It's Transition Time - R U Ready?

By Scott Presson

CBN Staff Writer

 

CBN.com - It’s transition time. All over the Kingdom of God and throughout the Church the word of the hour is “transition”. We keep hearing that but what does it mean. Are we all in transition? If so, is your transition going to spill over and affect my transition?

It does seem as if God is telling the whole Christian body to take a few steps forward. In those steps, we’ll probably step on each others feet. I imagine there’s going to be more than a few of us pushing and shoving. Some of us are going to want to move forward. Others will want to stand still or move backwards.

Let’s face it; God’s will is always changing us. He is always transforming us and molding us to be something different than we are. In the Word, God even refers to Himself as a potter and we are His clay. It’s an easy image to see. A lump of clay is shaped into a vessel and then refined in the fire until it is becomes purified and hardened. Only then is worthy of use.

 

Change is never comfortable but it is a fact of life and it is the will of God. We are changed as we grow in age and maturity. We are changed when we accept Christ into our hearts. We are changed as we move deeper into a relationship with God and accept His will in our lives.

 

God is refining us in His furnance. God is molding us into vessels that glorify Him. This time of transition is going to make us feel uncomfortable but it is God’s will. We all have certain things in life that we want and even have planned for. Some of those plans will undoubtedly be disrupted. Don’t fret.

Here’s what the Bible says:

"You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail." (Proverbs 19:21)

 

God’s purpose is going to happen no matter what you and I plan. We need to be patient with each other as never before. In other words, we’re going to have look and act like Christians. We’re going to have to bear one another’s burdens and be willing to overlook each others faults. We’re going to have to learn to let those very real hurts and offenses go quickly. We’re going to have to react out of love instead reacting out of spite. It’s not going to be easy. God’s Word says He is returning for a Church without spot or wrinkle. How will we ever be that Church without going through the fire of refinement? We must press in and through.

 

If transition is the word of the hour, humility is the path to peace. If we act out of humble hearts we will demonstrate to ourselves and to God that we are the people He wants us to be. Only then will Jesus be glorified and only then will the world see a group of loving and united believers fulfilling their destiny. Now is the time of harvest. Don’t be discouraged. Don’t be frightened. Be encouraged!! It’s promotion time!! But we must enter in like never before. We must be servants towards each other.

Here are our marching orders. Here is the blueprint to live a life worthy of our calling. Here is the way to walk by faith and not by sight:

 

Philippians 2 says,

"Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and sympathetic? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one heart and purpose. Don't be selfish; don't live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself. Don't think only about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and what they are doing. Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had."

Prayer for this week -

Heavenly Father - Please search my heart and remove anything that blocks me from embracing the transition that you are calling me, as a member of your Kingdom to be a part of.  Help me to embrace and endure discomfort with grace so that I can participate in the Kingdom of God even as I see it being mobilized in the world around me.  May I recognize that it is not my skills, degrees, talents or finances that your need most, but rather my humility as it is only humility that will enable the image, power and glory of Christ to be seen in me and within the Church - His body here on earth.  Forgive me for thinking that you can be satisfied with something other than my humble and surrendered heart. May your Kingdom be my first priority and may I trust that everything else that is essential for my earthly provision and eternal salvation will be supplied, in abundance, by You as I follow in faithful obedience, united with your Church. 

 

I pray all this in the name of your worthy Son Jesus, AMEN.

 

Amen.

---

Source: http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/devotions/presson_transitiontime.aspx#.Um1J_w6wf2A.gmail

Posted by: Keturah

Read More

Inspirational Video: Spirit of Excellence

Be encourage. Seeing this should move us into a constant state of worship, and the determination to succeed in whatever we put our minds to!

Read More

There's A Fourth Man!

Dan 3:25 NIV. He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods."

Today we continuing with the story of the Three Hebrew Boys. In the last message we left off the story with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace. Yes, even though they honored God with their righteous efforts in an unrighteous land, even though they took their stand of faith and refused to worship an idol, even though they spoke the language of faith when confronted by the king Nebuchadnezzar's threat, and even though they remained in faith when the king turned up the heat, at the end of the day they were still thrown in the fire. No, God did not deliver them FROM the fire, but He did deliver them IN it.

When king Nebuchadnezzar looked into the furnace, fully expecting to see the boys dead and consumed by the fire, he was surprised to see them alive. Not only that, but they were no longer bound and were freely walking around in the fire; and they had company. There was a fourth man in the fire with them. The translation I chose says that the fourth man looked like "A son of the gods."

The traditional King James Versions says, "The fourth is like the Son of God." The King James Version is one of just a few translations that liken he fourth man to the Son of God. Because of this "Son of God" reference, many have claimed that the fourth man in the fire was Jesus Himself. However, there is no evidence that would lead us to believe that king Nebuchadnezzar knew anything about Jesus or his physical appearance. Furthermore, three verses later the king made it clear who he thought it was, he said: "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God." It is obvious that king Nebuchadnezzar believed the fourth man in the fire was an angel and not Jesus, but this does not diminish the miracle in any way. The bottom line is that the angel was there because God Himself sent him to intervene on behalf of His servants who were in trouble. The angel ensured that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were unbound and unharmed in the midst of the fire. The fire was raging, but it did not harm them. And it is interesting to me that they did not immediately come out of the fire. They walked around in it (unbound and unharmed), as if to say, "You hit us with your best shot and we are still here... by the grace of God!"

