For everything we have ever done, there is an ample measure of God’s grace to cover us. For every doubt we’ve ever wrestled with, for every wrong path we’ve wandered down, for every fear we’ve allowed to sideline us, God has unmerited favor perfectly sized to fill the holes created by our shortcomings.

Sis, can’t you see that God is making you whole? You have a role to play in this healing and restoration, and that role is to partner with God in the process. Receive his grace, let him guide you in the changes you need to make, and drop all guilt and shame in the process.

The problem is, as God comes in with his grace that is fully sufficient to cover your shortcomings, you keep reliving what has already happened. As you relive it, you repeat it. As you repeat it, it becomes a habit. As it becomes a habit, you create deep ruts where you get stuck. And honey, if you’re stuck, you’re not moving forward in the big, abundant, overflowing life Christ came to give you.

When God offers grace, it is to propel you forward into the purposes he has planned for your future. When the enemy clouds that grace with guilt, your forward progress becomes failed potential, causing you to miss your divinely designed next steps. We must stand up with boldness against the ploys of Satan and declare his offerings of guilt will NOT contaminate God’s grace over our lives!

Take a look at this story in the Bible. John 21: 15-17. Shortly after Jesus’ resurrection, he is sitting and having breakfast with Peter. He asks Peter, “do you love me?” Peter says, “of course, you know I do!” But again, Jesus asks, “Peter, do you love me?” Once again Peter replies with, “yes Lord, you know I do.” Then Jesus asks one more time of Peter, “do you love me?” Peter is grieved being asked the third time, and he answers “you know everything, you know that I love you.”

Have you ever thought about why Jesus asked Peter three times? Didn’t Jesus know of Peter’s love for him? I mean really, does God ever have to ask us a question? He already knows the answer. When Jesus is asking, it’s not for himself, it’s for Peter. Three times.

Think back, isn’t there another part of Peter’s story that was repeated three times? Wasn’t there another time Peter was asked the same question, and three times he answered the same?

Yes. Just the previous week it had happened. The night before Jesus’ crucifixion, he says to Peter in Luke 22:34 ““I tell you Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”

And sure enough, three times that night, three times Peter was asked about being with Jesus, and three times Peter denied knowing him, just as predicted. On the final time, verse 60-62 says “Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.”

What happened after this was the death of Jesus, then Jesus was buried. It seemed so final. So tragic. Remember, they didn’t know there was more to come. Imagine for a moment the guilt Peter carried with him. His final interaction with Jesus was his denial of him. Oh how he must have struggled. And imagine how he must have felt every morning when he heard the rooster crow. Each time it was a painful reminder of his failure.

But, there was grace for that. Grace so big it covered it completely.

Could this be why Jesus was then sitting having breakfast with Peter, and he offers Peter the opportunity to declare his love for him three times? One for each denial? One big heart felt declaration of truth for each impulsive denial the week before?

I John 1:5 – In him there is LIGHT, there is no darkness at all.

God doesn’t have a dark side.

He’s not trying to punish you or get back at you. He’s not out to get you. He’s not angry at you. Nor is he ignoring you. Everything God does is for a purpose, and his purposes are good towards you. How do I know? Because as a believer and follower of Christ, you have been completely covered by him and his sacrifice. When God sees you, he sees his son. He sees a fully righteous, covered, paid for, priceless child whom he loves wildly.

People may have a dark side. Their motives and intentions may be for personal gain and you may get used in the process. People get angry and lash out in painful ways. People say they will be there, then they’re no where to be found. All of this teaches us to be defensive and watch our backs. And maybe people have taught you no one can be trusted, but that’s not God.

You don’t have to go through life being on the defensive with God. Ever. He is your Abba Father, your Daddy and let me tell you one thing for sure, He loves his girl. And you’re his girl. He loves his girl. You can write it down and you can bank on it.

And here’s another thing I know. He has heard you, He sees exactly what is going on in your world, he holds your world in the palm of his hand, He cares about you and the details of your life and he is moving on your behalf.

God hears you and he is moving mountains for you right now. He is working. Say that with me – He is working. He is working. Oh yes he is.

