Open the Sails

Stepping into a sailboat and getting ready to sail an ocean is not in my comfort zone. There is something about gale-force winds, waves as high as houses, unpredictable weather patterns, and hurricanes that make me shudder.

In sailing, there are times to Trim the sails (pull them in), and times to Ease the sails (let the sails out). Luffing is when the whole sail is flogging, or let out too much and is flapping in the wind not being effective. There needs to be a confident, wise Captain at the wheel directing the crew or the boat may sink.

Life can feel like the same chaotic unstable adventure. We have moments when we follow the captain (Jesus) and life seems to be on calm water and the sunrises are beautiful!

Our lives have times of great joy, like when we were young, we may have learned “Jesus loves Me” as a children’s song. We may have been blessed with parents, or grandparents that sat with us at bedtime reading from the Bible, stories of David and the giant Goliath. Maybe we had a friend who asked us to go to a church kids’ event or summer Christian camp.

Maybe you are new to the beautiful message of Jesus, who died a sinners death for all of us, He is the bridge between God and each of His children, US! He intercedes for us to His Father after we have accepted Him as Savior and allow the Holy Spirit to guide our lives. Today can be a life-transforming day to seek HIM as Lord of our lives!

We may have accepted Jesus as Savior in the past, and we meant the action to believe Jesus can help us and loves us. But then life happened, and things around us were not as clear, perhaps there was division in family, brokenness, divorce, mental health, or violence and we put aside the idea that we were loved by Jesus! Human beings in our lives may have been disappointing and we are living in doubt of His love.

Even David wrote in Psalm 51 of his struggles with life and staying connected to God. David still called out to His Father God for advice as you will read here.

Psalm 51:10 NLT Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.

Psalm 51:11- 15 NLT Do not banish me from your Presence;
    and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. ¹²Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and make me willing to obey you. ¹³Then I will teach your ways to rebels,
    and they will return to you. ¹⁴Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves;
    then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness. ¹⁵Unseal my lips, O Lord,
    that my mouth may praise you.

David Leonard released a new song, Light a Fire, it is such a powerful message of hope and restoration found in the Jesus of our youth, He is a God who restores the broken and brings New Life from the ashes of the past. Enjoy this amazing song!

https://youtu.be/0MQ1TD5NFsY

Let today be the day, you step into the boat with Jesus. Let Him calm the waves and direct the storm. Awake your soul. Set Sail with Him (Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit) as the captain of your ship. Open the sails and let Him direct the course of your life. The waves may be choppy at times but you are no longer alone.

Identity at war

Only a slight glance at current media or news reels will show us that the world would say our identity is in crisis. Our Identities are in crisis when we forget who created us in His image and we forfeit the plans and purposes He had for us at our creation.

There are many voices vying for our attention. The Enemy of our souls, the devil wants to take our identity and our purpose before we can make a difference for God‘s kingdom. He was dethroned when he was thrown out of Heaven.

Lucifer, the most beautiful angel was thrown out of heaven because he wanted to be bigger than God and he took along with him a portion of the angels who believe the same things.That began a battle of good and evil, the enemy was jealous of Adam and Eve and their relationship with God.

The serpent in the garden brought doubt to the minds of Adam and Eve at the tree of knowledge.

We have a similar struggle and the enemy knows the details of our greatest insecurities. Who’s voice are you listening to?

We get to choose just like Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. Again, I say whose voice are we listening to? Do we want to believe our identity in the devil who wants to detour God‘s plan for our lives or do we want to believe the One who created us beautifully and perfectly in his image and has our lives in the palm of His hand?

Psalm 139:17-18 NLT
How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! [18] I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!

I am so grateful for amazing women who share their God given wisdom and prophetic gifts such as Jane Hamon.

“We were created to be like God! He put His nature inside us so we could be His ambassadors, His representatives on planet earth. Everything He is was deposited into us in seed form. Tom likes to say His DNA was put into us—His Divine Nature Attributes. So when the devil came to Eve and said “God doesn’t want you to be like Him,” he perpetrated spiritual identity theft. Eve forgot that she already was like Him. Her true identity was that she was made in the image of God! She was created to be His daughter, His friend and His companion. This is why Jesus came to earth: to reconcile us to God, our Father, and to remind us who we really are. Demons will always try to separate us from our Father’s love by getting us to question who God is, what He says in His Word and whom He has created us to be. Excerpt From: Discernment by
Jane Hamon

We are given free will to choose who we will serve, the enemy or God? Knowledge brings wisdom, the wisdom found when we meditate on what the Lord says and we seek His wisdom first, can change the trajectory of our lives.

