RheaLyn's Life

You Must Develop Patience

When you and I say to God, “Change me,” we better know what we’re saying because we are not just going to wake up different the next morning. Instead, what God is going to do is give us an opportunity, through opposition, to grow as we change.

James 1 tells us how important it is to have patience when we’re changing and facing opposition. Patience is a fruit of the Spirit that only develops and grows under trial, and it’s something we need. Scripture tells us that when we have it, we’re perfect and entire, lacking nothing. However, there’s just no way to get it without going through something to receive it.

If we really want to be victorious Christians who serve God and make a difference in the world, then we are going to have to go through some challenging things. The devil will try to scare you off, but God can see you through any challenge.

So today, choose to let God work through you, even in the face of opposition. As your patience grows and develops, you will step into a life of great victory.

Prayer Starter: Lord, I want You to change me, and I know that means I’ll have to go through challenges. Give me Your strength to endure and be steadfast when I’m going through trials so I can have patience and be fully developed in Christ.

Hear God: Eliminate the Distractions

You can’t hear God when your mind is crowded with thoughts, worries, fears, and plans, or if you always have the radio or TV on. And if you constantly have your phone against your ear, when God calls all he gets is a busy signal!

All of these distractions are what Jesus was referring to in Luke 8 when he talked about the seed falling in the weeds. Today’s verse says those weeds grew with the seed and strangled it.

Now notice that this scenario is a little bit better than the shallow soil because the seed actually sprouts and grows. But the weeds choke it out so it never bears fruit. So many people hear God speak, but as they go on their way, life’s worries, riches, and pleasures choke them, so they never mature.

If you are always on the go and you can’t hear God, you are facing the barrier of busyness. Often we confuse busyness with productivity and they aren’t the same thing. If you keep going, going, going but you aren’t spiritually growing, growing, growing, you are busy, not productive.

Jesus says distractions are like weeds that grow up in your mind and heart, just as weeds grow in a garden.

How much effort does it take to grow weeds? None. Weeds are a sign of neglect. When you neglect your time with God, the weeds start to grow in your life. In order to overcome the weeds, you must learn to overcome your preoccupied mind.

First Kings 19:12 says that when God spoke to Elijah, it wasn’t in a wind or earthquake or fire; it was in a gentle whisper. If you want to hear God whisper to you, you have to be quiet.

Take Time To Listen

If you don’t make time for God, you are not going to hear from God. You have to slow down and be quiet so you can hear him. When you are in a hurry you can’t hear God.

When we live hurried lives, God gets shuffled off into the spare minutes and he is short changed with our time. We say, “Lord, speak to me but do it quickly.” Skimping on our time with God leads to a life that becomes more and more shallow. We don’t go deep because we don’t make time for it. We aren’t spending enough time alone with God, if at all. He needs quality time to change us.

This shallow lifestyle, where we’re always in a hurry, represents the shallow or rocky soil in Jesus’ parable. Jesus says this shallow soil represents a superficial mind. A person with this mind kind of listens to God’s Word, and maybe gets emotionally moved, but she/he never really does anything about it.

How do you get past this? How do you change from being a shallow person to a deep person who keeps the faith even when a recession or an illness or a job loss or marriage trouble hits?

You need two things:

A daily quiet time — You need time alone with God to read the Bible, pray and keep a journal of the things you are learning.

A weekly small group — You need time with other believers who are close to you and can give you a fresh perspective. They can give you the encouragement and accountability you need to go deeper in your relationship with God.

Bloom

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
“The righteous shall flourish…”
(Psalm 92:12, NKJV)

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria
I remember walking in the woods one time when I came upon a clearing filled with weeds. As far as I could see, these dead, dried-up weeds had covered up everything. As I walked a hundred yards further in, I saw a single, beautiful flower that had grown up among all those weeds. It was so colorful and so different from everything that surrounded it. I thought, “That’s what God wants us to be: vibrant and blooming wherever He’s planted us.”

