Looking Forward – Moving Forward

Posted on June 5, 2015 by espirational1

“Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” I Peter 1:13

I am down two dress sizes since January of this year! To say the least, I am very proud of myself for this accomplishment. I have worked hard to get to this point but still have a ways to go before I reach my ultimate goal. But every day is another day to press forward towards my goal.

I love to shop! Window shopping, on-line shopping or actually buying while I shop, makes no difference what type of shopping I’m going just as long as I can look at, touch or try on things that make me feel pretty, I’m happy.

The other day I was on my of my favorite discount site. They have everything!!! They have clothes, shoes, baby and toddler clothing, workout apparel, furniture and kitchen gadgets. The site is well done and easy to follow. Did I say I LOVE this site!!!

Well, while I was looking at some dresses in my current size I realized I’d waste my money if I purchased them because my goal is to lose weight and inches not stay at the size I am now.

Then, I got a revelation: I am losing weight and inches, why am I still looking at clothes that I’m working to leave behind rather than looking at clothes that I’m working to get into?! Well now, that got me thinking.

Many of us are pressing to become more like Christ. We are working diligently to live up to and into our purpose, and yet, we are still looking at our old stuff that will not work when we get to the new places we’re working to get to. Our old way to thinking, our old way of viewing adversity, our old way of spending money; none of them will bring us to the place we want to be in the future. We have to stop looking at what worked in the past and start looking at what we need as we move forward into our destiny.

Let’s be forward looking and forward thinking. If God is leading us into a new place, a new way of living, let’s do some research. You may be a choir member now, but if your goal is to be the COO or administrator of your church, do some research on what that looks like: what are the duties and responsibilities of that position? Does your pastor see a need for such a position? What type of salary can you expect?

You may be the employee of a company or in government service right now but, if your goal is to launch a new business venture you need to do some research. What legal pieces do you need to have in place to guard your idea? Do you need a trademark? How about a logo or a slogan? Do you need an internet media presence? How much money is it going to cost? Yes, it’s going to cost you money but, if you stop spending money on the old stuff, you’ll have money for the new things you need.

If we really want to move forward into what we’ve been purposed by God to become, we need to stop looking at where we are and start looking at where we’re going.

Press forward and you’ll move forward!

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:19

Fighting to Become the Me I was Meant to Be

Posted on June 2, 2015 by espirational1

II Corinthians 5:17

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he or she is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.”

Jesus’ disciple Peter was a trained to be a fisherman. Historically speaking, he had been in fisherman training with his father since he was very young. He would have learned all the tricks of the trade.

From Matthew to John and even in the letter to the churches, we also find that in addition to being trained in the art of fishing, Peter was capable of leading others to Christ; he was bold, loud, zealous, but, he was also fearful. If the way got tough, Peter would turn his back on his friends, go into hiding or become a man-pleaser. Peter didn’t always exemplify Christ-like qualities.

Peter sometimes had a hard time fulfilling his Christ-life work of fishing for men, rather than fishing for fish (John 21). He could be quick tempered and sometimey. In the Garden of Gethsemane Peter cut off a soldier’s ear when he came for Jesus, yet within a few hours, Peter was denying he knew Jesus. I’d call that sometimey!

In the Garden of Gethsemane, when things didn’t go the way Peter thought they should, he went back to what he had been before Christ; a frightened man-pleaser. Rather than standing up for what he knew was right, he reverted to his old self in order to fit in and get along. Sound familiar?

If we haven’t resolved to be what Christ has called us to be regardless of the cost, at one point or another in our lives, when it’s convenient and comfortable, we all go back to what we were before Christ. Some of us go back to gossiping about others because it makes us feel better about our own situations. Some of us go back to being afraid of what others will think if we do what the Holy Spirit urges us to do. Some of us become men-pleasers because we want people to “like us”. Some of us we go back to the sin from which Christ delivered us.

Whatever we go back to, just know that God does not allow for folly, foolishness or sin in the name of our “previous training”. Once we come to Christ, we are new creatures. We’ve joined a new army and our based training begins; Jesus is our Commander and Chief and the Holy Spirit is our Drill Sergeant. We get a new training manual, which is the Word of God. We must allow old things to pass away, so that the new training we are now undertaking can renew our minds.

Romans 12:2

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Living Above Mediocrity,

Anita Wamble

E-spirational – Divine Inspirations

Sharing God’s Word: Motivating God’s People

http://www.espirational1.com

Coming Out of Someone Else’s Normal, Into My Destiny – II

Posted on June 1, 2015 by espirational1

Romans 8:29 – 30

“For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified he also glorified.”

