God Promises To Keep His promises

 

 

 

God Promises To Keep His Promises

by Olga Hermans

Have you ever heard someone say that promises are made to be broken? Have you ever experienced that people broke a promise to you? Maybe right now you feel like your life is broken because somebody broke a promise to you. If you’ve had any of these experiences, it may be difficult for you to believe that God will keep His promises. However, God has never broken a promise and He never will!

Have you ever felt that God might keep His promises to others but He would never do it for you? Or that He might keep His promises some times but not other times for some mysterious reason? Whatever your experience has been, or whatever you may think, I want to tell you that God’s Word is the most certain thing in the world.

There are thousands of promises in the Word of God, and He declares strongly that He will fulfill each and every one of them. I like to say it this way: God promises to keep His promises. Every promise in the Bible is a gift to us wrapped in love. I can assure you that He hasn’t changed His mind about any of His gifts. James 1:17

Although God has the ability and the desire to bring every promise to come to pass in our lives, we each must individually appropriate the promises by faith. It is always faith that moves God into action on our behalf. It is a fact that when we mix faith with the promise, we receive what we ask for. Rom.10:17

You can see every promise as if you would set a goal and each promise holds the potential to come into existence; isn’t that awesome? That way you can use God’s Word as a “road map” for your life; and when you take hold of the promises in the Word, the Holy Spirit supplies the energy to travel that road without failure.

Do you know anybody that did this? Our great example for this is Abraham. He followed the book of God’s Word as a map. He had been busy following his own map when one day the Lord spoke to him and gave him a different direction. That was the moment that Abraham yielded to the Lord and planned every day of his life in accordance with the promises which the Lord had given to him.

Abraham lived in a land of idol worshipers and didn’t know the true and living God, but when God spoke to him, Abraham obeyed and changed the direction of his life. Didn’t you do that when God spoke to you, when the Holy Spirit wooed you to into the direction of God? Sure, you did; that is how you got saved.

I remember as if it were yesterday when the Lord tapped me on my shoulder to leave Amsterdam. I was living in the world, more at night than during the day. I don’t have to tell you what I was doing, because everybody knows that Amsterdam is famous for all the wrong things. But here I was, 21 years of age, my parents had died within 2 years from each other and I decided to go and live my life in Amsterdam.

My life was going down the drain quite fast. I had a friend; (my husband’s sister), who had a younger brother. I always had liked him because of his morals and values, he always stood out to me for that reason but he was 2 years younger than I. But this one particular night, I was sitting at my desk and I had the impression to leave Amsterdam and go to Canada, where he was living at the time. That is what I did, and within 2 weeks I was in Canada. Although that was a whole story in itself (a beautiful love story), I just want to point out right now that I thank God that I obeyed this inclination and decided to change my life and from then on God was able to direct my steps.

Just like Abraham who stepped into the unknown, I stepped into the unknown. Leaving Amsterdam behind me for a much better way of living, I loved the prairie at that moment. People thought I had lost my mind. How could it be that a person leaves the wild lifestyle from Amsterdam to work on a tractor on the prairies of Alberta? Only God can do that!

Let’s get back to Abraham; he was no more perfect than you and I are; he made mistakes, but he always got back on course. That is what we should do.

Do you have unfulfilled dreams? Haven’t you discovered the life you were born to live yet? Are there plans you won’t make because you can’t see how they could ever come true? Your life is all about making the right choices and decisions. Look at Abraham and Sarah; they left a comfortable environment to follow God.

What God has done for anyone else, He will do for you. God created you and He has a plan for your life and He wants you to discover it and ignite it with passion. He has a plan that will bring blessing and satisfaction. God’s way is always the best way, and God has expressed that way in His Word and His promises.

You can subscribe to The Daily Choice which is a SPIRITUAL Devotion that helps you to make the right choices in your life!

What About Faithfulness?

 

 

What About Faithfulness?

by Olga Hermans


Somebody said: “Being faithful in the smallest things is the way to gain, maintain, and demonstrate the strength needed to accomplish something great.” Joyce Meyer said it this way: “Faithfulness is not doing something right once but doing something right over and over and over and over.” And Mother Teresa said: “I am not called to be successful; I am called to be faithful”.

What do you say? Webster defines faithful as maintaining an allegiance to someone or something; to be constant; loyal; having or showing a strong sense of duty or responsibility; conscientious. Being faithful is a good thing; it implies having an undeviating allegiance to a person, cause or institution.

What do you think the opposite of faithfulness is? It would imply failure in devotion to someone or something, being dishonest, disloyal; unreliable and undependable. God is faithful and He keeps His Word. He is constant and unchanging.

God is always faithful to keep His covenant with us, even when we are not faithful; God remains faithful to His Word. Numb.23:19.
It is so sad that in our society many people lack faithfulness and integrity and do not keep their word. This creates distrust, disappointment and hurt in others. It also causes others not to believe in them or become involved with them on many levels because they don’t want to experience pain and hurt again.