So what does this mean to you ? Let's seek to glean a few golden nuggets:

1. Being a child of God does not automatically exonerate you from storms (or fires in this case).

2. Even if you are facing a storm, God can make a way when there seems to be no way!

3. It's not over until God says it's over. God can send an angel, or even show up Himself, and turn any hopeless situation around.

4. God can bless you so mightily, right in the middle of the storm, that you actually enjoy yourself while the storm is raging all around you. You can be so at peace that you are not even in a hurry to get out of the situation.

5. If the enemy knew any better he would leave you alone. The more he messes with you, the greater your testimony and the more God gets the glory from your life.

Father, I thank You for showing up and showing-out in my life. Time and time again You have been there for me when I needed You the most. You have been the fourth man in my fire and I sincerely thank You for it and I will never cease to praise Your name. You have done so much for me that I am behind in my worship. And I thank You for continually wanting to do more in, with, through, and for me. I call upon You in the day of trouble and You answer me, deliver me, and manifest Your glory in my life. No matter what the enemy brings my way, there is nothing He can do that You cannot undo or bless me even while I am enduring it. I am fully persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able me from Your love, which is in Christ Jesus, my Lord! I declare this in Jesus' name. Amen

Source: http://womenofdestiny1.blogspot.ca/2010/07/three-hebrew-boys-part-v.html

~ Keturah
 

Read More

The Three Hebrew boys

Written by W Destiny

 

Posted by M . Harvey

 

(Dan 3:25 NIV) He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods."

We saw how king Nebuchadnezzar turned up the pressure on Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego by ordering the fire to be cranked up 7X hotter. The Hebrew Boys had done all the right things. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had honored their heavenly Father, they were promoted to leadership positions even though their nation was under captivity (they were supposed to be slaves), they refused to worship an idol god, they held their ground in the face of the king’s ultimatum, and they refused to crack under the pressure. There is no question in my mind that these boys had a Warrior Spirit. Their steel resolve was remarkable. They had crossed the faith-line and were now totally dependant on God. If God did not do it, it simply would not get done. Have you ever been there? I know I am there right now.

Imagine them going up the ramp to the furnace. The fire was blazing so strong that the flames consumed one of the men taking them there. I can only imagine what was going through their minds. If it were me I probably would be thinking things like: “OK God, I did my part, I am waiting on You to do yours. You can step in any minute here… Hey God, right now would be a good time for You to show out.” As I got closer and closer to the fire I would be looking and waiting and waiting and looking for God to do something, anything! But it did not happen as we would think. The Hebrew boys had done nothing wrong. Actually, they had done everything right, and they were still in a bind (literally) and facing death.

So guess what happened? Nebuchadnezzar’s men took the boys all the way to the mouth of the furnace and sure enough, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the fire while they were still bound. Wow! If it were us we would think, “Man! God never showed up. It never happened. They spoke up in faith. They took God public. They held their ground. They said all the right things. But at the end of the day, they were still thrown into the fiery furnace. What a sad commentary.”

But wait, the story is not over. Yes, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the fiery furnace bound, but someway, somehow, they were not dead. The fire must have burned up the ties that had them bound, but it was not consuming them. Furthermore, instead of being all alone in the midst of the fire, there was someone there WITH them. King Nebuchadnezzar saw it and he was amazed. He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” 

Awesome! These guys were walking around in the midst of the fire and they had the blessed comfort of heavenly company. I will talk more about this “Fourth Man” in the fire next week. We will stop here for today.

So what does this mean to you? Let’s seek to glean a few golden nuggets:

1. Sometimes you can do all the right things and you still wind up facing strong opposition.

2. Sometimes God will deliver you FROM it, but there are also sometimes He delivers You IN it!

3. God can use the very thing the enemy meant to destroy you for your good (e.g. the fire was meant to kill them, but it was used to loose them).

 

4. Sometimes it doesn’t happen the way you expect it to happen, but never lose heart, God is still there! If you are still breathing, then there is still hope!

Father, living by faith is often awesome and amazing; and it is always exciting. I don’t know what You are going to do today, but I trust it will be good. I will honor You daily with my thoughts, words, and actions and I truly believe that You will bless me to experience Your best. I know I will face opposition and even strong challenges from time to time, but when my faith is tested it will be proven as strong, because I refuse to quit. Even if things don’t happen the way I would like them to, I truly believe that they will work out for me in the end. Even in the midst of the fire, I am still trusting You, because I know You love me so much that You are right in the fire WITH me! I am never helpless, therefore I am never hopeless! In Jesus’ name. Amen.

 

One love

Read More