We may not see the manifestation of the mountains he is moving and the doors he is opening at this moment, but be assured it IS happening. He is arranging and rearranging, moving hearts and preparing the path for YOU. Some things just take time.

Not for God. With God ANYTHING is possible and it’s possible today. But maybe it’s taking time because although you THINK you’re ready for that breakthrough and the big answers, God knows you’re not really ready. And sometimes I believe it takes time because where’s the faith in plans all coming together exactly as they were planned a year ago? Faith thrives is that ‘last minute, down to the wire, facing the impossible with no other option but GOD’ kinda ground. Is that where you’re standing right now? That “only God” ground. You’ve tried it all and it’s not working? You’re down to the wire? Things are kinda looking impossible? Ahhhhh, that’s powerful ground sister.

God has not forsaken you. He sees you, he hears you and he cares.

God doesn’t have a dark side. He is light, pure light and he brings light into your life.

He is moving on your behalf. He is working for you. You may not see it manifest today, but you can trust he is working.

Proverbs 20:24 “The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?”

I know I needed this reminder today. I need to re-surrender for the thousandth time all my cares and thoughts and fully trust that my God is good to the core and there is only light in him and from him. He is divinely directing my steps, seeing all I cannot see, and I am not required to understand everything along the way. I am required to move forward in faith.

I refuse to wander around in darkness fearful, stressed or anxiety ridden. Nope, not today Satan. I see your offer of darkness, but I’m going for the light. Will you choose the same? Will you stop the cycle of living in the darkness of fear and stress and anxiety and step into the light starting right now at this moment? Will you be a bright side girl?

Yes, the bright side where God’s light shines. The bright side where the darkness the enemy pedals is refused. James 4:7 says “resist the devil and he will flee from you.” How do you resist him? You turn from him and you get yourself in the light of God. Yes, live on the bright side.

Have we traded pleasures which come from the hand of God, for pleasures which we try to create with our own hands? Is this why we work so hard and feel so empty? Is this why we get more, but are left only wanting more?

Really, how long are you satisfied with today’s Amazon delivery before you start shopping again? Are you guilty of opening the box, liking what’s in the box, then immediately wondering what other colors it might come in? Girl … that’s a trap!

Sis, you were uniquely fashioned to desire the pleasures brought into your life by God’s hand. The enemy twists those desires into selfish pursuits and tricks us into chasing after all that leaves us feeling unfulfilled. And you, unfulfilled, is you ineffective. You unfulfilled is you busy. You unfulfilled is you distracted. You unfulfilled is you living less than you could really live. And honey, if the devil can’t take your life, he will try to complicate your life.

Today, on the Venetian island of Murano, I met with a man who sells handmade glass. This island is known around the world for the glass made here, called Murano glass. We became friends with this kind man, and he took us through the velvet ropes, upstairs to the private gallery to show us the masterpieces. He explained we could have any thing we wanted shipped to our home. Chandeliers, jewelry, vases, wine glasses, sculptures, absolute works of art, all made of the most beautiful glass, here on this island.

I explained to him we don’t have a home. He looked surprised and said, “You have no home? But where do you live?”

“We sold everything, and we travel. Wherever we are today is where we live today. Today, we live in Murano, Italy.”

Then he understood as much as I loved the vase, I have no where to put it.

What a shame, right? No, what a blessing!

He then shared with me how his greatest desire is to live on a small piece of countryside in Italy, and grow his own garden. He would then sell his vegetables to the restaurants in Venice. His desire is for the pleasures from God’s hand, not the $1200 vase he sells.

As we said our goodbyes, he says “Congratulations on understanding life and not needing anything more to make you happy.”

I learned from him that Southern Italy, the locals are very poor. They have nothing, yet their lives are fulfilling. They aren’t sitting on couches watching TV. They aren’t walking down streets staring at their cell phones. They are gathered around kitchen tables, enjoying good food they have likely grown themselves. They’re savoring life and all they have today, not overwhelmed with the troubles of tomorrow.

Ecclesiastes 2: 24-25 “So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God. For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him?”

