purpose in giving us His Word. That requires not just believing, but doing the Word. James didn’t say, "he will be blessed in what he believes," but "he will be blessed in what he does!" When Moses read God’s Word to the Israelites, they responded by saying, "All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient." That must likewise be our response.

Father, I pray that this message compels those reading it to act on Your Word. Let it motivate those who have received revelation and instruction from You to do that which You have instructed. I pray for a special impartation of grace necessary to do Your Word. I pray that the one reading this will say, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them--yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me” (I Cor. 15:10). In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

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Reality is a Reflection of Thoughts and Beliefs

The Word of God has a lot to say about thoughts and beliefs. We read, “As you have believed, so be it done unto you.” Matthew 8:13. The Word also says, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” Proverbs 23:7.

What can we learn from these passages? The clear message is that our reality is a reflection of our thoughts and beliefs. Things are “done unto you” or happen to you in direct proportion to what you believe and the intensity or extent of that belief. You become what you think in your heart. You do not become what you want others to believe about you. You become what you actually believe about yourself, in your innermost being. What you believe happens to you.

Reality is a reflection of thoughts and beliefs. Your thoughts and beliefs create your reality. Consider Numbers Chapter 13, where Moses sent one representative of each of the twelve tribes to spy out the land God had promised the Israelites. They were to spy out the land for 40 days then report back. When the spies returned, 10 of them returned saying they could not possibly take that land because it was full of giants. They viewed themselves as grasshoppers, unable to overtake the giants in the land. God called their report an evil report. Their thoughts and beliefs became their reality. They did not believe they could overtake the inhabitants of the land, and they did not.

Not only did their thoughts and beliefs become their reality, but their negative, limiting thoughts and beliefs were contagious. Their evil report extended to and affected any and everyone who chose to believe the word of the 10 spies. Not a single person over age 20 who believed the evil report entered into the Promised Land.

By contrast, only 2 of the twelve spies believed they were able to overtake the inhabitants of the land. And guess what? They did! In each case, the thoughts and beliefs of the individuals created their reality.

You give life to negative situations when you focus on the wrong thing. For far too long, believers have focused on thoughts and beliefs that have utterly sabotaged their progress. Faulty perceptions can get you into trouble. Faulty thoughts and beliefs can even be deadly. Consider all the people who died in the wilderness without ever entering into the Promised Land. This is nothing to take lightly or overlook.

Consequently, it behooves you to focus your attention and commit to changing negative thoughts and limiting beliefs. Focus on exchanging negative thoughts and beliefs for positive, Godly thoughts and empowering beliefs. Keep your mind off what you don’t want and on what you do want. Don’t spend your time thinking about and fixating on what you are trying to avoid. Focus on the promises of God and think about and meditate on those promises becoming your living experience. Begin today: don't waste another moment!

Once you start believing, anything is possible. God will turn the tables on your enemies. God will resurrect lost dreams. God will cause you to triumph with great victory, even when it seems all odds are against you.

Begin today to live the life God desires for you to live. Begin today to embrace and meditate on Godly thoughts and empowering beliefs. Change your thoughts, change your reality.


Janice Davis Steele
http://www.jdsministries.org/

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Don't You Want More Out of Life?

No matter where you are in your spiritual walk, there is so much more to learn, to discover, and to experience concerning our Lord. God has so much more of His glory to reveal to you. He has so many more blessings in store for you. He has so much more of His ways for you to experience. We must beware of spiritual complacency.

One passage I find amazing is a prayer Moses prayed toward the end of his life. Do you remember when Moses asked God if he could go over Jordan and enter into the Promised Land? The Lord told Moses that his eyes would see the Promised Land, but Moses would not be permitted to enter that land. Remember that? Well, look at how Moses started that prayer. He said, “O Lord GOD, You have begun to show your servant Your greatness and Your mighty hand, for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do anything like Your works and Your mighty deeds?” (Deut. 3:24). You have begun?

What? Moses was used by God to deliver the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. Moses was used by God to usher in the plagues and defeat the Egyptian gods. Moses was used by God to part the Red Sea, to cause water to flow from a rock, to defeat formidable foes like the Amorites, the Midianites, the Amalekites, etc. God placed Moses in the cleft of the rock and Moses was able to see a portion of God’s glory. Moses received the Ten Commandments from God (twice!) after days of fellowshipping with God. Yet, after all those experiences, Moses understood that he had only begun to see God’s greatness and His glory.