No one wants to get to the end of their live and consider themselves a failure. In fact, most people don’t want to fail at anything they endeavor to do. But, do we feel the same way about fulfilling our God-given purpose? Are we willing to fail at what God has predestined us to do in order to fit into someone else’s box? Are we willing to forego our calling so we can be liked? Are we willing to neglect our predestination in order to get along with others? Are we willing to fail God so others can feel good about us?

In every family everyone has a role. Some of us are the “go to” person. You know, the one everyone calls when things are falling apart. The one everyone expects to have all the answers and take care of everything even when it’s not their responsibility. Then you have the “baby” of the family. Not that they are a baby or the youngest in the family, they just act like a helpless, hapless baby. They expect to be taken care of by everyone else because that’s their role. And of course, you have the irresponsible one. We all have them in our families, they are the ones that no one can count on for anything, and usually, they are the lazy one that does nothing but expects a share of, or a free ride to, everything that goes on in the family.

But what if your family role was not the role God has appointed for you? Are you willing to give up the role your family expects you to play in order to fulfill your God given appointment?

Sometimes, we are called out of our current situation and into our destiny like David, but other times, we’ve got to walk into our destiny in spite of what others may think or say. We’ve got to know that if God called us to our destiny, He’s made the way for us to fulfill our call and, our gifts will make room for us.

Are you struggling with knowing you’re more than others give you credit for? Or, are you fighting within yourself to move past your fears and reach for the unknown because you know that God has ordained greater for you?

If you answered to either of these questions is “yes” then you have a bigger question to answer; Are you willing to be a failure in God’s plan for you, rather than being the success He’s already ordained you to be?

The biblical meaning of success is summed up in Acts 20:24 “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”

Not succeeding at our God-given task means hundreds, possibility thousands or event millions of lives will not affected by the eternity plan that is in you.

To fail or to succeed, the decision is yours.

Coming Out of Someone Else’s Normal, Into My Destiny – Part I

Posted on May 27, 2015 by espirational1

I Samuel 16:1 – 13

“But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”’

I Samuel 16:7

David was a shepherd boy and in the eyes of his father and his brothers that was all he was ever going to be. When Samuel came looking for the next king of Israel, David wasn’t even called to come from the fields to be inspected by Samuel until all his brothers had been rejected by God Then, God instructed Samuel to ask for David.

People judge us by how they see us; our hair, complexion, our size, height, weight, how we carry ourselves and our clothes. We are also judged by our reputations, what people have heard about us before they’ve even met us.

We judge others, and sometimes we judge ourselves, by our outward appearance. We judge other people by their outward appearance because we can’t judge the heart. We judge ourselves by our outward appearance because we don’t esteem ourselves.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 states God has placed eternity in the heart of men. In other words, God has placed, in our spiritual DNA, a desire to fulfill God’s purpose for our lives. God created in our innermost person a need to reach our potential.

There are times in our lives that people want to pigeonhole us, just like David’s father and brothers wanted to pigeonhole him. They want us to conform to what they think we should look like, think and act. But God doesn’t put people in boxes. God does not require that we all follow the same formula.

Look around you and you’ll see that God loves diversity! There are singers, music composers, administrative executives, engineers and day care providers. There are secretaries, computer programmers, doctors and teachers. The list of vocations goes on and on and, in ever vocation there are Europeans, White Americans, African Americans, Asians, Middle Easterners and other ethnic groups. Some are tall, some are short, some are thin, and some are full figured.

Whatever you are, you are the right one for the purpose God has given you! Are you sitting still and allowing your eternity to eat away at your spirit person because you don’t think you measure up? Only you can answer that question.

Living Above Mediocrity,

Anita Wamble

E-spirational – Divine Inspirations

Sharing God’s Word: Motivating God’s People

www.espirational1.com

Prayer for Today

Posted on April 22, 2015 by espirational1

April 22, 2015

Father God, You have given Your children everything we need to live a full and productive life. You have given us Godly wisdom. You have given us courage and boldness. You have given us the ability to produce wealth; not only material wealth but spiritual wealth. You have given us the power, the authority and the dominion to rule and rein in the earth.

Father, it is true that You have given us all of these things but, most of us don’t live up to the greatness You have bestowed on us. Most of us live from pay check to pay check because we’re too afraid to walk by faith and fulfill the destiny You have placed in our hearts and minds. Many of us live sad, depressed and less than productive lives because we’re trying to live like the world system says we’re supposed to live.