Friend, no matter what season you are in today, God wants you to bloom right where you are. That doesn’t mean you’re going to always be in that situation. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t dream big or plan for the future. It simply means that you are going to choose to be your best on the way to where you’re headed. It means you go out each day with a smile on your face and a spring in your step. It means you give God glory in everything you do. Always remember, bloom where you’re planted and let Him work in and through you all the days of your life!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY
Father, thank You for Your hand of mercy upon my life. Today, I choose to bloom where I’m planted. I choose to trust You and honor You knowing that You are working behind the scenes for my good. I love You and bless You in Jesus’ name. Amen!
— Joel & Victoria Osteen

One of my favorite passages in the Bible, that I want to share with u Sis @RheaLyn. Daniel 10:12 “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words.”

Have you ever had a time when you prayed about something and there was no answer from heaven? You were praying a lot about a certain situation and it seemed as though God wasn’t listening to your prayer. Let me say that He is listening. And there may be a number of reasons He did not answer you as quickly as you had hoped.

A spiritual battle may be raging that you know nothing about. There is a supernatural realm that functions right alongside the natural world, things are happening when we pray that we often know very little about.

In the Book of Daniel, we find a fascinating story in which Daniel is praying and an angel arrives. The angel said, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words” (Daniel 10:12). Then he essentially told Daniel the reason for the delay in Daniel’s prayer being answered. “Twenty-one days ago, your prayer was heard in heaven and an answer was sent. I was bringing the answer and I was stopped by a high-ranking demon that opposed me. So the great archangel Michael was dispatched to deliver me from this dilemma. And then I was freed to bring the answer to you.”

If you are praying for something and haven’t received an answer as quickly as you wanted, maybe a spiritual battle has been raging, so, just remember this: God’s delays are not necessarily His denials. Just because an answer hasn’t come as quickly as you would like, does not mean that it never will come at all, SO KEEP PRAYING. —

God Knows We Can’t Be Perfect

There are many people who are so afraid of making a mistake that they don’t do anything. Instead, they sit around saying, “What if I’m wrong? What if I miss God?”

Do you know what God told me one time? He said, “If you miss me, I’ll find you.”

If we are wandering off somewhere and not sure where we are, we can just lift up our hands and say, “Jesus, come and get me! I’m confused. I think I made a wrong decision.”

God knows we cannot be perfect, so He sent His son as a perfect sacrifice for us. Now we’re pressing toward the mark of perfection. In Philippians 3, the apostle talks about pressing forward to what lies ahead and forgetting about the past.

God is calling you to press forward today. Stop living in fear of making mistakes, because everyone makes mistakes, period. God is not asking you to not make mistakes. He’s calling you to press forward, trusting Him to lead you. He’s asking you to call upon Him. Don’t live in fear of your imperfection. Live with faith in God’s perfect plan for you.

Prayer Starter: God, I don’t want to live paralyzed by fear of my imperfection and my mistakes. I know that instead, I can call out to You, and You will help me press forward to the mark of perfection.

You Can Come Over Anytime

God has given us permission to fearlessly, confidently, and bodly draw near to His throne of grace. In fact, we are encouraged in Ephesians 3:12 to approach Him freely.

This means we can go into the presence of God anytime we feel like it. We can go 200 times a day if we want to go, with an “in and out” type of privilege. God doesn’t even tell us we have to knock on the door or wait for someone to say, “Come in.”

Suppose you have a friend who says, “You know what? You can come over anytime you want to come. You don’t even have to knock because you are welcome anytime, day or night. Just come on in!”

Now just think…God is saying that to you, unreservedly, which means you don’t have to be careful or hesitate or wonder if you’ve worn out your welcome. It means even if you make some mistakes or do things you shouldn’t do, you can repent of your sins, be cleansed in the blood of Jesus, and go boldly into His presence.