The author of Ecclesiastes is believed to be Solomon. Yes, King Solomon. A man who is referred to as wiser than any other man to ever live. A man who had everything and the ability to get anything else on top of that. He experienced the extreme earthly pleasures, and at the end of his life he wrote the book of Ecclesiastes as a look back with lessons to live by.

And what he has to say is the pleasures from the hand of God will fulfill you, the earthly pleasures will leave you chasing more and wasting your life. Looking back on his life, Solomon tries to point us to a better, simpler life, living in alignment with God’s design for our allotted days.

Ecclesiastes 5:20 MSG “We should make the most of what God gives, both the bounty and the capacity to enjoy it, accepting what’s given and delighting in the work. It’s God’s gift! God deals out joy in the present, the now.”

Truly, are we enjoying the food and drink we have today?

Yesterday during an unexpected and unplanned full day at the Paris airport, I witnessed other traveling families experiencing rushes and delays. Babies crying and children throwing hissy fits in strollers because this isn’t what they wanted.

For children, this is acceptable. For us, this is not. Yet, don’t we do it in our own way? Don’t we stress and fret, grow impatient and frustrated and question why?

Why me God? Why cant this just be easier? Why the ups and downs of life? Why the build ups followed by the let downs? What’s the point of what we’re going through?

I know for me personally if I can understand the purpose, I can endure most anything. If I know a hard road is leading me somewhere beautiful, I can hang with the toughest. But I gotta know. I gotta know it’s not just some cruel punishment. I gotta know it’s not just some random drawing of bad fortune and I held the unlucky number.

And God tells me, “my girl, there are things I know that you just have to trust. Now, learn to trust me without acting bratty.”

1 Corinthians 13:11 “When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.”

The lyrics from a song I often sing say “every mountain, every valley, through each heartache you will see – every moment brings you closer to who you were meant to be.”

Yes, this is the journey we are each on. You’re getting closer to who you were meant to be. The mountain you’re now climbing, and the valley you just came out of has simply brought you closer. Closer to the true version of you. The you who is free of the trappings of this world.

The you who isn’t consumed with what others think. Oh can we talk about that for a minute? God has you on a journey to get over what everyone thinks about you. This is why there’s been gossip about you. This is why you can feel the looks of others. Not because you’re under attack, but because you have a God who supremely knows your concern with the talk of others will only hold you back. So he takes you through that fire to refine you and prove you can rise above their criticism.

I’ve worked with many women over the years who are literally paralyzed by the opinion of others. They miss out on opportunities, connections, adventures, happiness, freedom and memories all because of what someone else may think. What if someone looks at you, raises an eyebrow, questions you, or talks about you? I mean seriously woman, you’re missing out on so much of life if you’re trying to avoid being noticed!

When I see this is a hindering problem for someone I give them the “Starbucks Challenge”. The challenge is quite simple. Walk into a busy Starbucks, spread out a towel on the floor, then lay down on your back right in the middle of the store. Lay there for 60 seconds. Feel the stares of strangers. Hear their whispers. Know you’re being judged. Know with absolute certainty you look foolish. Then after your 60 seconds, get up and walk away.

You don’t need to explain yourself. You owe no one an explanation. You do you, boo.

Painful and powerful.

And here’s what you will learn … you survived! The world didn’t stop turning just because they talked about you. You went unharmed by their judgment.

Maybe you’re not bold enough to be willing to endure this type of public display of judgment … and that’s okay because God can orchestrate challenges of his own to strip you of your concern over the thoughts and opinions of others. Remember, that’s why you’ve gone through what you’ve gone through. To prove you’re more. To bring you closer to who you were meant to be.

See, this is why you have failed on your journey. Not because you’re a failure,

Welcome to a totally normal day of life. Yip, just your average Wednesday here, sandwiched between a Tuesday and a Thursday that may seem totally unremarkable. Hmmmm, nothing really special about this day? Nothing to really get all rip roaring excited over? It’s all just normal.