Father, too many of Your children are trying to live down to the level of the world rather than living up to the Kingdom of God. You’ve called and positioned us to live life to the abundant, yet we wallow in the muck and mire of the world. Forgive us!

Father we need Your help to climb out of the pitfalls of this world. Father, help Your children we pray in Jesus name. Amen.

Scripture References:

Genesis 1:26 Proverbs 3:13 Colossians 1:12 – 14

Deuteronomy 8:18 Proverbs 22:5 II Peter 1:2 – 4

Psalm 9:15 Ecclesiastes 2:26

Psalm 40:2 Ecclesiastes 3:11

Psalm 138:3 Isaiah 11:1 – 3

Prayer for Today

Posted on April 17, 2015 by espirational1

April 17, 2015

Lord, thank you for the history I have with You. You have been with me from the beginning and You appointed everything in my life. My birth and all the circumstances surrounding it, where I lived, where I went to school, who I married, my children; everything about me was appointed by You. Every turn in my life has Your fingerprints on it. There is nothing about me that You don’t know.

Lord sometimes I feel my life is floundering or spiraling out of control. Father, help me remember my life was set apart by Your will for me, and everything that You ordained for me shall come to pass.

Lord, help me not to view hardships, trials or tribulations as permanent; thereby causing me to deal with the problem as a permanent fixture in my life. Help me to view the difficulty with a Godly wisdom; knowing that You allowed the situation or circumstance I am facing to come into my life to make me more like Your son, Jesus Christ.

Lord, don’t allow me to forget that each difficulty I face will work for my good because I love You and You have called me to Your royal order. Remind me that I have already overcome every obstacle that will confront me because I am in Christ and He has already overcome the world.

Thank You Lord for helping me to see with spiritual eyes that I do not have to worry about life or body, for You have already prepared a plan to take care of my every need. A plan to prosper me not to hurt me – You are my hope and my future. Lord your Word is my assurance that You are with me always, even to the end of time. I pray in Jesus matchless name. Amen.

Scripture References:

Leviticus 20:26 John 16:33

Psalms 139:13 – 16 Philippians 2:1 – 8

Jeremiah 1:5 Romans 8:28

Jeremiah 29:11 Philippians 2:1 – 8

Matthew 6:25 – 30 I Peter 2:9 – 10

Prayer for Today

Posted on April 3, 2015 by espirational1

I pray that the prayers you’ve received and the scriptures you’ve read throughout this Lenten Season have been a blessing to you and helped prepare you for the rest of your journey with Jesus Christ, the sacrificial Lamb of God.

April 3, 2015

Father, I began this Lenten Season as a journey to know You better. Some days I stayed the course, other days I strayed away allowing other things to distract me from my journey. No matter what, I learned that getting and maintaining a relationship with You through Jesus Christ is a lifelong journey. I will mess up along the way, but if I stay the course, I’m still on the right path.

Along the way to finding out more about You, I found out more about me. As much as I love you, I still fall short but You knew I wasn’t going to be perfect, that’s why You sent Your Son to be my ransom; to take all my sins and carry them to the cross.

As much as I want to do everything You want me to do, my faith is lacking in so many areas. That’s why You sent Jesus, as a man, to show me the importance of prayer and obedience. In His humanity Jesus didn’t want to go to the cross, but out of obedience to You, He went anyway.

I want to be bold and courageous in the things You have purposed for me to do but I allow the things of my past to interfere with my future. That’s why You sent Your Son to be the anointment for Your forgiveness for me, one time for all time. Now, I need to forgive myself the way You forgive me.

On this Good Friday I look at the cross that Jesus died on a little differently. It wasn’t something He did for everyone; it is something He did just for me. Thank you Jesus for dying in my place and becoming sin for me so I can have everlasting life through You. I pray in Jesus name. Amen.

Scripture References:

Matthew 26:36 – 39 Romans 10:8 – 11

Romans 6:12 – 14 Hebrews 9:14 – 15

Romans 10:4 Hebrews 10:8 – 10

Prayer for Today

Posted on March 26, 2015 by espirational1

Lenten season challenge: Read the scriptures that are referenced at the bottom of each prayer every day during this Lenten season!

March 26, 2015

This is the day that You, Father God, have made and I will rejoice and be glad in it!

