Lord, Deliver Me From Me

 Romans 7:15-20 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

Lord, deliver me from me. As Paul so aptly stated, it is our flesh, our carnal thoughts and behaviors that get us into trouble every time.

So many times, I’ve decided to do one thing and end up either doing something else or doing nothing at all. Why, because I allow the thoughts in my mind to override my spirit.

Sin does not always have to refer to an inappropriate behavior. It is whatever we say or do that is contrary to God’s will, His word and His purpose for our lives.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

As I often confess, I am a dreamer and a believer. If it is in the word of God, not only do I believe it, but I expect all of God’s promises to manifest. God’s word is true and will not return void.

Isaiah 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

And then there’s me. What is my part? I must put works with my faith.

James 2:17-26 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.  Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

What are the works that I need to put with my faith? The works that are the evidence that I have faith in what I believe God has planned and purposed for my life. You see, I believe God wants me to share His word with you and encourage you to Liv by Faith. But what if I believed that is what God wanted me to do and never did it? What if I never shared His word with you? Not only would I not be fulfilling God’s purpose for my life, but my behavior would also say God I don’t trust You to do what You said you would do.

The enemy will use the voices in our head, whether they are our own voices, or the voice of someone else to convince us we are defeated. What we must remember is that the enemy is defeated and he is trying to project his future onto us.

Oftentimes we are our own worst enemy.

Rather than protecting our mind by wearing the helmet of salvation; protecting ourselves from what we see and hear. Taking the shield of faith to stop the darts of unbelief. And using our sword, the word of God to defeat the enemy within. We allow our mind to dwell on thoughts and words that are contrary to the thoughts and words God says about us.

Ephesians 6:16-17 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Thoughts of fear, doubt, anxiety, procrastination, slothfulness. Fear of rejection, fear of failure are not thoughts of peace. They are evil in nature as they are harmful and do not bring us hope. These thoughts do not align with God’s word.

Do not think it, do not speak it, do not believe it. If the words you hear are contrary to God’s will, His word, and His purpose do not give them life.

2Corinthians 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Focus on who God says you are. You are victorious.

 

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No Excuses

Ready, set, go! Welcome to 2016! Now is the time to do anything and everything that you have been putting off. Everything that you said “in January I am going to (you fill in the blank).”No excuses.

What is near and dear to your heart? What is the desire God has placed in you that just will not go away? You fall asleep thinking about it. You wake up in the morning thinking about it. During the day when your mind drifts you catch yourself thinking about it. What is it? Have you written it down? What is your vision or better yet, what is Gods vision for you? What are you doing about it?

I have always had a heart for those that are hurting. Sometimes the signs are obvious while at other times they are not. I yearn to see the broken restored.

As a female quite naturally I have a heart for women, but it doesn’t stop there. In my own quest for self-analysis, and during my own journey I have found that oftentimes my opportunities for growth also involved a male in my life. Male and female relationships involve a females understanding of a male as well as a males understanding of a female. Let’s be honest, if we want any relationship to work we must be willing to make an effort to make it work. If one person desires for a relationship to work more than the other person in the relationship the person that wants the relationship to work most is usually more willing to work on the relationship.

Our makeup is both spiritual and physical. Our spirit resides in a physical body that carries emotions. Our emotions often dictate how we react. We must learn how to balance the spiritual with the physical. We must recognize our battle is spiritual while at the same time recognizing the needs of the physical.

My focus for 2016 is prayer, salvation, healing, deliverance and restoration as you will see when you click on this link http://www.gretahillman.com/#!ssif/dork3  which takes you to a new page in my website or visit us on Facebook www.facebook.com/sisterssteadfastinfaith . Sisters Steadfast in Faith (SSiF) is geared towards women yet offers insight to both men and women. We encourage prayer and celebrate victory. Look for words of encouragement and a study of God’s word when you visit us.

What is your commitment? What is your focus? It doesn’t matter what has happened in the past. Now is the acceptable time. Today is a new day. Maybe you have been working on your vision for years, or perhaps it’s just come to you. It doesn’t matter. It’s up to you to do all you can by the grace of God. No excuses. Set realistic goals and move forward. The only one standing in your way is you. Let 2016 be your year!

Because God Said So

I’m a believer, always have been. But let me clarify what I mean by being a believer. As I young child I believed whatever a person of authority would say to me especially my parents. I thought my parents could do no wrong and why on earth would I think anyone would purposely mislead me? If my parents had said the moon was made of cheese I would have believed them, because they said so.  I trusted them. To my dismay, as I matured I learned not everyone was always as truthful as my parents. Go figure! I learned to consider the source and weigh information prior to determining whether or not I should believe it.

Christians are considered believers, believers in the word of God. When I gave my life to Christ I had a renewed since of belief. This time my belief was in someone that could not lie. My belief was in God, for as we read in Hebrews 6:18 it is impossible for God to lie. I believe everything He says and rightly so. He is the undisputable authority.

In Matthew chapter 8 we read the account of the centurion who came before Jesus and told him his servant was at home sick from palsy. Jesus replied to the centurion saying He would go and heal him. The centurion responded to Jesus saying “but speak the word, only and my servant shall be healed.” He continued basically saying to Jesus that he too was a man of authority and as such understands the power of speaking a word with authority. For he would say to one man come and he would come, to another go and he would go and to his servant do this and he would do it. In essence he was saying to Jesus. It’s not necessary for you to go to my servant. Just speak your word and I know he will be healed. Jesus was marveled at the faith of the centurion and said to him in verse 18 go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

I think it’s important for us to recognize the faith of the centurion as did Jesus. The centurion believed his servant would be healed because Jesus said he would. God’s spoken word is written throughout the bible. Because His word has been spoken it is true and can come to pass, it is faith that causes the manifestation.

The woman with the issue of blood believed if she touched Jesus’ garment she would be made whole. Jesus recognizing He had been touched by someone with faith spoke to the woman saying to her thy faith had made thee whole.

Before slaying Goliath, David was advised by Saul he wasn’t able to fight the Philistine because he was just a youth and Goliath was a man from birth, in other words he was saying to him he’s huge, you’re small and you don’t have a chance. David confidently responded the Lord that delivered him out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear would deliver him out of the hand of this Philistine. He believed God would deliver him, and he did.

Healing, deliverance, peace. Blessings, prosperity and strength. Everything you need God has already provided and spoken into existence.

What do the centurion, the woman with the issue of blood and David all have in common? They all believed in the power of God’s promises.

Why am I a believer? Because I believe in God’s promises. His promises for your life and mine were spoken into existence over 2000 years ago and I believe what He said.

Find God’s promise for your life in His word today, trust in His word and believe that He will bring it to pass…why? It’s simple, because He said so.