FEARLESS

The word says that we can make our own plans but the Lord is the one that orders our steps. Sometimes what gets in the way of God are our idols, which in this day and age can be our opinions, talents, strength, or dreams. There are two definitions of order, one is the way something goes, and the second is a command that is given for someone to follow in obedience. But sometimes we carry these idols, and just like Naman we can also carried pride, guilt, and shame that comes from our weakness hidden beneath our armor. Four things we must keep in mind to let God order our steps:

• To lean on God we must trust God, and to trust God, we must let him heal us from our pasts. God can only heal what we reveal!
• To follow Gods steps, we have to be honest with ourselves and with God!
• When we hear wisdom, we have to make sure to apply it, and follow the instructions because they matter!
• Following God's steps requires humility. Naman had to come and submit humbly to instruction to receive breakthrough.

The name Naman means beautiful but if we saw a leper we wouldn't call them beautiful. Isn't it wonderful that God calls us what we aren't yet? So let's take a step to be obedient to the instructions God has in our lives because what God is building in our lives is bigger than us. Let's follow the steps and stand firm in Him!

Application What is under the armor of God in our lives? What is that strength that is at times hiding our weakness?Prayer Father, I pray for increased humility in my life, I want to submit to your commands and trust that you will order my steps. Help me listen to your instructions and to heed your voice always, in Jesus name, Amen.

Heaven is looking for a miracle to take place here on earth. But sometimes miracles can only come through our yes. Saying yes doesn't mean life will get easier or more fun but it will be fulfilling. Everyday is a great position to worship to Him. There will be some days that the yes comes easy and some days, our yes will come with a fight but in all seasons, we'll continue to choose to make a commitment to Christ.

1. A yes in heaven is a no to other things, but it will always be a trade up.
2. Even Christ Jesus had to say yes to God in the midst of rejection.
3. We will have to say yes to looking foolish in a godless world but that is the heroes journey.
4. It's time to put boundaries on our past self and release God from the box we've put him in.
5. Sometimes to say yes, we'll need friends that will not allow us to stay in our no.

Faith, courage, hard work, & persistence are the four things that we'll need to say yes over and over again. Every hero in the bible said yes, so why are we still saying no? The word is honest and true and it stands when it says the righteous will never go forsaken and our hunger for Jesus will drive us to a new level!Application: What are somethings that God is asking you to say yes to, that you've said no to? Are you missing any of the 4 quadrants to be successful, if yes, how can you begin to work to grow in that?Prayer: Father, I say yes and amen with my life. I realized that it's my yes that releases the miracles. Thank you for your patience with me but I pray that I won't delay your plan any longer. Let your kingdom come and your will be done in my life. In Jesus name, Amen!

The Pioneering Church

We're so grateful for the pioneers and revivalists of the past but God is calling those in this generation to help bring His kingdom to earth! To the level we honor God, is the level that we'll experience His glory. And the way we honor, is the way we'll perceive Him! For that reason Joshua and Caleb were able to make it through to the end. Despite the giants they faced, despite standing out from the crowd, and despite the battles, they always knew how to Honor God.We have been called to pioneer in this generation but that will come with a few challenges:1. Pioneering will cause us to breakout of old mindsets, that keep us trapped in Egypt.2. God might not give us the full picture but the giants in our promise land were left behind so we can lean on God.3. Sometimes God allows things so that He can prepare us for endurance. Because it is our character that produces hope!4. God is not creating slaves. He is creating sons because sons get to be a part of the journey.Know that it'll be hard. Deliverance was instant but freedom is a process that will cost us everything! Don't quit in the middle of stepping into your promise land because of the giants you've seen but embrace the spirit of love, power, and a sound mind.Application: Where in your life did you stop because you saw "giants" that seemed unconquerable to you? How can you begin to see the God of the giants in that situation today?Prayer: Father, I thank you for the spirit of love, power & a sound mind that will help me get through the wilderness into the next season. I pray that I leave old habits and mindsets behind and that I will press into you through the pain. I want to pioneer for you! In Jesus name, Amen.

Do we want to become more like Jesus Christ? Is there a passion to look more like Him?

When we receive Jesus something new takes place for us, in us, and as us. Christ wants to be the Center of our entire life. When He gets in all of who we are everything changes, but we have to be willing to give Him access to our entire being. Christian's these days don't want to go through anything. We don't want to endure; but if Jesus endured the cross, as His followers we will have to go through somethings because being a Christian ultimately means we will have to become pioneers but as pioneers we have to remember the following..If Christ is bold, I can be.

If Christ is courageous, I can be.

If Christ is compassionate, on I can be.

If Christ is creative, I can be.

If Christ is endurance, I can be.

If Christ is humble, I can be.

If Christ is persevere, 1 can be.

If Christ is passion for the lost, I can be.