Precious friend, no matter how much you believe you know of God, no matter how much you have received and attained from Him, by Him, and through Him, you have only begun to see His glory. There is so much more in God! We spend a lot of time coming to God asking Him to bless us with things -- health, financial increase, safety, etc. Now don't misunderstand me. God wants you blessed, healthy and prosperous. It isn't that these requests are wrong; it is simply that they cannot be the paramount aspect of your relationship with God; they are just not enough. A true God-chaser, a true God-seeker will never be satisfied with receiving creature comforts and tangible items. Within the heart of a true God-seeker is an insatiable quest for more of God. Your heart's desire is to know Him; to dwell with Him; to experience depths and realms of His indescribable love, power and glory.

I encourage you to make it your heart’s cry to desire more of Jesus. Make knowing the Lord your life’s greatest goal. Desire to see and experience more of God’s wonders, His greatness, His mighty hand. Precious friend, the Lord wants you to know there is so much more. You have only begun to see God's greatness and His glory in your life. Do not believe for one nanosecond that what you have experienced to this point in your life is all that God has for you. Precious friend, there is so much more. You have only begun to experience what the Lord has for you. Continue in your quest. Pursue the Lord. Pant after His presence. You have only just begun.

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Avoidance is not a Game Plan!

Too many people give up on their dreams and fail to pursue their passions because they are living with the effects of negative prior experiences or internal fears. It may sound like this: “I’ve been divorced once. Been there. Done that. I’ve given up on marriage.” Or, “Every time I try to move forward with a business idea my spouse always puts me down.” Or, “I never finish anything I start, so why even try to start something new?” Or, “No one ever takes my ideas seriously, so why bother to share them?” Or, “The last time I taught/sang/wrote (you fill in the blank) I received so much criticism that it wasn’t even worth it. I won’t do that again.”

This kind of thinking is fraught with problems. First, you have to appreciate where these dreams, passions, and desires are coming from. Philippians 2:12-13 says we have to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling because it is God who works in us to will and to do of His good pleasure. God places His desires in us and He places in us the ability to be willing to fulfill those God-inspired dreams, passions, and desires. God is working in us so we can work out what He works in. What are you going to do with your God-given desires and aspirations? Second, how are you going to create and live out the future God has for you if you remain stuck in an old behavior pattern? Third, do you really want to spend the rest of your life carrying that label, whatever it is (failure, non-finisher, disorganized, unreliable, etc.)? Don’t you really want to move beyond that place? Fourth, how can anyone successfully move forward paralyzed with the past? Avoidance, refusal, reluctance -- are not the answer.

When you look at the heart of the matter, it seems that it is our avoidance that paralyzes us, steals our dreams, and cools our passions. It is not so much the external hindrance, or what we believe to be our Goliath that stifles us. It is really our avoidance of that Goliath that keeps us from moving forward, pursuing our dreams, goals, and passions.

You see, Goliaths don’t stop on their own. Goliaths will keep taunting and advancing until they are confronted. This is not to say that the issues look like mammoth Goliaths. In many cases the matters and issues stifling us are unassuming, subtle and barely recognizable. But they are thoughts and perceptions that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God, and they must be stopped.

When you confront the issues, you will discover that God has many tactics and methods for securing deliverance and enabling you to move forward. For example, the truth of the Word alone can bring deliverance. The truth will make you free (John 8:32). By delving into Scriptures that deal with the issue, the behavior and emotions, the truth of the Word will penetrate into your heart and ultimately change your behavior and emotions. It may be that you speak to your mountain and command it to move, in the name of Jesus. It may be that the Holy Spirit will reveal past hurts that you, through prayer, would turn over to the Lord and allow the Lord to heal.

You may experience breakthrough as you increase your dependence on the Holy Spirit and allow the Holy Spirit to live His life through you. It may be that the Goliaths are stopped instantly while you are in a service under a powerful corporate anointing. You may be in a prayer line where hands are laid on you and the Goliaths flee.

The Lord may give you an instruction or a message that totally annihilates the wrong thought or behavior. I can recall when I first started teaching. It seemed as if detractors crawled out from under so many rocks to challenge my ability as a teacher of the Word of God! Just when I seriously considered throwing in the towel, I received some valuable insights from the Holy Spirit. I learned SW to the fourth power (or SWxSWxSWxSW): some will, some won’t, so what, someone’s waiting. Some will receive the teaching, some won’t, so what if some won’t, there are still some waiting -- so continue.

These examples are by no means exhaustive. One thing is for sure, though: avoidance is not a game plan. The key is to confront the issues by running fully and completely to God, who is full of unconditional love, truth, grace, acceptance, compassion and majesty. Recognize your total dependence on God. He will deliver you. He will cause the Goliaths that are preventing you to fall! Confront the issues and they will crumble. Challenge the issues and they will change. But in any case, don't avoid them.