Have you ever heard the saying? Hurting people hurt people. This should motivate us enough to become faithful. How many times, myself included, have we been faithful only when it’s convenient or comfortable and not keeping promises when it is hard and reap a harvest of pain and hurt later on.

There are times when God will prove your faithfulness. He does that by placing you in seemingly unimportant positions, all the while observing your faithfulness in the little things. God will not promote a person who is unfaithful (irresponsible) in the little things. Faithful people feel responsible for the things they do and the people they serve.

They do not quit because they are tired, offended, or because there is inconvenience. They go on to complete the task they’ve been given. People who are undependable or irresponsible will not be given leadership positions. A leader must be responsible and faithful. Proverbs 25:19. People who are not dependable or faithful can be a pain to those who work or live with them.

You know Daniel in the Bible right? He was promoted to the level of being a first prime minister under King Darius. Dan.6:1-4. He had already proven faithful through the reign of two previous kings. Darius, however, had promoted him because he valued Daniel’s wisdom and character above all the other men around him.

This caused jealousy in others who wanted his position. They began to look for ways to trap him but could not find any character flaws. Daniel 6:4. Daniel was faithful to God and to his king. I truly believe that when you are faithful to God, you will be faithful to those who are in authority over you.

You know what happened to Daniel; his enemies had to find something to betray him and although Daniel ended up in the lions’ den because of doing what was right, God protected him by shutting the lion’s mouths.

Faithfulness does not always mean circumstances will be favorable, but as you are willing to walk out your commitment to God and your assignment, God will deliver you and promote you. We must learn how to stand steadfast and immovable in what we know is the right thing to do.

Here are some helpful hints for being faithful:

1. Keep your word.
2. Do all you can do to the best of your ability in the assignment you are in.
3. Do what you are assigned to do, whether others see you or not. God sees you.
4. Go the extra mile if it is necessary in order to complete an assigned task.
5. Maintain a sense of responsibility, realizing that others may be dependent on the part you do. Remove the attitude that someone else will do it from your thinking.
6. Stay put when others jump out at the first difficulty. Learn to stay until you’ve spent time and heard direction from God before considering a move.
7. Keep a good attitude and avoid listening to negative people.
8. Submit to authority and learn to follow. Then God can promote you more quickly to a leadership position.
9. Don’t look for changes to always happen in others around you. Instead, learn to look inside yourself and allow God to change you even more into His character.

There are also rewards for faithful people and they are good!!

1. “A faithful man shall abound with blessings….” Pro 28:20
2. “….The Lord preserves the faithful….” Psa 31:23
3. “… You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little; I will put you in charge of much….” Mat 25:21
4. “… He counted me faithful and trustworthy, appointing me to [this stewardship of] the ministry. 1Tim. 1:12
5. “… Be loyally faithful unto death [even if you must die for it], and I will give you the crown of life”. Rev 2:10

You can subscribe to The Daily Choice which is a SPIRITUAL Devotion that helps you to make the right choices in your life!

Mercy Is The Missing Piece

 

 

 

 

Mercy Is The Missing Piece

by Olga Hermans

 

I don’t think I am wrong when I say that most of us desire to receive more from the Lord than we have in the past. Maybe you are thinking that because you have made so many mistakes and you have done so many wrong things that blessings will never come to you as it does to other people.

Let’s talk about that today, because you might have to wake up to the mercy of God in a brand-new way. Lam 3:22-23 says: The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning.

One way to receive more from God is by getting a deeper revelation of the mercy of God. To receive something from God, we must have faith. We all know that! We must believe that God has the ability to do what we ask for; we must believe that He is willing to do it. We have confidence in Him that He is a good God and that He is all that we read about in the Bible.

We must know that He is always the same. So there is not a day that He is moody or that He wants to bully us or not act according to His word, right? He is what He says He is and He is a God of His Word; what He says is always yes and amen to us.

This tells us that it comes down to us; we are the ones who have problems believing and maybe even a more difficult time to receive. If you doubt His willingness, you won’t be able to receive from Him. Or if you think He is angry, critical, or judgmental, you won’t be confident that He desires to bless you abundantly.

Even though you know that He has provided for all your needs, because everybody says that and you have heard this message preached over and over again. But the fact is that the blessings are still not coming your way.

You keep thinking why this is and why are others more blessed than I am? You need to realize how amazingly merciful and kind He is; then it is easy to reach out and receive from Him. It is easy when we realize how much He loves us, how much He cares for us and how much He wants to bless us despite of us. 

Always remember He is a good God and His mercies are new every morning. EVERY MORNING, His mercies are new and are there for us to receive. Psalm 103 makes it very clear to us that every miracle that was ever done, was done because of His mercy and love. God is merciful in all His acts and all His ways.

My pastor has been preaching about the acts and the ways of God for some time now; the acts of God refer to all the supernatural miracles that God has done for His people: things like the deliverance out of Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, the cloud by day and the fire by night and the many great victories He gave the Israelites when they entered the promised land.

