Reserves or Overflow?

When you are saturated by the Holy Spirit what flows out of you comes from the overflow. There have been times that I have known that I have ministered from my spiritual reserves. That's the water that is stored up for times of drought. 

My question for you today is, are you in a season of spiritual drought? When was the last time you spent alone time in the presence of God. The type of alone time where he replenishes your sprit with fresh living waters? 

When you minister you give of what is in your spiritual tank. So, what is flowing from you? Is it fresh, or is it stagnant waters? 

Stagnant waters have been proven to contain bacteria and parasites that can be life threatening! Don't allow poison to dwell in you any longer!!! 

Today the Holy Spirit calls you to draw near to him for a time of refreshing. Allow him to come replenish your spiritual wells and his life will flow in you once again!!! 

~Heidi Lugo~

Take That Step of Faith

Yesterday I had to look for something in the attic of the church. The attic has an old wood ladder that goes up towards where our steeple is. The ladder is very high and very old, two things that shouldn't be paired together. 

I didn't have a problem climbing the ladder, I had a problem coming down it. Why? 

Because the ladder being on such a vertical angle didn't allow me to see the first step! 

As I tried to take the first step I felt my body begin to tremble in fear. Once I realized that I would have to come down without seeing the step I crouched down to just get it over with.

As I began to take first step I felt God say, "That's a what a step of faith is!" Once I took the first one he said, "If it doesn't scare you, it's not faith! Once you take the step I'll always be there!" 

The bible says...

For we walk by faith [we regulate our lives and conduct ourselves by our conviction or belief respecting man's relationship to God and divine things, with trust and holy fervor; thus we walk] not by sight or appearance. (2 Corinthians 5:7 KJV)

Martin Luther King Jr said, "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole ladder!"

Today God challenges us to begin walking in faith. Don't fear because he'll be there and you won't fall. So take that step of Faith that God has been telling you to take! 

Your Time of Harvest Has Arrived!

Sometimes it feels as if a mass exodus is happening all around us. People we once loved and trusted all of a sudden turn there backs on us, co-laborers in the ministry leave without warning & suddenly our world shifts. Why does this happen? 

Jesus explained it this way... 

He told another story. “God’s kingdom is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. That night, while his hired men were asleep, his enemy sowed thistles all through the wheat and slipped away before dawn. When the first green shoots appeared and the grain began to form, the thistles showed up, too.

“The farmhands came to the farmer and said, ‘Master, that was clean seed you planted, wasn’t it? Where did these thistles come from?’ “He answered, ‘Some enemy did this.’ “The farmhands asked, ‘Should we weed out the thistles?’ “He said, ‘No, if you weed the thistles, you’ll pull up the wheat, too. Let them grow together until harvest time. Then I’ll instruct the harvesters to pull up the thistles and tie them in bundles for the fire, then gather the wheat and put it in the barn.’” (Matthew 13:24-30 MSG)

This is what I call the math of God. When God subtracts from your life he then doesn't just add, he multiplies things in your life. 

Put it this way, without those people you wouldn't be where you are today. Had God removed them from the start you might have died in the process as the wheat would die if the weed is pulled too soon. Yes it hurts to have the weeds of your life pulled out, but that grooming that God does is the signal that harvest time has arrived!

So next time you feel betrayed, abandoned or used by those that leave you, wait because that just means your time of Harvest has arrived!!! 

~Heidi Lugo~

3 Things the Righteousness of God Does

Three things the rightousness judge does: 

God is a righteous judge, a God who displays his wrath every day. If he does not relent, he will sharpen his sword; he will bend and string his bow. He has prepared his deadly weapons; he makes ready his flaming arrows. (Psalm 7:11-13 NIV)

 

1. Whoever is pregnant with evil conceives trouble and gives birth to disillusionment. 

Psalm 7: 14

2. Whoever digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit they have made. 

Psalm 7:15

3.  The trouble they cause recoils on them; their violence comes down on their own heads. 

Psalm 7:15

So rejoice when others plot against you because the righteousness of God will go before you!!! 

Have you Plateaued?

I was stuck at a specific weight for two weeks. I was so frustrated but I stuck to the plan and kept going. Everyone told me not to weigh myself for a week and when I finally did I had broken through the plateau and lost 3 pounds.

I think that happens to us in life. We come to Christ and our lives begin to change then all of a sudden things just plateau. So we have a choice to make... Either we give up and go back or we keep moving forward no matter what the "scale" may say.

I learned this about the body;

When you are about to reach your ideal weight it becomes harder to lose the last of it. That's when you need to eat less calories and do more exercise. 

So if you are at a plateau in life right now, get to work. Push a little harder. Shedding that weight (your past, different struggles, addictions) may seem impossible but your break through is coming!!! 

Loving with a guarded heart!

"There are no shortcuts to authentic friendship. Relationships are messy and unpredictable. We can't fake love just to get someone to come to church. That's manipulation and hypocrisy, and sooner or later it will backfire." Judah smith 

I've been struggling with the reality if this statement, "There are no shortcuts to authentic friendship. Relationships are messy and unpredictable."

The struggle begins when you love people and then get hurt by them. People hide things, they lie to your face, you open up in a time of vulnerably and then they divulge that with malice in there hearts. And there begins the conflict between being open and genuine and guarding your heart. 

My prayer today was quite honestly, "Lord what do I do with this desire to truly love but the reality if being hurt?" And God brought these two verses to my mind. 

1. Living as becomes you] with complete lowliness of mind (humility) and meekness (unselfishness, gentleness, mildness), with patience, bearing with one another and making allowances because you love one another. (Ephesians 4:2 AMP)

2. Behold, I am sending you out like sheep in the midst of wolves; be wary and wise as serpents, and be innocent (harmless, guileless, and without falsity) as doves. [Gen. 3:1.] (Matthew 10:16 AMP)

Why these seemingly two opposite scriptures? 

Ah yes the word "Boundaries" came to mind!!! Boundaries are necessary in order to have healthy loving relationships that don't violate the principles of God! 

My prayer today is: God help me love like you love, always being genuine in all my relationships. That the hurt and betrayals I've experience don't make me callus. God help me to protect my own heart by standing on you word and not allowing others to cross my boundaries.

Make Jesus famous

After posting in Facebook last night I wanted to expand on my thoughts...

Only one time in scripture does Jesus tell anyone to go and tell what he has done (Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: (Matthew 11:4 NKJV) but over and over you see that Jesus told other not to tell anyone what he had done. 

( Matthew 12:16 and Mark 3:12 after healing many people.

Matthew 16:20, Mark 8:30, and Luke 9:21 after Peter’s proclamation that Jesus was the Christ (Messiah)

Mark 7:36 after healing a mute and deaf man.

Mark 9:9 after the transfiguration.

Luke 8:56 after raising a girl from the dead. & more) 

(From The Berean Call)

People made Jesus famous, through the sharing of what he had done, who he was and that drew people to him...

Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. (Matthew 4:24 NKJV)

He didn't make himself famous, people did! We have to continue it by doing just that "telling others about his love". 

But more than that, showing them his love. 

We need to tell the world everyday about the crazy love, mercy and grace of God! It's radical but it's what the world needs. We have the remedy so let's share it!!!