Prayer Starter: Lord, how wonderful it is to be able to enter Your presence anytime. I am so grateful for this privilege, and and thank You for encouraging me to come.

Cultivate An Open Mind

In Luke 8, Jesus uses the Parable of the Four Soils to give us the keys to hearing God speak.

In Jesus’ day, farmers didn’t have tractors or planters. To sow seed, the farmer would take the bag of seed, go out and cast it, or throw it, out over the ground. As he threw it, the seed landed on different kinds of soil. The seed would sprout, grow, and bear fruit depending which type of soil it fell on.

In this parable, the farmer represents God, the seed represents his Word, and the soil represents the four different kinds of responses you can have when God is trying to talk to you.

If you want to hear God speak, you must first cultivate an open mind. You have to be willing, ready, and eager to hear from him so you can receive what he has to say.

When Jesus talked about the hard soil (the path) in Luke 8, he was talking about a person’s resistance to hearing God. Do you know anyone who is like a footpath - narrow-minded with a hard heart? No matter what you say about God, they are not going to listen because they already have their minds made up.

Sometimes we don’t give God a chance to talk. Our minds are made up, our hearts are hardened, and we’re unwilling to listen. We have the hardened soil of a closed mind.

What can cause us to have a closed mind? There are three mental blocks: pride, fear, bitterness.

What is the antidote to a hardened heart? “Get rid of all filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the message God has planted in your hearts, for it is strong enough to save your soul.” (James 1:21 NLT) Get rid of all the garbage, the TV, movies, books, magazines, games and websites you shouldn’t be indulging in, and humbly accept God’s Word.

The key phrase in that verse is “humbly accept.” Pray to God and say, “Lord, I admit I tried to figure it out on my own. It didn’t work, so I’m going to listen to you.” That’s the first step.

It’s Essential to Hear God

A lot of people think it’s not so important to hear from God. But you should not be satisfied with that attitude. You need to be hearing from God on a daily basis. Why? There are three reasons why it’s absolutely vital for you to be able to hear directly from God.

It proves you’re in God’s family — When you are tuned in to God and hear from him, it confirms your relationship because God talks to his children. John 10:27 says, “My sheep recognize my voice and follow me.” (NLT)

Just as parents talk to all their children, God talks to all of his kids. He doesn’t just single out the pastors or the missionaries, or those who have been Christians the longest. He talks to all believers, whether they are mature or immature. As we grow spiritually, it becomes easier to hear God.

It protects you from mistakes — If you listen to God, you’ll make fewer mistakes because you’ll hear him warning you in advance. Proverbs 3:6 says, “Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, and everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track.” (MSG)

Notice the verse didn’t say just in church; it says, “in everything you do, and everywhere you go.” I couldn’t count the number of times God has saved me from wasting time, wasting money and wasting energy because I listened to him.

It produces success in life — This is not the kind of success the world talks about where you’re famous and filthy rich. This is God’s definition of success - being exactly who God made you to be so that your life can have meaning.

“I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.” (Psalm 32:8 NLT) Did you know that the best pathway for your life is different than the best pathway for someone else’s life? And if you try to follow somebody else’s pathway you’re life will be filled with problems.

God has a customized pathway for you, and if you follow it you will succeed.

What Are You Hoping for?

I have a question for you: What are you hoping for? What are you expecting in life? Are you looking for something good to happen or are you expecting to be disappointed?

So many people are feeling hopeless these days. However, Jesus did not die for us to be hopeless. He died so that we could be full of hope.

The devil wants to steal your hope and he will lie to you. He’ll tell you that nothing good can happen in your life or that the things you care about won’t last. If you’re struggling with a difficult situation, he’ll tell you it will never end. But you have to stay full of hope and remember that the devil is a liar. God can change everything!

Our Father is good, and He has good plans for your life. If you will maintain your hope, especially in the midst of troubled and uncertain times, He has promised you “double for your trouble”. So refuse to give up hope. Start expecting God to do something, something good!