The ways of God are the reasons He did those things. Psalm 103:8 tells us that those reasons are very simple. He did them because He “….is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in mercy…”

God has a father’s heart, and He pities His children, so the Lord pities those who fear” Psalm 103:13 I like that because that lets us know that God covers us with His tender love and concern for all our needs the same as our parents. We should see Him this way, wanting to give us everything He has to give.

I want everything that He has for me, what about you? I don’t want to let anything go to waste; Jesus died on the cross for all our needs, so that makes us responsible to receive everything.

Aren’t you glad that God isn’t standing behind a door with a big stick ready to whack us for something we did wrong? NO!! He is bending over us with great joy and love and excitement because we are His children.

He is putting His arms around you and me and is filled with mercy and compassion, always wanting to forgive us. He desires to help us and pour out His blessings over us. Why? Because that is who He is; that is His very nature.

Many people don’t understand that about God. Religion has given them the impression that He actually enjoys punishing the wicked and disobedient, but the Bible doesn’t say that. Ez.33:11 “God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked for death is strange to His nature.”

You have to start believing that God delights in extending His mercy to you. The entire ministry of Jesus was all about Him giving mercy to people around Him; He demonstrated His mercy everywhere He went. Jesus talked to every person who came to Him and He always told them that He was willing to heal them or to forgive them. He always let them know how much He loved them.

He is continually moved with compassion toward people. He is always willing and desiring to have mercy on you and me. I believe that we should read through the Bible f or the only purpose to see for ourselves with a fresh eye all the merciful acts and ways of the Lord. That would give us such a great revelation of God’s mercy.

I am convinced that a greater revelation of divine mercy will open a door for the blessings of God into our lives. Start meditating on the mercy of the Lord and let the Holy Spirit reveal it to you in a greater measure; your life will be forever transformed.

You can subscribe to The Daily Choice which is a SPIRITUAL Devotion that helps you to make the right choices in your life!

You Take Control By Your Choice

 

You Take Control By Your Choice

by Olga Hermans

Some people think that self-control is not important, but I’d like to prove you otherwise. One of the things you need to know is that you area  spirit being; when you are Christian your spirit is the most important part of you. You probably know that you are a three-part being, right? Spirit, soul and body. 1Thess.5:23 You are a spirit, you have a soul and you live in a body. The part that everybody sees is the body. However, the real you is your spirit man.

If you do not build up your spirit, then your soul and body will dominate your life. You soul and body will then convince you to do what feels good at the moment or what looks easiest and most convenient. The soul and body will also convince you that no one will ever know, or what difference will it make to do a little of whatever you want to do.

Some people never learn to walk in self-control because they don’t take time to build up their spirit man. They learn to shove aside the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to them and instead follow their emotions or their own desires and reasoning.

Sometimes they may even put a religious coat on it and say that they felt God lead them to do what they did, when in fact, if they closely examined what they did, they would know that it goes against the principles of the Word of God.

When you desire to walk in the Spirit, you have to exercise self-control. You and I will have to learn to say “no” to that which pulls on our flesh and emotions to sin.

As Christians, we are to take control of what we see, hear and read, and whom we allow to influence our lives. We are responsible for our emotions, impulses and desires. For example, circumstances may press your emotions to respond negatively, but through the fruit of self-control, you choose to respond differently.

You choose to walk in peace while others may want to argue. You choose to forgive and show mercy when others offend, disappoint, or fail you. You choose to keep the joy of the Lord when you feel unhappy. You choose not to speak when your emotions are wanting your mouth to speak. All of these are example of self-control in operation.

Some may say, “Well, I believe you should vent your emotions.” There have been so many people today who have vented their emotions that we have destruction everywhere – destroyed marriages, destroyed family relationships, murders, and broken hearts, depressed and abused personalities, etc. Some people have vented their emotions and later regretted ever saying or doing what they said and did but cannot change it now.

Get control by submitting to God’s Word in your life personally. There are those who have learned that freedom is not doing whatever you feel at the moment. Freedom is in choosing to walk in love toward God and others. The love walk requires self-control. Gal.5:13

Jesus said in Luke 17:1 that offenses would come. He also said in John 16:33 to rejoice in the midst of tribulation. Walking in peace demands self-control! I remember somebody say once, “I have no problem walking with God. It’s just all the other Christians I have problems with!” That sounds funny, but that’s really the way some people feel.

When we become a part of the family of God, we must learn to live together as a family. God can use other brothers and sisters in the Lord to develop fruit in our lives if we allow Him to. We may not always appreciate the part they are playing in our spiritual growth, but we will realize it is a way God works the rough edges off of us.

