The War on Principles

God Morning Believers!

Week one of the Sacred Season of Success (S3) has come and gone and week two is well underway. Praises to God for the marvelous things He has done! I pray that you began week two with a renewed sense of purpose, clarity, power, and peace to carry you through the next 12 days. God is healing, transforming, and preparing us for His purposes and His glory.

Someone emailed me and said they had been praying last week about the attitudes, behaviors, habits, ways of believers that displeased God. They were unsure if God had given them a revelation of these and they asked me for examples. You might be asking the same question...Can We Talk?! 

Certainly we are all aware that God is not pleased with sin. Most of us know sin when we see it, especially in the lives of others? Why is that? What may not always be obvious are those behaviors, attitudes, habits and ways that remain unchecked and unaddressed for years as we travel this road of salvation. As sanctified believers we should always be on guard and in the process of eliminating these behaviors from our lives because they keep us bound, damage our testimony, and prevent us from looking and acting like Jesus. I provided a very short list below.

Grumbling and complaining

Discontent

Anger and rage

Fanning the flames of other's anger

Bitterness

Unforgiveness

Gossip

Critical and judgemental spirits
Lacking integrity
Worrying
Making Excuses
Always blaming others for our issues (no personal accountability)


I believe that God is teaching us to manage our emotions. Those emotions that spill out onto others causing them hurt while accomplishing nothing. Settle down! One example of this is the notion of fighting for the "principle of the matter." Oh you know, so you have done this before, right?!

How often have you said or heard someone say "it's the principle of the thing". Very often we allow "the principle" of the matter to move us right out of our sanctification process and right out of the will of God. For example, we have all had someone ask us to do something at the last minute. We might get all worked up about this request, start grumbling and complaining already knowing that we are or are not going to complete the request. This may also happen when someone promises to deliver something and then backs out or delivers part of what they promised, leaving us in a lurch. Our behavior and attitude about the situation is often related to the principle, not to the request or disappointment. Meanwhile the behavior or attitude we display does not please God and may leave others, particularly unbelievers questioning our relationship with Him.

We have to stop fighting the war on principle. It is ONE that can never be WON on our salvation journey. It only serves to delay our sanctification by distracting us and getting us off course. Satan loves to distract us and a principle war is a great weapon in his arsenal to divide us through some unnecessary and trivial conflict.

Think about all the times you waged the war on principles. Did you win? Was God pleased with your war waging tactics, countenance, and language?

God wants us to fight where fighting matters...fighting for the souls of the lost.

Are you fighting a war of principles right now? Are you the cheerleader in someone else's war on principles? Is it really worth it?

Let Jesus Lead
Aqua

Sacred Season of Success 2010 Day 1 Take A Look At Yourself

God Morning Believers!

This morning at 0600 we started our Sacred Season of Success (S3) 2010. We are so so excited about what God is going to do with us, TO US, and through us during this fasting season. Turn your attention to Isaiah 58:1-10 for foundation for the fast. We will be loving, serving, and giving to God and His people like never before in this season!

This year's fast is deeply personal. We have to start with ourselves so that we can be useful to God's people in transparency and with integrity. God wants us to be different and behave differently at the end of this fast. Use this time as an opportunity to fall in love with Him again and through that intimacy allow Him to transform your life. God is speaking to us clearly saying, there are attitudes, behaviors, habits, and ways that we have as believers that do not please Him and this is the time to surrender them so that we can be used more effectively for Kingdom building. He has greater works for us to do, but we are hindered by these attitudes, behaviors, habits, and ways.

I will not be sending a daily focus this year. I will check in frequently. Start this week focusing on identifying areas in your life that need God's attention and where you need deliverance. Honesty with Him AND yourself is key. Don't be afraid to confront what you see. "The truth requires confrontation"...Where are you falling short? Damaging your witness? Making excuses? Wearing your weaknesses as a badge of honor, instead of addressing them? Where does Satan have a stronghold on you or your family? Are you a vehicle and vessel for His Word, grace, and love?

No doubt this process will be painful, but the truth will make us free!

See you at the top!

Agape
Aqua

Pruned For Greatness! Part I

This week our church began our annual corporate fast. We fast each year for the three weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. During this time of fasting and prayer, we seek the face of God to build a more intimate relationship with Him and to demonstrate His power in us. God is after something from us too during this time. He wants to prune us. God prunes us for our greatness AND for His glory!


“Some of us are so wrapped up in what we want that we neglect what God wants for us.”

The process of pruning involves cutting off DEAD and living HEALTHY parts of plants or trees. So that means we ALL are pruned…no matter how healthy we are (or think we are) in our relationship with Jesus and no matter where we are on this Christian journey. Pruning is a painful process, but pruning promotes growth. Trust the process.

If we are going to be great, transformed, glorified, and living our best and blessed life on this side of eternity, God has to take us through the pruning process repeatedly at various stages and seasons of our lives. Read John 15:1-11. Jesus is the true Vine and apart from Him we can do nothing.

There is much work to do from the time that WE decide to see our lives and ourselves as God sees us…and becoming those people. (You should see the way He looks at you) Unfortunately, not everyone wants to put in the work (Yes, there is work involved) and not everyone in our inner circle is happy or can celebrate our decision to submit to God for change. Count Satan among those who is very unhappy with this decision.

Satan uses his devices and weapons as obstacles to keep us from living transformed lives in the presence of God and those we love and influence. Make no mistake about it…Satan is NOT more powerful than our God. We must decide to yield to the Lord and submit our will to His, instead of allowing Satan to run rough shot over our lives.

Transformation is costly! Ask yourself…What is a relationship with Jesus going to cost me? I contend that it will cost you everything…your very life. After you have an encounter with God, your life (as you knew it and shaped it) should cease to exist. Your life in exchange for greatness! Any takers?

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17

Are you allowing God to prune you for greatness?