Anchored Firmly By His Word

   "Are you ready? What for? That you may move and be moved by the mighty power of God that cannot be moved and so chastened and built up till you are in the place, it doesn’t matter where the wind blows or difficulty comes, you are fixed in God.

   Are you ready? What for? To come into the plan of the Most High God, believing what the Scripture says, and holding fast that which is good, believing so that no man shall take your crown."    --Smith Wigglesworth  

  "But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed."  James 1:6

Doubt is the opposite of faith.  

James is speaking to the people in James 1:5 telling them to ask God if they lack wisdom.  He was talking to people struggling with how to go through trials, and he tells them these trials test their faith (notice he did not say God caused the trials.)

It is in the middle of difficulty we can become unsure and lose sight of who God is and His Word.  We may be tempted not to trust Him, rely on Him, and we forget He is a PRESENT and ACTIVE God.

Photo Credit:  Joy Neasley

James describes doubt as being "like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind."  

This sounds like a ship that is not anchored.

An anchor prevents a ship from drifting away due to the water currents or tide.  Therefore, the ship aimlessly is tossed to and fro with no direction or guidance, and it is influenced by the circumstances around it (the wind, the current, the weather).  

In difficult situations we can lose focus and let our anchor (God) go.  We may even struggle with whether faith still works.  As doubt enters, it replaces faith and we become influenced by everything around us rather than what we know as truth.  

We must walk by faith, not by sight.  Stay anchored tightly to Him, trusting His Word is True and that He is ever present.  

Researching how an anchor works, I discovered the anchor itself is only part of what keeps the ship from drifting aimlessly, securing the ship.   

  

When anchored, the ship lays the anchor together with a length of its iron cables on the seabed.  The length to be released is determined by many factors (the situation and circumstances surrounding the ship).  

It is not the weight of the anchor, but the weight of the huge iron cables connected to the anchor that "secures" the ship.  The anchor plays a very important role in grounding the cables, and hooking the cables to the seabed, but the usage of the proper length of iron cables plays an equally important role.

God's Word and the Holy Spirit are the iron cables that keep us connected to the anchor.  John 8:32 tells us that it is the Truth that we know that makes us free.  

Photo Credit:  unknown

We can anchor to God and trust Him, but if we do not know who we are IN CHRIST through His Word, we cannot stand on the promises of God during troubling times of difficulty.  If we are to walk by faith, not by sight then we must know what faith is through His Word.  

A ship properly anchored is held to a circular area surrounding the anchor by way of the iron cables.  The radius we circle around the anchor is determined by the length of the cable released.  

God's Word keeps us focused with our eyes on Him during potentially stressful situations.  It ties us to Him, and keeps us circling around Him, unable to drift too far away.  

Bloomin' Garden

Miniature Zinnias and Four O'Clocks from my Garden.

 Gardening in this a foreign country is proving to be a bit of a challenge.  I did manage to locate seeds for flowers that I know from back in the USA.  (two are pictured above) The seeds were imported and at a specialty market that took several weeks to locate.  As soon as the shopkeeper saw my white face, the seed prices went sky-high.  However, I had priced them before I left on the internet, and haggled with the shopkeeper until the price came down to a reasonable amount.  Of course, the meant that I had to leave the shop, and the shopkeeper ran down the street after me and my interpreter to tell us that she would meet our price.
   


     I will post pics of the other flowers as they bloom for you.  It is just a small garden.  I wanted something to draw butterflies and birds close to our home for photography.  I do not have time to locate them.  By drawing them into the yard, I can enjoy the beauty with my breakfast outside in the tropical environment here, and take some great pics at the same time.
   

   

     To the left is a little guy that helped me plant the garden by grabbing as many of the earthworms and other creepy crawy bugs that surfaced during the cultivation stage of the garden.
   





 There have also been several little friends who have visited the garden.  Take a look at a few here.

Pics from the new flower garden I planted in South China. ( Miniature Zinnias and Four O'Clocks)

Who Am I? I Am Recognizing the Fruit of the Seeds I Sow.

Showing off my new flower garden, I realized others confuse seedlings with weeds because they did not plant the seed.  A few of the flowers have blossomed and blooms are opening, even though the plants are still small and have not filled in the garden as of yet.  

Pointing out seedlings sprouting and breaking through the ground around the bigger, yet young plants, friends made the remark, "I thought those were weeds."  

My reply, "Since I planted the seeds, I know what to look for, I can identify which ones are seedlings."  

Photo credit:  unknown

This made me think.  Often times we plant seed spiritually, whether it is the Word of God into someone's life, or sowing financially into a ministry, etc.  As the sower, we can identify the seed sprouting and recognize it as growth from the seeds we planted, others may not recognize it as such.  

Until the seed grows and produces fruit, blossoms and flowers, others may see it as weeds.  Do not let them pull it out.  

How do people pull out your seedlings as weeds when it is spiritual sowing and reaping?

Let's say, I planted seed by sowing a new computer into someone else's life, knowing that the seed I plant will reap a harvest of it's own kind (i.e.: If I plant tomato seeds, I reap tomatoes.)   However, a few weeks later my own computer burns up and either needs repair or replacing.  A friend may make the remark, you should have put that money into a new computer for yourself, not so-n-so. 

Entertaining thoughts like this have the potential to discourage you, rather than keeping your eye on the harvest God has promised you will reap (Law of Sowing and Reaping). Becoming discouraged, and doubt enters rather than faith in knowing God always is true to His Word.  