Here are a few guidelines for helping you to strengthen the fruit of self-control in your life:

1. Take time to daily read the Word of God. Psalm 119:9-11. Hide God’s Word in your heart, so you will not sin against Him and will be able to live in His Blessings.
2. Take time daily in prayer. Matth.26:41. We need to “watch and pray” over our own lives. Watch for the attacks of the enemy in your life and then pray immediately.
3. Guard your heart with all diligence. Proverbs 4:23 We need to examine our attitudes and our thoughts on a regular basis and make adjustments as needed.
4. Be sensitive in your spirit to hear God. Hebr.3:7. When we hear from God we can choose to respond with humility and trust or
harden our hearts and ignore Him.

5. Be righteousness conscious. Remember, having an attitude of righteousness in Jesus makes you want to stay right with Him. 2Cor.5:21
6. Be quick to repent if you sin, and reckon yourself dead to sin and alive unto God. Gal.2:20.
7. Cast down wrong thoughts. Phil.4:8. Do you ever think about what you are thinking about? If you are not careful, your thought life can lead you into problems. It is important to think before you act.
8. Keep humble before God. James 4:6. We have our own ideas about what we can accomplish, but often we think more highly of
ourselves than we ought. We need humble attitudes, knowing that apart from God, we can do nothing.

9. Submit to God and to His Word, and resist the devil. We must remember that the devil is not going to just sit back and allow us to take new ground without putting up a fight, but James 4:7 says that he will flee if we submit to God and resist the enemy.
10. Set you affections upon the Lord. If you want to live the resurrection life that Jesus provides, then seek that new, powerful life by setting your mind and keeping it set on things above, not on things on the earth.

You can subscribe toThe Daily Choice which is a SPIRITUAL Devotion that helps you to make the right choices in your life!

You Are Unbeatable

 

 

 

You Are Unbeatable

by Olga Hermans

Did you know that you were designed to be unbeatable? You were created to be more than a conqueror and yes, again, UNBEATABLE! 

But, words like: winners, victory, determination, champions, legends, perseverance…are definitely words that come up, right?

All those answers are great, but the thing is that we all go through times in our lives where we feel inadequate and unqualified. Have you ever felt that way?

Sometimes you go through a week where things are really rough, you go to your job, the boss calls you into his office and tells you that you are no longer needed. Feelings of insignificance will come to you and that you are not good enough, that you do not really have what it takes. You might even feel that you have lost your reason and your purpose.

We all have had moments like this, where we feel like a defeated spirit. Things didn’t turn out the way we hoped they would. Things that we hoped would happen didn’t happen. Maybe one of your children started doing things that you had never thought would happen. Maybe things with your marriage, or a diagnosis that the doctor gave.

In those moments we have to ask ourselves if we still believe that God has a plan for us. Even when we are released from our job and the bills are stacking up and everything looks like it defeated us. Is there still something on the inside of us that is willing to believe and willing to hold on?

God has a plan for us and satan has a plan for us too, right? John 10:10 says: A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.

Which plan do you like best? I like the real and blessed life and I know you do too, otherwise you wouldn’t be here reading this post. Satan has a plan for us to stay depressed, to feel inadequate, and to feel insignificant and that we really don’t have any gifts, talents or purpose.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I see people who seem to have all the gifts and talents and I feel like God gave that person ALL the talents that exist. If we are not careful we can get in this mode and think “well, everybody has a gift and a talent, except for me. My talent is just to breathe! Everybody else can build a business, dance, or play hockey, they are good with numbers and statistics, but here I am just talented with breathing.

That is the lie of the devil!! The evil one wants you think that you don’t have a gift. That you don’t have a purpose and that there is no reason to live and that you were made by accident and that you are insignificant. Because the devil believes that if we believe that lie that we will never fulfill the purpose that God created us to fulfill.

And that lie keeps us from making a difference in our marriage and in our family’s life. The truth is that God has a plan for us, that we would live, and live our lives to the fullest.  He created us to live victorious and make a difference in the lives of others. He created you and me to be unbeatable.

Even if you would believe this right now, you still have to recognize this in your life and that you have to do something to make things happen in your life. You have to prove to yourself that you believe this. Not by comparing yourself with others but by competing with yourself, and then, there is no limit! Take the lid off your life and let the true you come out of the box. You might be surprised at all the talents and gifts that were there for such a long time, they were just dormant on the inside of you.

You might be doing things out of routine and tradition, but there is no life in it and you know it. You have to get up my friend and dust yourself off. This is a new day with a new beginning. We don’t want to do things any longer just because they are a good thing to do. We do them because we believe they are good things and that they will bring results in our lives.

We need to come to the understanding that what we believe and what we are saying will actually come to pass. Your words will bury you or they will resurrect you. They will take you over the top or they will put you under.

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LOVE Never Gives Up


 

LOVE Never Gives Up

 by Olga Hermans

It’s on my heart to dig into the fruit for the Spirit with you. So, are you ready to know more? As we examine the fruit of the Spirit, we see that the first fruit mentioned is what the law and scriptures are based upon and that is: LOVE! All the fruit of the Spirit are contained in love. Like an orange with many segments, love has segments such as patience, humility, faithfulness, etc.