Prayer Starter: Lord, my hope is in You. Satan is a liar and I will not listen to him and lose hope. I expect You to do good things in my life.

Confession Keeps You Healthy

We’ve looked at the importance of trusting God and letting go of resentment, worry, and fear to maintain good health. This leads right into the second biblical factor for good health.

Confessing my sin is good for my health — Any psychologist will tell you this - it’s good to clear your conscience and get things off your chest. Your body is not made to hold it in. When you hold guilt inside you, it’s like shaking up a soda can with the top on. It will blow eventually.

David says it this way in Psalm 32:3-5, “When I refused to confess my sin, I was weak and miserable, and I groaned all day long. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Finally I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide them. And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone” (NLT).

David internalized his guilt and it physically affected his body. If you don’t talk out your problems, your guilt, your bitterness with God, you’re going to take it out on your body.

Doctors say a lot of people could leave the hospital today if they knew how to get rid of guilt or resentment over things they’ve done to others and things others have done to them.

Spend a few moments in prayer today asking God to forgive you for the things you’ve done to others. Then pray about any resentment and bitterness you are holding against people who have hurt you. Ask God to help you forgive those people so you can move on to better health.

You Can’t Out-Give God

Some put money or the world’s system of commerce before God. But the Bible states in Revelation 18 that if we put our trust in money, it’s going to fail. I’ve found that the way to deal with money, instead of struggling with it, is to try and out-give God…because we can’t.

The more we give away, the more we’ll receive. The more we obey Him with our finances, the more He blesses us. The more we do for other people, the more God has other people do for us.

Society tells us to invest everything in the world’s system and work all the time to make more money. But if we do, we’ll really never have anything that matters, especially joy. And we won’t be able to enjoy the money we have because we won’t be using it God’s way.

It may not make sense according to the world’s system, but God doesn’t want you to simply make money and hoard it away. God says that by giving it away, you will have more in the end. I challenge you to increase your generosity today. Trust me, you can’t out-give God.

Prayer Starter: God, Your plan for my finances isn’t like the world’s, but I know that when I give the way You tell me to, You will take care of me. My money is Yours and I will use it as You see fit.

Trust Leads to Good Health

God has given you the gift of your body and it comes with an owner’s manual - the Bible. In it are all the instructions you need to take care of yourself and live a long life.

You already know the basics - proper nutrition, exercise, a good night’s rest. Today I want to look at the first of four health factors you may not have thought of for living long and well.

Trusting God is good for your health — “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5 NIV) Why is trusting in God good for your health? When you trust Him then you don’t worry.

Psalm 116:7 says, “I said to myself, “Relax, the Lord is going to take care of you’” (NCV). If you really trust in God, you’re going to be less stressed.

You have a choice - You can either worry or worship. You can either pray or panic.

The more you pray, the less you’ll panic. Relax, because God will take care of you!

You Can Win the Battle Today

Right now, you and I are in the middle of a war. As long as we live in this world, we are going to have to resist becoming like it.
It’s a daily battle, and sadly, the church today is full of worldly, carnal, fleshly believers. But if we want to live in a way that can change our world, then we have to stop living in the flesh and start living in the Spirit.

Every one of us needs to continually make adjustments to put our fleshly desires under the Holy Spirit’s control and not let our emotions or mind rule us. Scripture explains that the spirit wars against the flesh and the flesh wars against the spirit, so they are continually antagonistic toward each other.

It’s a war! The devil hates us, and he is constantly working overtime trying to make sure that we give in to the flesh.

Ultimately, you decide who wins in your life. You don’t have to be subject to your flesh. You can live in the Spirit, bringing your flesh in line with His Will. You can win the battle today.

Prayer Starter: God, I want to win the battle today. My flesh will lead to death, but living in Your Spirit leads to life. I choose Your Spirit today. Help me bring my flesh in line with Your will.