Normal can become boring. We have our routines, and we follow our routines unknowningly. Did you know you spend 90% of your life in a small circle around where you live. This is called your life radius. This is where you wake up, where you work, where you shop, most everything you do all within this tiny circle in this great big world, very rarely ever venturing beyond its borders. You drive the same roads, go to the same stores, order the same foods, and do the same tasks over and over again, and you never really think about it, because it’s normal.

And we never realize what a gift normal is, until our whole little world is flipped upside down.

We’re never even aware of how treasured a normal day should be until our normal is threatened.

But today, let’s do this differently. Let’s take this normal day of life, and let’s be fully aware of the treasure it is. Let’s stop the endless quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow, and just hold what we have right now. Remember, my friend, you will not always have this normalcy in your life. The day may come when you would give everything you have to just have this again.

Yes, this. This normal day. This miraculously unremarkable day that just arrived without a boom, because most everything really is just working.

It’s unremarkable that your car started today. You didn’t even notice it. But for some of us driving around vehicles well beyond their life expectancy, the fact that your car is running today is really something worth celebrating. Shout out to you, Jesus, somehow making that 2002 Ford Focus fire up again!

It’s unremarkable that your eyes are seeing, your ears are hearing, your legs are walking, and your lungs have breath. You didn’t even have to think about that today, now did you? It’s just all normal. But dang, girl, do you have any idea all God did behind the scenes on your behalf to make that totally unremarkable for you? He’s so overwhelmingly good at his job, that you just expect his part to always be done seamlessly.

Wouldn’t it have been a shocker this morning to wake up and not be able to do all that is mindlessly normal to you? But instead, you woke up with most everything working, and therefore normal becomes unimpressive, unnoticed, and uncelebrated.

Oh no, no, no … ridiculously blessed girls like me and you simply cannot be living uncelebrated days. We cannot be the recipients of everything that is good and right on a continually repeated basis and allow it to go unnoticed. All this miraculous normalcy cannot become unimpressive.

WAKE UP SIS, this is a normal day because of the endless bounty and blessings from a mighty God who oversees every detail of your life.

1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18 “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

We often claim if we knew what God’s will was, we would follow it with reckless abandon. Oh if God would just be clear, send me a sign, tell me exactly what he wants me to do, I would surely be faithful.

Well, there’s your sign. It doesn’t get any clearer than this. 3 verses that read like a bulleted list that say THIS IS GOD’S WILL FOR YOU.

But you passed right over that little list didn’t you? It didn’t seem specific enough for your needs? It doesn’t seem to really apply to your life? Oh, but girl, it does. These are 3 specific things God wills for YOU to do today right in the middle of your normal day where everything seems rather unremarkable.

The life that you can live was all first imagined by God. Look around at God’s creation and see, he doesn’t limit what he says can and cannot be.

He makes mystical creatures like the seahorse. Did you know the seahorse mates for life, and the males have the babies? All because God was feeling creative and decided to do something totally different.

He makes the spunky little hummingbird. A bird weighing in at just 1 ounce, with a heart that beats over 1,200 times per minute, and the only bird with the ability to fly backwards. All because God decided to put some whimsy in a really small package.

Then, he makes you. He makes you with your totally unique features and qualities, unmatched by anyone else. Why? Because he wanted to and because he could. Because God, in all his wisdom, felt this world needed a YOU right about now. And as he created you, he imagined all the days you could live, all you could do, and all you would become.

Pslam 139: 16 “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”

Does it mean your entire life is already written and you’re here to robotically play your role? Does it mean all God had planned for your life will happen whether you sit on the couch again for the 20th day in a row, or you get up and start doing something? Does it mean you’re like a puppet on a string, playing a part you can’t control?

ABSOLUTELY NOT.

It means you are perfectly equipped to step into all of God’s good plans for your life. It means you are continually invited into a partnership with your creator to experience all he imagined for your lifetime. It means everything has been aligned for you, supernatural details have been put in place for you, and it’s all here for you to seize now.

Sis, you gotta know, when God formed you before a single human eye had ever seen you, and when he laid out your days before a single one had passed, he started something good. Every day that has followed that day has been an unfolding of God’s promise over your life. Philippians 1:6 “God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”

Today, his good work continues in you. This day was already written in God’s book, and he’s invited you into the pages to create with him.