Do not let others pull up your seedlings, just because they do not recognize them.  

Faith, in the above situation says, I sowed into some one's life as I was led by God.  I will reap a computer that will supersede all my needs and expectations as a result, whether the money comes to buy one of my choosing or someone comes and buys it for me.  

Command the devil to keep his hands off of your harvest!  You know what you planted, and you know the harvest that is coming! 

Matthew 13: 23-30,36-43

Who Am I? I Am Increasing And Strengthening Faith.

Today's blog post is an excerpt from "Ever Increasing Faith" by Smith Wigglesworth, one of my favorite books.

These are days when we need to have our faith strengthened, when we need to know God.  God has designed that the just shall live by faith.  Any man can be changed by faith, no matter how he may be fettered.  I know that God's word is sufficient.  One word from Him can change a nation. His word is from everlasting to everlasting.  It is through the entrance of this everlasting Word, this incorruptible seed, that we are born again, and come into this wonderful salvation.  Man cannot live by bread along, but must live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.  This is the food of faith.  "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God."

(Emphasis in areas of this passage were added.)

Digital edition of Ever Increasing Faith  http://www.amazon.com/Ever-Increasing-Faith-linked-ebook/dp/B008O5NFJG/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1367474950&sr=1-1&keywords=ever+increasing+faith

Carry Revival Within You

    Some believers, I find, often talk about wanting to experience revival, wanting to see the Holy Spirit move in ways they have only heard about, wanting to see more manifestation of the Spirit moving, etc. etc...  And, of course they are looking to the local Pastor, the Conference Speaker/Preacher, and other Spiritual leaders to provide them with a 'revival' experience.

     They are looking in the wrong direction. Each believer and their own expectation, is responsible for the direction of the church services and the spiritual nourishment they receive from a message.  But most are still looking to their spiritual leader to provide them with a life changing, revival experience.  Even a few are off on their own thinking that they can do it alone.  They do not understand what “revival” (and I use that term loosely) really is, or what it takes to get to that point.

     Revival begins in our own individual lives, at home where no one else can see what you do or do not do.  We take that fully yielded individual and add it to many more fully yielded individuals to create strength where the Holy Spirit can move.  He can move individually, but there is something about bringing fully, yielded people together for the purpose of spending time with God and listening to Him that compares to no other.  We all know that one stick, or branch, can be broken easily, but several together have strength. 

Photo Credit:  
http://www.theafricanamericanlectionary.org/PopupWorshipAid.asp?LRID=228

     Revival is the state we allow the Holy Spirit to be in when we fully, completely surrender to Him – when we yield all we are to Him.  We can only do this when we know Him and trust Him.  It comes back to Word and Prayer – it is funny because that is exactly what Ephesians 6 also says about standing and the armor of God.  When we are completely given to Him, we can experience the Holy Spirit moving in our lives.  Then we can take that to the church (the body), and
watch Him move corporately.

     Finney said, “Any body of Christian people, provided they wholeheartedly and unreservedly carried out God’s will, could have revival”.   Moody took the stand, that Pentecost was just an example for us- I believe he called it a “specimen day”.  Go forth put it this way, “If God the Holy Spirit is not glorifying Jesus Christ in the world today, as at Pentecost, it is we who are to blame.”  If we do not see the Holy Spirit moving and operating in our lives, how can we expect Him to operate corporately?  We must examine our foundation – the Word.  And, then adjust ourselves accordingly.

     It is the individual members of the body who must make the decision to yield.  But, they prefer to look at you as pastors and leaders, because they do not desire to pay the price it takes to get there.  Take for example, prayer.  Prayer and time spent with our Heavenly Father is required to get to ourselves in a state where we can yield, in which He can move.  Every great move of the Spirit in history began with prayer.  Prayer leads to action. This time spent in communication and communing with God is not to convince God to move (He already wants the Holy Spirit to move daily in our lives and services), but to get us in the place so that He can move.  The Holy Spirit is the manifested evidence and power of God in our lives.  God is not partial to just a few great Christians of the past.  He is willing and ready to move when we are ready.  But we will have to be willing to pay the price; to stay in the Word and in believing prayer (the Mk 11:23 &24 kind of prayer), so that we can know Him and know who we are.  It is in that state we can fully yield and be ready to receive Him. 

Photo Credit:
http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/

   Spiritual Truths that I know to be true and will not except any other option.  We as a body must be stubborn enough to pursue Him with such fervor that plows down anything in our way, just like a boulder rolling down a mountain. The boulder starts rolling slowly, and can be stopped at first, if you catch it quickly enough.  But, wait even a few short seconds, and that boulder begins to pick up speed as it rolls downward—faster and faster.  It pummels everything in its path, and will only stop once reaching its final destination.  We must be similarly determined in our study of the Word and in our prayer lives.  Only then we are in a position, or state, of being yielded unto Him completely.  Once we get rolling, and pick up speed, nothing can stop us from receiving Him.  That is when we possess “revival” freely flowing from within us, and overflowing all around us.  It is in this state that our prayer, teamed with His Word, clears a path, enabling our Father to work through us.

In the past I have been accused of being stubborn in certain areas, but this stubbornness was displayed only when dealing with

     It is not our Pastor’s job, or the Conference speaker's job to bring us the Holy Spirit.  We already have Him.  We must position ourselves to receive Him and watch Him go.