If we walk in love, we’ll walk in all the other eight fruits of the Spirit. The word “love” is excessively overused in our society, expressing an attitude about anything from people to foods to clothes to pets and other things.

Love that is based upon a choice that we have to make is not easy for our feelings. Jesus chose to love us in spite of how people treated Him, and He loved before we loved Him in return. We do have the ability to love by choice in spite of how we feel because Rom.5:5 tells us that you have the love of God once you receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. He is love.

The more you choose to love, the more it becomes a natural impulse in your life. The fruit of the Spirit are like muscles in our bodies that have to be developed and grow. We choose to walk in each fruit and each time we do, that spiritual muscle is exercised and grows a little stronger. Love is the most important emotion that we should cultivate and all the other emotions will line up so to speak.

LOVE is patient! If you are around people, you will either develop patience or cause them to close themselves off from those who get on their nerves or rub them wrong way. We choose continually if we will let His fruit grow or die in our lives.

Everybody has times when they need the mercy and help of someone else. What we sow towards others we will reap. If you want people to be patient and understanding with you, then be patient and understanding with others.

If you become a critical, strife-filled person, no one will want to be around you. We as Christians must make an effort to walk in patience and love.

LOVE is kind. Kindness is a quality that has almost been neglected in our generation because of the popular self-seeking attitudes which exist in society. Fast-paced living has subtly caused people to barely have time for themselves, much less for others. Some people feel that if they take time to be kind for others, something will be neglected that can benefit themselves.

As you exercise your spiritual muscles of godliness, add brotherly kindness to it. 2Peter 1:7

LOVE is not envious. The God-kind of love is excited over the blessings of others. Envy and strife open the door to the devil to bring all kinds of evil against the one who has envy or strife. It isn’t worth it to hold envy and strife in your heart.

Job 5:2 says envy can actually kill a person who allows it in his or her life. Keep a healthy, positive attitude towards others.

LOVE doesn’t behave unbecomingly. In our society today, most people with wrong behavior want to blame someone or something for it. Usually it is blamed on the fact that they were from a dysfunctional family, or they had difficult circumstances. So they continue wrong behavior and attitude problems, feeling justified.

God doesn’t let us use Him to excuse our lack of conscience. Growth demands that we accept responsibility for our actions and attitudes and bring them into submission to Jesus. Always try to be mannerly and gracious with whomever you’re with. Remember to consider the feelings of others. As you listen within your spirit, God will be your guide in every situation.

LOVE doesn’t insist upon having its own way. Do you seek to do what will benefit you or what will benefit others? Jesus sought to do God’s will even if it hurt, and He didn’t insist on His own way. Love seeks the will of God, not self-will.
It is by self denial and giving to others that we keep an open channel for the divine flow of God’s love to love through us.

LOVE is not touchy, resentful or easily provoked. God has provided a way for you to stay in His love walk even when people seem to rub you the wrong way. God’s way to remain in love is similar to the old cliché: “Just let things roll off of you like water rolls off a duck’s back.” Think on this when people say things that would normally hurt or offend you.

It is much more important to walk in the freedom and peace of God than to carry “a chip on your shoulders.” If you allow yourself to be easily angered, then others are controlling your life. Get control over your emotions and you’ll get control over your life.

LOVE doesn’t keep a list of wrongs. Do not keep a list of wrongdoings, whether it be in a marriage relationship or in a friendship relationship. The God-kind of love forgives and forgets offenses. There should no secretly kept, running list to pull out and use as ammunition against another person.

Instant forgiveness will close the door to Satan and his schemes in your life. You cannot afford to keep a list of wrongs. Let go of them, and let God help you to walk in peace with others as far as it lies within you. Romans 12:18

LOVE does not rejoice at injustice, is not happy when evil befalls another, does not rejoice over misfortunes of others. When a person has been caught in a fault, rather than tell them, “I told you so,” or feel disgusted with them, go to them if possible and talk with them. Love confronts when wrong has been done, but it also gives help to overcome.

The LOVE of God NEVER gives up on people. Jesus never gave up on the disciples, no matter how often they failed. God’s love never comes to an end. If you feel you are at the end of your rope in your faith for someone, don’t give up. God’s love will cause you to triumph in your stand. The love of God is the foundation for faith, because faith works by love. God’s love is the source of living.

You can subscribe to The Daily Choice which is a SPIRITUAL Devotion that helps you to make the right choices in your life!

 

5 Principles to Have a Winning Attitude

5 Principles to Have a Winning Attitude

 

By Olga Hermans

Let’s talk about David in the Bible, who was rejected by his older brothers; they did not include him in the things they did because they thought he was too young. They probably were jealous of him. As a result, I am sure he felt rejected.

Many times God will choose to use people who have felt rejected and been excluded. He selects those whom society would reject in order to show Himself strong. He also purposely chooses what the world would call “weak and foolish” so no one takes the credit that is due to Him alone.