Listen closely, God has something specific for you today. Yes, you. Why you? Because you’re the one he knew would be listening. What does he have to say to you?

He says, “Here my girl, here’s a gift, I want to see what you will do with it. Here’s something remarkably beautiful, you can go get in the middle of it. Here’s an opportunity that will bring delight to your heart, it’s yours to seize. I hope you seize it. Here’s a decision for you to make, and whatever you decide, I will use it to guide you to the unimaginable goodness I’ve always had in store for you. Don’t be afraid to make that decision, I’ve given you the power to decide here because I can work with everything. I’ve placed my Spirit within you. It will guide you down the paths I just refuse to allow you to miss. You’re more equipped than you think and more capable than you say you are. I’m showing you that. You’re growing here.”

And Sis, there’s something else God wants to tell you today. Listen closely and receive this word. “My precious chosen daughter, I know you’re going through some hardships. I know sometimes you get frustrated and disappointed. I know you want to do it right, but sometimes you get tripped up. Don’t fret, dear one, remember, I am bigger than all of this. There’s nothing I can’t do, nor is there anything I won’t do, to show you my love.

If you’re in a bad mood, stressed or frustrated, understand that you likely had to step right over the favor of God to get there. For real, you had to shuffle around God’s favor to get yourself to this bad mood today. You had to avoid a collision with God’s goodness to dwell here in your overwhelm.

But you don’t even know you’re doing it.

At this moment, you’re surrounded by a million and one reasons to be incredibly grateful. The list of all that is good and right is far greater than what is wrong, but your focus determines your feelings here. What if you’re missing out on wildly good days right now because they’re simply not what you were expecting?

If someone would have told me we would be watching the first moments and days of our very first grandbaby’s life through a cell phone screen, I would have imagined that being nearly unbearable. I don’t get to be there? I miss out on all this goodness? This isn’t the way it’s supposed to be!

Our family’s perfect blessing was born 3 days ago in Italy. I’ve since gotten hundreds of messages of congratulations. Several have sent their condolences even, recognizing how incredibly hard it must be for us to not be there. Messages of “you must be dying having to be so far away”, and “it must be killing you to miss out on this.”

I had to pause and think, why is this not killing me? Why am I not a hot mess over not being there right now? Why am I content as these moments unfold and I’m watching on my phone? And then I realized, it’s because I EXPECTED IT THIS WAY.

Did I expect to not be there? Did I expect to be thousands of miles apart, separated by a great big ocean? Nope. I knew those were things I couldn’t control, so I tied zero expectations to them.

However, here is what I expected: I expected we would be happy, no matter what. I expected we would be grateful the moment we saw his beautiful face, whether that be in person or by photo. I expected we would be fully in the moment, filled with gratitude, regardless of how it all unfolded. And guess what, these are expectations I’m in control of.

My expectations made room for God’s favor. When we tie strings on this and that, expecting things to be exactly as we want them to be, we create a maze of strings that get us all tangled up. Those strings keep us from dwelling freely in God’s favor as he had planned. They keep us bound in expectations of all that didn’t happen and all that let us down, all while God’s goodness goes completely unnoticed.

Are you expecting something you have absolutely no control over, all while relinquishing control of what is yours to manage? You decide how you show up. You decide what you look for. You decide your own attitude. You decide your energy. You decide your focus. You decide your gratitude.

Or, you decide your misery. You decide your disappointment. You decide your emptiness.

It’s all up to you, Sis.

God’s favor is all around you. But if you’re tied up in your expectations of how it was supposed to be, you’re missing how good it already is. Perfect? No. But is perfection really required for your contentment here?

We’re so tripped up on how we thought it was going to be, that we’re missing God’s absolute sweetness on display. Oh how sweet he is. And oh how easy it is to miss if our expectations are out of alignment.

You can waste what you do have wishing for what you don’t have, or you can find contentment in where you are and what you are blessed with right now. Oh yes, my girl, contentment.