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There is Always a Way Back -- Part II

In the previous blog entry, we addressed the challenges people face in the middle of difficult times in life. We pointed out that there are times in life when you can find yourself filled with loss, injury, or pain. If you are not vigilant, these feelings can find places to lodge, even in the cells of your body, so that the stress and trauma you experienced has not only psychological consequences but also physiological consequences.

Yet there is good news! God is able to move you past painful experiences, prior failures, injuries, and areas where you just plain missed it. You may have listened to the wrong voice. You may have gone through bankruptcy, divorce, business loss, loss of home, depression, and missed opportunities.

God is able to get you back on track to run effectively the race set before you. You do not have to let any setback keep you back. You certainly do not have to suffer debilitating physical conditions as a result of stress and trauma in your life.

In the prior blog entry we provided the following five helpful suggestions from the Word of God to help you receive the delivering power of God that will heal and deliver your from traumatic and stressful feelings: (1) Acknowledge an issue exists. (2) Consider what is wrong with it. (3) Consciously choose to reject what you now know and acknowledge is negative, debilitating, stifling, and contrary to God’s Word and way. (4) Use your God-given weapons of warfare. (5) Apply the power of the blood of Jesus. You can read the entire prior blog entry to receive the full teaching.

Here we provide the remaining four suggestions.

6. Make a conscious decision to replace negative thoughts with positive ones. Ask the Lord to help you think positively. Speak to yourself. Ephesians 5:19 tells us to speak to ourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, and to make melody in our hearts to the Lord. Don’t let negative thoughts just wander. Don’t say, “I can’t help it!” You CAN help it! Talk to yourself out loud. Confront and control your thoughts.

7. Practice forgiveness. I’m not saying you let people off the hook who harmed you. No, I’m saying you consciously place those people in God’s hands. Choose to forgive those who abused you and hurt you. You don’t have to make excuses for the people. You don’t have to try to justify what they did. You don’t have to pretend they didn’t hurt you. Choose to forgive them and place their fate in God’s hands. They do not have power to control you or your future. Don’t give it to them. Choose to forgive.

8. Consciously think of the blessings in your life. Meditate on and give voice to the blessings in your life. This will enable you to experience even more of God’s love.

9. Earnestly seek the Lord for His direction. As you acknowledge Him in all your ways, He will direct your path (Prov. 3:6). He promised to “speak a word behind your ear saying this is the way walk in it, when you turn to the right hand and when you turn to the left” (Isaiah 30:21).

God is able to move you past painful experiences, past failures, injuries, and areas where you missed it. You may have listened to the wrong voice. You may have gone through bankruptcy, divorce, business loss, loss of home, depression, and missed opportunities. God is able to get you back on track to run effectively the race set before you. You do not have to let any setback keep you back. God is able to lift you up, dust you off, and move you forward into a glorious future. You don’t have to die before your time. You don’t have to live with disappointment and regret.

Rev. Janice Davis Steele

http://www.jdsministries.org/

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There is Always a Way Back! Part I

Do you realize hope is present even in the middle of darkness? Sometimes we face daunting challenges in life – events and situations that cause great distress and disruption. We experience an emotional wound or shock that creates substantial damage to our psychological development. In the middle of difficult times in life, you can find yourself filled with loss, injury, or pain. If you are not vigilant, these feelings can find places to lodge, even in the cells of your body, so that the stress and trauma you experienced has not only psychological consequences but also physiological consequences.

Left unchecked, stress and trauma can leave you stuck in the event, even though the incident has long since passed. You can be living with the effects of traumatic events to such an extent that the event colors how you perceive things moving forward. You begin to shape your world from the standpoint of the event, rather than by the Word of God. You will look at the world through eyes of fear, failure, anxiety, grief, etc.

Moreover, stress and trauma can result in very serious physical maladies. In the book Who Switched Off My Brain, the author, Dr. Caroline Leaf details how traumatic, stressful thoughts can lead to diseases in the physical body, such as: hypertension (high blood pressure), angina, coronary artery disease, strokes, aneurysm, immune system disorders, fatigue, depression, allergies, asthma, type 1 diabetes, fibromyalgia, to name a few.

Thank God for Jesus! Jesus came to deliver us spiritually, emotionally, and physically. “He sent His Word and healed them, and delivered them from their distresses.” Psalm 107:20. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to move in such a way that we are sovereignly delivered. God has made available to us an overcoming anointing! Jesus has delivered us from the power of darkness, according to Colossians 1:12-13.