Do you feel like that sometimes?  Let’s be like David in the Bible and have the right attitude; a winning attitude. His attitude was based on five principles of victory that are just as valid for today as they were then.

David was ridiculed for even thinking he could win. Even worse, the mocking and name calling came from his own brothers, who accused him of leaving his work as a shepherd just to see the armies in the battle. Oh, how much they mocked him.

The only thing that David did was be obedient; he took the supplies to his brothers as his father had asked. David didn’t want to do anything else than obey God; his strategy was to keep his eyes firmly on the power of God and not on the appearance of circumstances.

The principles that David used to defeat Goliath in his day are just as valid for us today in defeating our giants. The same enemy comes, and the same principles of victory must be applied:

1. David Made Time to Know God.

He had a personal relationship with God. He knew Him. He walked and talked with Him, and he sang songs to the Lord on those hillsides as he tended his father’s sheep. Those songs are recorded in the Psalms like the 23rd Psalm; he knew what it was to sit at a table prepared for him in the presence of his enemies.

Psalm 103 is also one of my favorites, where it also indicated that David had a personal relationship with God. The biggest difference between Israel’s soldiers and David was that the soldiers knew about God, but David knew God. David spent time with God and faith is birthed out of a relationship.

2. David understood God’s Covenant

David understood that God is holy and that He is totally committed to those who love and obey Him. That means everything God has and everything He is will be available to the one with who He is in covenant.

David understood that a challenge against him was a direct challenge to Almighty God. If you are in covenant with God, the challenges you face are against God Almighty. When you are born again, God is linked up with you, and He will fight for you.

When you understand the covenant, you will not be thinking about how big your problem is. Instead, you will be thinking about how great and awesome your God is.

3. David Spoke His Faith

David spoke his faith out loud in the face of the lies of the devil. If you are going to slay the giants, you will have to talk in faith. The giants will speak too! Sickness will say, “I am going to take you out of this life.” Financial bondage will say, “I am going to bury you with bankruptcy.” Strife and problems will say, “I am going to rip your home and marriage apart.”

Those are the moments that the Word of God on the inside of you must rise up from within your spirit and come out of your lips. Faith has a language all on its own, and the voice  of authority can be heard in hell when it is inside your spirit and you speak it out!

4. David Used What He Had

You may think that you don’t have enough to fight your battle. Believe me, you have enough and it is in your hands. Would God put you in the earth, give His Son for you, raise Him from the dead, and then not supply you with enough to defeat the giants that are in your land? God has given you enough. It is in your hands.

5. David Started Small

David learned how to battle the giant by fighting the lion and the bear. What David learned how to battle the lion prepared him to defeat the bear, and what he learned fighting both of them prepared him to whip the giant Goliath.

Many people want to take on a giant when they would not even take on a kitty cat. They are intimidated by a “meow”!

You need to hang on these 5 winning principles; they not only worked for David; they worked for me and they work for you. So, take those 5 stones and start slinging!

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How Do You Handle Rejection

How Do You Handle Rejection

by Olga Hermans

Sooner or later everybody experiences rejection: at home, at your job, at school or at church. We can experience it in different forms; some experience abuse, some go through really hard times. We can experience it when we fail at something that we think we could handle. We can go through a deep sense of rejection when a relationship breaks up. The fact is that everybody, no matter the age experiences rejection.

It doesn’t matter where the rejection is coming from; we have to realize that there can be an important lesson in the rejection. Somebody said once “If we don’t handle rejection the right way, rejection will mishandle us the wrong way”. To deal with rejection properly, we need to gain some truth about this.

My family and I love to play UNO, I think it is a very fun game. So when the cards are dealt there is only ONE purpose in my mind and that is to WIN with the cards that are given to me. You see, life is more or less the same; life can offer us cards of rejection. It is up to us how we handle these cards of rejection in a way that we will win in life.

There is a secret here though, because this is only possible when we tune into God and listen to what He tells us on how to get a grip on rejection. When we tune into His wisdom, He will help us to handle rejection and help us to become a better person. He will help us to get to the other side so to speak.

Rejection is painful, but it also is a wake-up call. God uses it to wake us up to our calling. There was a time in my life that I was involved in a “spiritual development” group. My best friend and people that I thought meant the world to me were in this group. One evening we had one of those visualizations, where the leader of the group told us as story, we closed our eyes and saw the story told in front of us.

The images that I saw in front of me were that I went far beyond the group up on a mountain. The group stopped half-way, but something on the inside of me told me to keep going until the very top, where an old man was waiting.

As I stood there I saw a very narrow ridge going to the other side where a man in a white robe was waving me to come over. As I looked down I saw a river of blood, but I couldn’t see myself go to the other side and the man in the white robe disappeared. I looked at that older man and asked him “what do I have to do?” He said: “You will know, you will know at the right time.” That was it.

As always we were to share what we experienced. I told what I had “seen”, I could sense this tremendous rejection coming towards me. My experience was not received very well and to make a long story short, they asked me to leave the group. So, I stood up and left. I was completely sick to my stomach, everything literally turned upside down on the inside of me.