By definition, contentment is a state of happiness and satisfaction. And research shows we are feeling less and less of it. We’re on a slow decline since the early 2,000’s. Hmmmmm,

When God looks at you, what does he see? He sees who he created you to be. He sees your potential. He sees his beautiful creation on a journey to becoming all he imagined … and girl he’s moving heaven and earth to help you get there! Today I’m here to help you lean into what God sees in you. To help you start believing in the potential he has placed inside of you. To step into the destiny that has your name on it.

God is calling you to what you’re going to be all while you’re trying to fit in with what you used to be. Repeat after me, I’m not who I once was! Now, you can drop those old ways, old thoughts, old habits, and confidently step into the life available to you.

In yesterday’s devotional, episode 1171 titled “Into the Mystery”, we heard about two brothers who were fishermen, Peter and Andrew. When Jesus walked by them and said, follow me, they dropped their nets and followed him. We learned that it is the following of Jesus, the pursuit of Jesus that changes us. We do the following and Jesus does the changing.

Today we’re going to dig a little deeper in this story and see how it applies to our own lives and journeys. I’ve been inspired by an old journal entry from a TD Jakes sermon on Matthew chapter 4.

Peter and Andrew had to first do one thing before they followed Jesus … they had to drop their nets. Understand the value in their nets. This was their one tool for income and survival. This was all they had. They had likely spent their entire lives caring for and mending their nets. Leaving it behind to follow Jesus was a tremendous step of faith, but imagine if they would have tried to drag it with them. To step into the life Jesus was calling them to, they had to drop it.

How many times have you dropped something, experienced some success, then gone right back and picked up that old thing again? Maybe it was a habit. You broke the habit, you were doing so good, then for some reason you picked it back up again and before you knew it you were right back where you used to be. Maybe it was an attitude. You changed your attitude and perspective. You were like a new person with a new outlook, and darn it felt so good. Then something happened and it took you right back to your old way of thinking and talking, then you found yourself worse off than you were before.

Isn’t this the real life journey of every single one of us? We make progress, we taste success, then we relapse. And isn’t it harder the second time around because we now know what we can have, we’ve tasted it, we even lived it for a time and going back to who we were and how we were is painful.

Have you ever lost weight, then gained it back? How many times will you lose and gain the same darn 20 pounds? Have you ever ran a race, then stopped running? Have you ever slayed one of our challenges to simplify your life, then gone out and bought a bunch of stuff you don’t need? Or have you ever taken on the zip-it challenge with us and successfully restrained your tongue with no nagging, nit-picking or complaining for a period of time, then boom … you’re right back to running off at the mouth like a mad woman, screaming at the kids, nagging at your husband, and complaining to your girlfriends?

We sure have a way of screwing this up don’t we? We make progress with one step forward, then it’s two steps back. Picking up again those habits and choices we once put down, taking us back to who we once were instead of moving forward to who we’re being called to be.

Peter and Andrew did the right thing when Jesus walked by with an invitation to follow him. They immediately dropped their nets and followed. But let me tell you something, these two fishermen often went back and picked up their nets again. Jesus told them to drop it, but they kept picking it back up again.

I recently read “your new life is going to cost you your old one.” That’s a really scary thought … and so true.

The new you are seeking will require your release of the old you’ve been clinging to. God says in Isaiah 43:19 “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.”

Do you want this new thing God is doing in you? Do you want to become this greater version of yourself, fully in alignment with who you were created to be? Okay, let go of the old thing holding you back.

If you’re seeking a new healthy life, your old Cheetos snack time’s gotta go! If you’re seeking a rockin’ marriage, your old life of nagging and complaining is bye bye now. If you want a debt free life, your old life of impulse shopping on the Amazon is over now.

You know how to do you … but how to become who you WANT to be is a mystery. Or is it … is it really all a mystery, or does it all boil down to one right choice at a time? The mystery serves to keep us stuck, when the truth is it’s really not that hard. You can do this and God wants to help you!

How bad do you want that new life? How bad do you want change? Bad enough to give up your old life?

Peter and Andrew were fishermen. Fishing is what they did. It was their life. One day they were working and they were given an invitation for a new life. In Matthew 4:19, Jesus walks by Peter and Andrew and says, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.”