We must decide as individuals who we listen to, and we must share the wisdom of the Word of God with our kids and others.

Our kids are counting on our willingness to teach them the best wisdom for their lives presently and for eternity. We can’t give up that role to anyone in community.

Go to the one who created you and all nature! He is the Rock on which we must build our foundation of truth and identity!

Trust fall

Do you remember when you were a kid and a friend would challenge you to believe how much they can trust you or you could trust them? One of the ways to show trust would be to stand in front of your friend and allow her to catch you as you fell backward. It was kind of a scary proposition. Did you know this friend? Well enough to believe they would catch you when you fell? Or were they going to let you drop to the ground.?

I’ve been thinking lately life is like that it’s a continuous challenge of who to trust. Except the older you get the more you realize that the only true place of trust comes from trusting in God. Oh yeah, I have many friends and I have done the TRUST-FALL with them some I continue to keep in my life. But the one true thing that never changes is God. He never changes. Yes, sometimes we could have experiences in our life that bring fear, worry, concern, and those are the times we have to remember the promises of God.

Proverbs 3:5-8 NLT
Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. [6] Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. [7] Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the LORD and turn away from evil. [8] Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones.

Proverbs 3:5-8 reminds us trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, but in all things, acknowledge him, and let him direct your path.

Jeremiah 29:11 is also a reminder to believe that God is trustworthy.

Jeremiah 29:11-13 NLT
For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. [12] In those days when you pray, I will listen. [13] If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.

Both scriptures of unchanging truth take our action to trust God and to seek Him above all other things. You can take these life changing steps or restart them today.

Teaching the same promises to our kids, or even friends and strangers, can be a challenge if we’re going through a time of doubt or fear. Yet it’s important for us to share with our kids, and others, the ability to trust God, regardless of knowing the end result.

Trust In You is a song by Lauren Daigle from a few years back. I just heard it on the radio today, and it reminded me yet again the importance of trusting in God.

https://youtu.be/FXlo_usosYM

Philippians 3:13-14 NLT
No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, [14] I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

A dear friend shared this scripture with me recently, pearls of wisdom to jumpstart your day.

So today, if you were having a day of doubt or challenge, an unknown circumstance, not knowing the future remember you could do that trust fall with the Lord and he will never forsake you never let you down.

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Stones

While I was listening to Stones by Kim Walker Smith, I took six medium stones and wrote a scripture reference, drew a cross, for example: We walk by faith in Jesus, As for my house we serve the Lord, No King but Jesus, etc, then I anointed each with frankincense essential oil with a cross and prayed over my house as I placed each stone at the corners of our home. Glory to God!

Stones in the Bible are a memorial to God after He has moved in the lives of His children. They exemplify God and His faithfulness.

Not in my strength do I cover my home but by the authority of Christ who is the Holy Spirit inside of me!

Stones by Kim Walker Smith

Psalm 55:19,22 GNT God, who has ruled from eternity, will hear me and defeat them; for they refuse to change, and they do not fear him. [22] Leave your troubles with the LORD, and he will defend you; he never lets honest people be defeated.

As for me, I will trust the Lord! Sometimes we feel overwhelmed by the news; personal life or world events. We may feel fear creeping in but we are called to something bigger. The scriptures are filled with wisdom. There is perfect truth from God for every day.

This is a great scripture to memorize from the Message Bible, rewrite it on a post it note, make it a screenshot on your phone.

1 John 4:4-6 MSG
My dear children, you come from God and belong to God. You have already won a big victory over those false teachers, for the Spirit in you is far stronger than anything in the world. These people belong to the Christ-denying world. They talk the world’s language and the world eats it up. But we come from God and belong to God. Anyone who knows God understands us and listens. The person who has nothing to do with God will, of course, not listen to us. This is another test for telling the Spirit of Truth from the spirit of deception.

For our lives and those of our family, those we love, we can take actions in faith of Jesus such as covering our home in His truth. We can say aloud the truth of God; His Word.

Father, May our faith grow in You alone. We want more of you! May we meditate on Your Word. May we open our lives to the Holy Spirit. We want to give You all parts of our life. In Jesus Name, Amen!

1 Corinthians 15:58 NLT So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.

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