Much later as I looked back I could see that God allowed this to happen to me because He was calling me to Himself. So, this was an alarm clock that God uses to wake up our “callings”. You and I have a purpose in life. One of the ways that we discover that purpose is through rejection.

We always want to know why we got rejected in the first place. You might want to know why this situation or that person turned you down. Or you want to know why you didn’t make the cut, didn’t get the job or didn’t get an email or somebody unfriended you on facebook. Whichever the case is, the fact remains that we do indeed experience rejection from people. But why?

Here are some reasons why we experience rejection:

1. People reject us when we don’t meet their expectations.
They reject us because they think we do something wrong or might be wrong; we are not what they are looking for, so we are disqualified. We get rejected because we don’t have the looks, the qualifications, education or experience. You simply don’t fit in that particular situation and you get removed from the situation,

2. Another reason that people reject us is when we go beyond their expectations.
You can get rejected for being right or doing right. You might stand out just a little too much for what they stand for. If it is a job situation they might tell you that you are overqualified for the job or they cannot afford to pay you, so they don’t hire you.

3. The third reason why we experience rejection from people is somewhat a combination of the first two.
This is where you get rejected for doing right and wrong at the same time. You might have done the right thing, but at the wrong time. Friends and even family might reject us because we try to plan things with them at the wrong time. In this case, you are rejected because of the timing of what you were trying to do.

In his book “21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership,” Dr. John Maxwell makes a profound comment about timing: “The wrong action at the wrong time leads to disaster; the right action at the wrong time brings resistance; the wrong action at the right time is a mistake; the right action at the right time leads to success.” (Maxwell, 1998, 197)

This information might be something to think about and I would love to hear what you have to say about it. Think about the cards life can bring you, but there is a reason behind it. Like with me it was God calling me out of that group; others might experience rejection because God has another job or another partner for you.

The way we have to learn to deal with rejection and getting our life back is by NOT putting our trust in people, but by putting our trust completely in God. People will always disappoint you, because we are not perfect, we are human. God will never disappoint you, He will show what He has in store for you. When He closes a door for you, He always opens another for you. God is always on your side, He will help you to turn rejection stumbling blocks into stepping stones for success. We can’t control what happens to us, but we can indeed control how we respond to it.

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Where to Find Peace in Times of Trouble?

Where to Find Peace in Times of Trouble?

by Olga Hermans

 

There can be a time in our life where we feel constantly bombarded with things that rob us from our peace. People worry about their problems and wonder how they’re going to make it through. We all have times where we feel that kind of pressure isn’t it?

I’d like to give you a few secrets to this today; secrets of what to do in a time of trouble and finding your peace back in your heart that you so desperately need. In times like that we need to be inspired and encouraged by someone who has faced circumstances far worse than our own and found a way to walk through them in victory.

We need to look away from friends or people that are around us that keep on talking about their own anxiety about the critical circumstances around them and start focusing on people who somehow found their way through the storm.

The bible is full of such people. It’s always a good thing to spend some time in the Bible and read about men and women who have gone through the same thing we are going though at the moment. You then will find out how they did it so you can follow in their footsteps and see how God came through for them.

Let’s look at the story of Esther. Did you know that Esther received beauty treatments with the best oils for a whole year before she could even see the King? How about that? The oils give us this great skin and make us smell good, isn’t that right?

Before each young woman was taken to the king’s bed, she was given the prescribed twelve months of beauty treatments—six months with oil of myrrh, followed by six months with special perfumes and ointments. Esther 2:12 NLT

Esther is a great example of someone who prevailed under pressure as a young woman of 18 years old. Here she was; called upon to risk her own life to save her own people from total destruction. She bore the burden of knowing that the lives of millions would be spared or lost as a result of her actions.

Talk about pressure; Esther could be the next poster child, you know. You probably know her story; she responded the way we probably all would have done and tried to argue with Mordecai her way out of the situation. Mordecai rebuked her though and Esther was faced with a dilemma. At this moment she could have fallen apart and seized with anxiety and rushed to the king’s court wailing with hysteria.

She didn’t do that; she made a plan to focus on God at this point. She called everybody else do the same; to fast and pray for three days and something amazing happened. A heavenly peace came upon her. That peace had such a powerful effect on the king that when Esther put on her royal robes and walked into the court, he not only held out to her the golden scepter indicating that she was welcome there, he wanted to give her half of the kingdom.

Peace put Esther in charge of the situation. Suddenly she was standing in a place of complete favor, which was unheard of in that culture. That was nothing less that supernatural. It didn’t happen because Esther wasn’t somebody special. It happened because she followed God’s instructions. Instead of worrying, she prayed and brought the peace of God on the scene.

You can do the same thing.

When you find yourself in trouble and you think you’re going to fall apart from all the pressure, you can pray instead of fretting and being anxious. You can make your desires known to God, thank Him in advance for answering your prayer, and receive the peace that He gives you.