They stepped into a new life that day, a life as the best friends of Jesus. His disciples who would be trusted to tell his stories and help build his ministry. You know what the bible doesn’t tell us … it doesn’t tell us how many other fisherman Jesus may have walked by that day with the same invitation. How many others were offered the same opportunity, but they said no. Why would they say no? For the same reason we do … they didn’t want to let go of what they had. The mystery scared them.

What we have may not be great, but it’s familiar. And familiar is better than unknown. The unknown is … well, it’s unknown. We’re comfortable with what we’ve always known. And so we miss opportunities for something so much more, because we settle for the little that has always been. Would you be willing to pay the price of a new life if it cost you your old one? Would you be that daring?

What if God is prompting you to a new place, a new career, a new opportunity, a new level. What if he has it all available to you, but you’ll have to step into the mystery with faith and go before you know for sure? Would you? Will you?

Peter and Andrew’s lives were radically changed the day Jesus walked by. An invitation was extended and what was their response? Straighway they left their nets, meaning right then and there. There was no delay. They went.

Understand this, Jesus is here for you this morning with an invitation. An invitation to trust him enough to surrender your life fully to him. And what does that really look like? It looks like bringing all you worries, all your messes and all your stresses to him and saying, “I can’t do this without you. Help. My way doesn’t work, I want it your way.”

Here’s what I really love about the story of these two fishermen, Jesus made the roles very clear. Your job is to FOLLOW. My job is to MAKE something out of you.

Jesus said “FOLLOW ME and I WILL MAKE YOU fishers of men.”

We get all caught up in the details of when and how, when all this time all we needed to do is follow him. Our job is to follow Jesus. Follow him. Pursue him. It is the pursuit of Jesus that changes us.

There are times when we straight up feel under attack. It seems that everything that could go wrong, does go wrong. And sometimes those attacks feel quite personal …. yeah, because they are. Yes, the enemy is after you and everything good in your life. Yes, as a follower of Christ you wear a target, but oh sister, never forget the power which you hold.

You are not here to fight on the defensive. Did you know being more that a conqueror in Christ Jesus means more than just dodging the fiery darts of the devil? Did you know it means more than surviving the attacks?

Romans 8:37 “We are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Another translation puts it this way, “Despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.”

How do you have overwhelming victory? Well honey, it’s not just by playing defense.

Imagine a basketball game where one team only plays defense. They chase and they guard, they jump and they block, but the moment they rebound the ball, they give it back up to their opponent. “Here, this ball is yours, I’ll just try to keep you from scoring again.”

Honey, if you’re not playing some offense in this battle, you’re preparing yourself for defeat. It’s time for you to score!

You feel like you’re under attack? Okay, now is when you fight back. Now is when you put on the full armor of God and you go charging in!

Ephesians 6: 13-17 “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

The sword of the Spirit means you’re going to do more than just survive the attack, you’re going to fight. You’re going to slay. You’re going to be more than a conqueror, you will have overwhelming victory here.

What has the enemy taken from you? Has he taken your confidence? Has he taken your peace? Has he taken hold of your husband or your child? Has he taken your passion and your energy? Has he taken your hopes and dreams?

Are you standing here today after his attacks feeling stripped of that which you once had, unsure of how to get it back? Well, mighty warrior, let me stir the fire in your soul once again and give you your battle cry.

Jesus said in Luke 10: 18-19 “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.”

Check out what else Jesus said in Matthew 16:18 “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

Okay, sounds to me like a battle cry, but what exactly does that mean? Jesus has given us authority to overcome and the gates of hell shall not prevail? I began studying this scripture on Sunday, digging deeper and deeper into the meaning because it confused me. Why would hell have gates? Is hell trying to keep me out? Isn’t hell trying to come after me? Isn’t hell trying to pull me in?

Understand, when these words were spoken, cities had great walls built around them for protection. The gate was to make the wall a sanctuary, not a prison. The gate was a way for the people to come and go from the city, but be able to close the gate for protection.

The safety of the people depended on the strength of it’s gates. Without a strong gate, they were vulnerable to attacks.

When in battle,