Father, I’m going to celebrate myself today. If no one says anything good or positive to me or about me, I will say good and positive things about myself. I am great and mighty in Your sight. There is nothing too difficult for me to grasp, understand and then carry out.

Yes, I’ve failed in the past. Yes, I’ve come up short. Yes, I’ve made bad decisions. And yes, I blow it from time to time. But I thank You for Your grace and mercy. I will fail again, but I will put You first and place my wholehearted trust in You. Then, I will be victorious in everything You set my hands to do. I will conquer every place that You set my feet. Nothing will be impossible for me.

I stand ready to achieve the greatness You have locked in my DNA. I am ready, willing and able to do everything You have purposed me to do.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen!

Scripture References:

Psalms 118:24

Luke 1:37

Prayer for Today

Posted on March 18, 2015 by espirational1

Lenten season challenge: Read the scriptures that are referenced at the bottom of each prayer every day during this Lenten season!

March 18, 2015

Father, on days like this, when things seem so cloudy and uncertain, I find comfort and strength in knowing that Your plans for me will prevail over everything else. By faith I believe no assault that anyone can level on my character, my finances or my overall well-being that can stop what You have ordained for me.

So I say to my internal and external foes, “Your plan to bring me harm has failed. I have my victory already in hand, because I know through Christ I am more than a conqueror. I have already won, because God will fight for me. There is no scheme or plan that you can bring against me that will thwart the plans that God has for me.”

Lord, my enemy has won a few battles, but by faith, I say I’ve already won the war.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Scripture References:

Proverbs 19:21

Psalms 139:16

Genesis 50:20

Romans 8:28 – 37

Job 42:2

II Chronicles 20:15

Spiritual Night Travel

Posted on February 26, 2015 by espirational1

“By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.” Exodus 13:21

Has God ever required you to travel at spiritual night? Moving forward without the full plan to use as your guide or compass? He has required me to travel by spiritual night on more than a few occasions and I can tell you the journey took some time to get used to.

I am a planner. I believe in guidelines, timelines, procedures and schedules. The first time God required me to travel in spiritual night I was rebellious. I didn’t know where He was trying to take me or for what reason. I didn’t have a plan or know the purpose of the journey so I set down and wouldn’t move. I told God, “I’ll do what you tell me to do when you tell me what the end result is going to be and give me a plan!”

God began closing doors and locking windows in my life. And if that weren’t enough, He started turning up the heat making it impossible for me to stay where I was, so I took the only way of escape He left me.

Then I realized the way He had left me was dark because I hadn’t been that way before, I didn’t have a plan nor any experience to cling to during this time. I didn’t know how to travel this path but it was the only path God had left me. Everything else was cut off.

I cried out to God but there was only silence. I prayed but there was no answer. I resolved to go back to the way I had come but I couldn’t because all roads leading back had been blocked. The only way I could go was forward, but how?

Even in our darkest times, during our spiritual night travels, God provides a pillar of fire to lead us. It may be on your coffee table or your night stand. You may have left it in your car from the last time you went to your house of worship, but it is your pillar of fire by night. It is the word of God!

In Exodus 13:21 the pillar of fire guided the people through the wilderness and assured them of God’s presence. That’s what God’s word does for us! Are you in a wilderness experience in your life right now? If so, here’s some light for you to walk in:

You are blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly realm – Ephesians 1:3

You are chosen by the Father – Ephesians 1:4

You are God’s workmanship – Ephesians 2:10

You are victorious – I John 5:4

You are an overcomer – Revelation 12:11

You are healed – I Peter 2:24

You are more than a conqueror – Romans 8:37

God has given you the ability to produce wealth – Deuteronomy 8:18

God hears you when you call – Isaiah 65:24

“We’ll walk in the light, beautiful light. Come where the dew drops of mercy shine bright. Shine all around us by day and by night. Jesus, the light of the world.” George D. Elderkin

	Jonathan Caswell on God’s Promise for Today
	John Bryant on Prayer for Today
	Sarah Burton on Weeds or Roses
	Evanston Psychologis… on Prayer for Today
	Diane on GPS Too

Espirational1

Tag Archives: plans

Looking Forward – Moving Forward

Fighting to Become the Me I was Meant to Be

Coming Out of Someone Else’s Normal, Into My Destiny – II

Coming Out of Someone Else’s Normal, Into My Destiny – Part I

Prayer for Today

Prayer for Today

Prayer for Today

Prayer for Today

Prayer for Today

Spiritual Night Travel