BE ENCOURAGED!
"My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; for they [are] life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh." (Proverbs 4:20-22)
BE ENCOURAGED!
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> You Can’t Blame It on Luck!
"Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?" (Mark 4:40) “It doesn’t matter how hard I try, everything I do turns out wrong!” Have you ever felt that way? I certainly have. There was a time in my life when everything I put my hand to fell apart. Back then, I chalked it up to “bad luck.” But I was wrong. I found out in the 25 years since then, that there’s no such thing as luck—good or bad. In fact, I don’t even use that word anymore. It’s not luck that determines how things turn out in our lives—it’s choices. When we make good ones, things go well for us. When we make bad ones, things go wrong. Now some would dispute me on that, but no matter how “right” you think you are at any given time, a decision that brings trouble is a poor decision. “Oh, but Brother Copeland, there’s no way in the world I could have known in advance what would happen in that situation!” No, there may not have been any way in this natural world you could have made a better choice. But, if you’re a born-again believer, you aren’t restricted to making choices according to this natural world. You have another, far more powerful option. Consider the disciples and Jesus in the boat during the storm in Mark 4:36-41. There were the disciples facing this fierce storm. No doubt they were doing everything they knew to do in the natural to stay afloat. They were bailing; they were paddling. But they didn’t say a word to Jesus, even though He was right there in the boat with them! They didn’t call on His power until the boat was full of water and they were about to sink. Why? They’d made a wrong choice. They had chosen to look to natural solutions instead of supernatural ones. Faith never even entered their minds until they were about to drown! If they’d thought supernaturally, any one of them could have drawn by faith on the Anointing and the words of Jesus and stopped that storm. But they made the wrong choice. Many well-meaning believers are making that same mistake today. They have Jesus right there in the boat with them, but they’re depending on natural resources to get them through. They’re making wrong choices, and are chalking it up to bad luck. If you’re living like that, stop. Get in the Word. Start living according to the supernatural. Then, when the storms of life come, you’ll know what to do. Instead of just grabbing a bucket and starting to bail, faith will rise up within you and you’ll say, “Look here, Storm. Peace, be still.” It will work for you just like it would have worked for the disciples. After all, you have Jesus in your boat. > Supernaturally Multiplied Back To You
"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6) It pleases God when we believe that He is the giver, the blesser and that “He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him”. Such was the faith of Ruth the Moabitess. When she decided to make the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob her God, she found Him to be her rewarder, who lovingly provided for her, divinely guided her, jealously protected her, gloriously redeemed her from her hopeless situation and richly restored her life. Today, this same God says to you that He is your rewarder. And when He is involved in your life, you will be amply rewarded. Peter, the fisherman, would testify to that. His fishing boat, which represented his life, caught nothing the whole night. But in the morning, when the boat was returned to him after he had loaned it to Jesus, it was no longer the same boat. It was anointed, blessed and so magnetized that a great number of fish was attracted to it. In fact, he received a net-breaking, boat-sinking load of fish! (Luke 5:1–11) Beloved, because God is your rewarder, if He borrows your “boat” even for a while, be assured that He will surely return it to you with a supernatural increase. Even if what you give Him is little, when placed in His hands, it will return to you blessed, anointed and multiplied. This happened to the little boy who gave Jesus his lunch of five barley loaves and two fish. It must have thrilled the boy to see his small lunch supernaturally multiplied and satisfying not just him, but 5,000 men, not counting the women and children, and even leaving behind 12 baskets full of leftovers. (John 6:1–13) Beloved, believe that God is a rewarder. When you give Him your finances, time, possessions and abilities, know for sure that He will return them to you blessed, anointed and multiplied! ••Thought For The Day•• What you give to God will surely be returned to you with a supernatural increase. Joseph Prince "Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers." (3 John 1:2)
BE ENCOURAGED! > Down But Not Out
"We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed…" (2 Corinthians 4:8–9) Before you were a Christian, when something sad or bad happened to you, you cried until you had no more tears left. Your heart simply broke into pieces, and you felt trapped, depressed and totally defeated. But after having become a Christian, when something bad happens to you, you may still cry, but you feel comforted inside. You are sad outwardly, but your heart isn’t heavy. You don’t understand why, but deep down inside you, there is something lifting you up. That something buoyant, which is rising from the inside of you, is the life of Christ in you! You cannot be completely distressed because Christ in you is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) who says to you, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27) Yes, it may be a bad situation and you are in a tight spot, but Christ in you is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6), and He says to you, “It will all be all right. I will provide a way out for you.” You know you are not defeated because Christ in you is your victory (1 Corinthians 15:57) and He says to you, “You are not fighting for victory, but fighting from victory because you already have the victory in Me.” Before you knew Christ, when you were down, you were out. But now, when you are down, you are not out because Christ in you is the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27) “Hope” in the Bible means a definite, positive expectation of good. So Christ in you is the definite, positive expectation of a glorious marriage! Christ in you is the definite, positive expectation of a glorious family! Christ in you is the definite positive expectation of glorious health! Christ in you is the definite positive expectation of a glorious life! My friend, Christ in you is the definite, positive expectation of all the glories of God revealed to you. No bad circumstance that you are in can or will ever cause you to be destroyed or forsaken by God! ••Thought For The Day•• Christ in you is the definite, positive expectation of all the glories of God revealed to you! Joseph Prince "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32)