After three days spending time with God, Esther came out of her prayer closet anointed and strong in the Lord; she had this immovable peace over her that even King was overwhelmed. He wanted to give her anything she wanted. Esther knew exactly what to ask; she said that she didn’t want half of the kingdom but she wanted Haman to come to a dinner with the king.

Esther was able to keep her peace in this moment of tremendous pressure. This peace kept the confusion that the devil tried to throw in away from the whole situation. Peace kept Esther dignified so that she knew what to do.

We all know the story that Haman was hanged on the gallows he had built himself. If we walk in the peace of God, we’ll see the same thing happen to our enemy. Peace will pull the plug on him and there is no way that he can do anything to you. It will turn the table on him. He will end up hanging himself on his own rope.

Sometimes you may not know exactly how to pray about all the pressures you are facing. When you face problems that seem big and complicated, you may find it difficult to fully express your heart to God on what is going on in your heart.

Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens. Lam 3:41 KJV

You can literally lift up your heart to the Lord by telling Him that you are giving it to Him right now. Tell Him that you trust Him and His goodness and ask Him if He will take care of the situation; He will do it. Then you have to let the problem go. Every time the thought comes to worry, start to think about the goodness of the Lord. Keep your mind focused on Him!

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How to Get Out of a Pressure Cooker

How to Get Out of a Pressure Cooker

by Olga Hermans

Have you ever wondered why the Lord just doesn’t take away all the problems that steal your time and make you feel as though you are in a pressure cooker?

Whatever your call in life, God has a special grace to enable you to be an achiever. There are pressures that keep us from maximizing our time and frustrate the fulfilling of our goals. Even when goals are set and schedules are made it often seems everything that could happen to prevent us from using our time efficiently and effectively.

There are three major enemies of time with which one must deal on a daily basis: the devil, our circumstances and our flesh. Satan will do all that he can to mess up your circumstances and call on your flesh because his aim is to distort your testimony for Jesus and bring you to failure.

Let’s have a look at the life of Paul; he begged three times to take away the “problems.” I believe the “thorn” that troubled Paul the most was the interference of religious people, both Jews and pagan, who continually stirred up trouble for Paul wherever he went to preach the gospel.

Although God revealed to Paul why he ran into so much difficulty, He did not remove the difficulties. The Lord did something better; He reminded Paul of the grace which would enable him to overcome in every situation. God reminded Paul of the grace which would enable him to overcome in every problem situation.

The devil tried to do everything he could to stop Paul, but he couldn’t succeed. Even when Paul was repeated beaten and even shipwrecked of his life; he overcame by grace. Grace is a word often used among Christians; we talk about it, sing about it, and praise God for it. Have you ever thought about what it means to you?

Not even Jesus was exempt from the pressures of daily interferences, temptations and problems. That might surprise you, but Hebrews tells us that Jesus was tempted in every way just as we are. Jesus was never immune to the devil’s interference. This is the reason Jesus can understand and care about those things that trouble us, and He is the one who will always have an answer to our dilemmas.

Have you, like Paul, realized that you can’t handle pressure or problems by yourself? You know, there is nobody in the world that is so wise and powerful or so experienced and so energized and wealthy and favored that a person could manage every day of his or her life without help.

Recognizing our inability is the gateway to receiving God’s ability. We shouldn’t try to manage our life in our strength; we know it won’t work. I have tried to do this so many times and every time I find out, it doesn’t work!

Making the decision to make God your first priority will also keep you in victory when external pressure comes against you. Is your time yours, or is it the Lord’s? You definitely can avoid a great deal of internal pressure by deciding to live for God and not only for yourself!

I remember the time that my children were little and I had to make a decision to be at home for them or having a nice job somewhere. It was an easy decision, but I still had to fight the thoughts that I wanted to be out there and do things that I also would enjoy doing.
Priorities are so important, aren’t they? When you commit your precious time and your precious things to God, He will multiply your time and protect those things that are dear to you and He will do it in a very exciting way!

However, if you try to hold on to your own things, you will really put yourself in a pressure cooker. Don’t give “the thief” an opportunity to fill your days with confusion and frustration. Don’t let him steal the things you value. John 10:10

Why should we struggle to exchange our ways for His ways? When we wait upon the Lord, He lets us in on secrets of wisdom and advice which we would never get hold of any other way.

I like to think of every task I have to do as an opportunity. After I have established my priorities, schedule my day, and committed every moment to the Lord, I know of a certainty that each task, even an unexpected on, is an opportunity to grow, achieve, and succeed.

No matter what pressures each day may bring, I face the day with the knowledge that I have the victory in Jesus. Each day holds the potential of blessing, achievement, victory, and overcoming. God wants you to give Him the opportunity to bless you and make you a blessing.

When pressure comes, take the opportunity to put God in the midst of it and to demonstrate to yourself and others that you are an overcomer and the devil is a loser.

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