You may be going through a lot, but there is a way to overcome! There is a way to experience divine deliverance! There is a way to actually reverse the power of the dark event and to move forward into the best that lies before you. With Jesus, the best is yet to come!

How do you move past the trauma and stress? It is one thing to read about the delivering power of God, but it is an entirely different matter to decide to embrace it, walk in it, and live it out in your life. Isn’t it time for you to stop harboring traumatic and stressful feelings? Aren’t you tired of being tired? Why not use today to make a conscious decision to appropriate the deliverance Jesus died for you to enjoy? In this blog, I will provide 5 of 10 suggestions. I'll provide the other 5 in the next blog. Stay tuned.

1. Acknowledge an issue exists. Rather than try to pretend the wounds don’t exist, acknowledge them as a first step. The Bible instructs us to cast every care on Jesus. If you do not acknowledge the care exists, how can you give it to Jesus?

2. Consider what is wrong with it. It is important to agree with God. If you are content with harboring unforgiveness, you will not be delivered from the emotional and physical effects of unforgiveness. If you think it is acceptable, or that you deserve to feel sorry for yourself, then you will have erected self-constructed barriers to your own deliverance. Use the Word of God to show you what is wrong with that thought, that emotion, that temptation, that anxiety.

3. Consciously choose to reject what you now know and acknowledge is negative, debilitating, stifling, and contrary to God’s Word and way. For example, you discover that it is not God’s way for you to dwell in a place of constant worry. You discover that staying up at night rehearsing the awful event is not God’s way. God calls it eating the bread of sorrows (Psalm 127:2). Consciously choose to refuse to accept it. Reject it. Speak the Word of God over it. Say, “I am not going to stay up late or get up early eating the bread of sorrows. I reject it, in the name of Jesus.” By doing this, you will break the feedback loop that keeps stroking your emotions and debilitating your body.

4. Use your God-given weapons of warfare. They are mighty! They have “divine power to demolish strongholds” (2 Cor. 10:4). Say, “In the name of Jesus Christ and by the power of His blood, I rebuke and pull down all aspects of (name the issue, e.g., fear, abuse, rage, hatred, anxiety, grief, etc.). I affirm that You have given me weapons -- divine power sufficient to overcome and eradicate every power of darkness.”

5. Apply the power of the blood of Jesus. Hebrews 9:14 tells us that the blood of Jesus is effective to cleanse and purge your mind of dead works so that you can serve the living God. Say, “I cover all levels of my mind – conscious, subconscious, and unconscious – with the blood of Jesus. My mind is purged of negative thoughts and emotions, by the power of the blood of Jesus. Thank you for the blood of Jesus!”

In the next blog, I will list the remaining five suggestions.


God is able to move you past painful experiences, past failures, injuries, and areas where you missed it. You may have listened to the wrong voice. You may have gone through bankruptcy, divorce, business loss, loss of home, depression, and missed opportunities. God is able to get you back on track to run effectively the race set before you. You do not have to die before your time. You do not have to let any setback keep you back. God is able to lift you up, dust you off, and move you forward into a glorious future. It's time to let Him do just that, isn't it?


Janice Davis Steele


http://www.jdsministries.org/

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How to Have an Ear to Hear

Each day you hear so many voices speaking to you – through the media, through people, through things you read, through experiences, through circumstances, etc. It is vital that you learn how to ferret out the noise to hear God speaking to you.

God has promised in Isaiah 30:21, “And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way, walk in it, when you turn to the right hand, and when you turn to the left.” Even Jesus said, “He that has an ear to hear, let him hear….” Rev. 2:7, 17. Jesus also promised to send the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth. John 16:13. So just how can you discern what is really God speaking and what is not?

First and foremost, any true message from the Lord must be biblically based. There must be Bible back-up! You really need two or three corresponding scriptures that agree with what you believe you have received. “In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.” 2 Cor. 13:1; Deut. 17:6; 19:6. You will develop the ability to discern the more you read, study, gain understanding, and more importantly, apply and live by the Word of God. Your level of discernment will become almost automatic.

Second, the message must speak to you where you live. It must be personal to you. Isaiah 30:21 says your ears will hear a word behind you – it must be personal to you. That is especially so if someone comes to you saying they have a message from God for you. That message must have biblical support and it must be relevant to your life in a meaningful way.

Third, it must have the effect of improving a situation. The effect of the message should be that it changes a situation for the better. Somebody’s life should be improved, changed, saved, etc., by implementing or acting upon the message you received. I Corinthians 14:3.

Applying these guidelines should help you better discern God’s voice.

Janice Davis Steele

www.jdsministries.org/

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