BE ENCOURAGED! > The Root of Hopelessness
"All things are possible to him that believeth." (Mark 9:23) Have you ever felt hopeless...ready to give up? Maybe you’ve already given up, feel there are no answers and you’re simply trapped right where you sit. Well, according to the Word of God, you don’t have to stay there. According to the Word, hopelessness isn’t caused by lack of money. It isn’t caused by lack of education or negative circumstances. Hopelessness comes from being without God in the world. It comes from being a stranger to His covenant (Ephesians 2:12). Anyone, anywhere can have hope if they know Jesus and the covenant promises of God. Your background, race or financial status doesn’t matter. You can live in the worst slum in the world and still have hope in God because He isn’t limited by man’s resources. He isn’t limited by man’s prejudices. God is an equal opportunity employer! Some people have said to me, “You ought not to preach that prosperity message in poverty-stricken areas. You’ll get those peoples’ hopes up, and they don’t have the same opportunity to prosper that you do.” Yes they do! I’ve seen God prosper people in places where there was absolutely nothing. No food. No jobs. No welfare program. Nothing! There is a country in Africa where the government wanted a tribe to die out, so they just stopped the flow of food and began to starve them to death. But that plan failed because some Holy Ghost-filled, African Christians refused to give up hope. They knew their covenant, so they prayed, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Do you know what happened? The people were fed and the government went under! The Apostle Paul said in Philippians 1:20, “According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed....” If you’ll look up the two Greek words translated “earnest expectation” and “hope,” you’ll find that both mean the same thing. So hope is earnest expectation. “But how can you so intensely expect to prosper when the unemployment rate is up and the economy is down?” you ask. Because what I’m earnestly expecting isn’t dependent on the world’s economy. It’s based on what God has promised in His covenant. Because He said it, I earnestly expect it! I have a covenant with Almighty God and I can be filled with hope. If you need hope today, ask God into your heart. If you are already a believer, take authority over the devil and cast hopelessness away from you. Stand on God’s Word, His personal promises to you, and let hope rise up within you. With God all things are possible to him who believes! Kenneth Copeland "But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you." (Romans 8:11)
BE ENCOURAGED! > Get Out From Under the Barrel!
"All these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God." (Deuteronomy 28:2) These days, when I say the Word of God can heal your body, pay off your debts and bring you victory in every area of your life, not everyone believes me. Most wouldn’t admit it outright, but it’s true nonetheless. They don’t intentionally doubt the Word, of course. They’re just so overwhelmed by the problems in their own lives, they’re not sure anything (natural or supernatural) can help. When they see Gloria and me so blessed and prosperous, they think, Sure it’s easy for you to live by faith. You have a great life. But what can God do with a life as messed up as mine? If you struggle with that question, let me tell you, God can do for you exceeding, abundantly above all that you can ask or think. After 42 years of ministry, I can say that, not only because it’s the Word of God, but also because it’s a living reality for me. You see, I wasn’t always blessed. When I first learned about faith, I was a failure going somewhere to happen. I wasn’t just scraping the bottom of the barrel, I was underneath with the barrel on top of me! Then one day I was reading Deuteronomy 28, and I saw all the blessings God’s people are supposed to have in their lives. To be quite honest, I got mad. Where are all these blessings that are supposed to belong to me? I thought. As far as I could see, I didn’t have even one of them. Yet Deuteronomy clearly said I was to have them. I didn’t have any land. I didn’t have any storehouse. In fact, I’d heard that God wouldn’t bless you with a storehouse at all because He didn’t want you to have anything. But verses 11-12 of Chapter 28 said God would make me plenteous in all kinds of ways and that I would lend to nations and not borrow! I don’t mind telling you, that looked good to me. All I’d ever known how to do was borrow. I had depended on borrowed money all my adult life. (Gloria always says I must have borrowed on my tricycle!) Religion may try and rob you of these blessings. Your friends and family may try and talk you out of them...but you turn your eyes and ears to the Word. Get out from under that barrel and dare to believe God for your needs, your finances, your healing. Receive Deuteronomy 28 as God’s will for your life. And watch God do exceeding, abundantly above all that you can ask or think! Kenneth Copeland "… who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed." (1 Peter 2:24)
BE ENCOURAGED! |
Shield of Faith Blog
AuthorBorn in South Carolina, Heather is happily married, and has three standard poodles and one shih tzu. Having travelled to over 14 countries, she has a great appreciation for living in the USA. She has a calling on her life to tell others about her healing and what Jesus has done for her. She is alive and well because of Him. Archives
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