If Christ is greatness, I can be.Ultimately, pioneering our life will be a lonely journey.

Don't be afraid of going some place alone and position our life to partner with God instead bringing along an Aaron that will eventually mess things up. Remember that God called us for great things and don't forget to dream and believe again for us and our family!

APPLICATION:

Do you want to make a difference more than you want to make it big? Do you long to be like the David's and Daniel's of old or are you okay with just being a part of the crowd?

PRAYER:

Father, I thank you so much for giving me a pioneering spirit. I pray that you give me strength to endure and show me that there is more to life than what I see. I want your kingdom come and your will to be done in and through my life! In Jesus name, Amen.

We were formed by God. We may look like our parents but we have The Fathers heart and calling in us. Some of us have been told that we were an accident. But God doesn't make mistakes. Before God formed us in the womb. He molded us and carved out who we were. He designed us way before we were even a thought in our parents mind.God designed us and designed our destiny at the same time. If we don't fit in, it's because God designed us to be set apart. He made us different so we can seek for something greater than us. By not fitting in God reminds us of who we aren't, so we can discover who we are. The more we compare ourselves to others, the more we'll fail to be who we're called. God put a call and destiny in our life not to fit in, so we can become leaders and pioneers.When you're walking in the kingdom mindset you should know…

1. Christ FOR you. He loves you at ALL times. His love is not bases on us, it's based on Him.
2. Christ IN you. We invite Him into every part of our life, good and bad.
3. Christ ON you. Instead of putting on our old and dirty clothes. It's time to wear and put on Christ.

When we're in Christ we become everything He is. When we're in Christ, He doesn't see our failures because He turns them into our testimony. We need to put on the armor of Christ everyday. The armor is not some religious stuff, the armor of is Jesus, so we can't forget to put ON Christ.Application: Do you currently feel like you don't fit in? What are some things that come to mind about who God has designed you to be? Are you currently walking in all 3 of the kingdom mindsets? If not, how can you begin to do that today?Prayer: Father, Today I receive and believe that you're FOR me, IN me, and ON me. I ask that you remove all the dead things and become the center of my life. Thank you for not only loving me but also liking who I am. I'm ready to discover all that you designed me to be. In Jesus name, Amen.

Jesus didn't have tough skin but He had a tough source. As people, we will undoubtably hurt each other. Tough skin ruins our purpose and destiny because we wall up and build fences that end up imprisoning us. Vision rarely comes to prayer without the labor of great prayer because big vision requires God help.Here are some reasons as to why we pray: 1. The power comes when we put Gods word in your mouth so we not only read the word, but we pray the word. 2. You are a citizen of heaven and what you need to know is that you have a the authority to enter the throne room. 3. Out of all things the disciples saw Jesus doing, the only thing they asked for instruction on how to pray. 4. Don't forget your place alongside of Him. The king is not looking for you to show up in a king James prayer of perfection. He is looking for intimacy through prayer. 5. Wherever you're at God hears you, even if that prayer is worked out in fear and trembling. God hears your heart and not just words. 6. Some of the best words that you might say, might be said through tears but we can go to Him broken without our religious words and share our hearts to the father. 7. Of all the things God can do, the only thing the Lord cannot do is answer a prayer that you didn't pray. He is waiting on YOU to open your mouth and speak to the one who loves you. We have lost the passion to learn how to pray so let's stir that up in our hearts today. You have to go to the prayer closet because out of that place will come the blueprints to change the world!

How many times have we been led to a mess by the Lord but we find Him resting in the middle of that mess? God's not frustrated like we are frustrated, He's not worried like we are worried. But there are three types of storms we will go through in life:

1. Correcting Storms 2. Perfecting Storms 3. Perspective Storms

This is the type of storm that the disciples were in. This reveals a new aspect of the God's nature. Sometimes God is showing us who He is. The antidote to fear is not focusing on our fear but focusing in the perfect love that has given us authority over the fear. The only way to get a handle over our fear is to put on the mind of Christ! Here are some ways to get a sound mind:

• Stop waiting for change, to change our mind.

Stop waiting for the situation to change because we can make a different choice. Change starts as a choice, decide today to live where we're going. We gotta believe it, when you've got nothing. It starts with us!

•We don't need a miracle, we need better management.

The same sun that melts wax, hardens clay. The bible tells us to control and manage our thoughts. It's not how we are it's how, we choose to be. The second that lie hits our heart, repent and get rid of the weak excuse.

•Who is our mind serving?

When our spirit is weak, it serves our flesh but with constant communion with the Holy Spirit we will run vision for our spirit. What we feed our mind becomes our mindset. God calls us to control our mind but it's our mindset what controls us. Create a new path in our mind with the truth of the word.

• Expect miracles along the way

Watch God take things that took forever to restore and surprise us. Our expectation is the water for our seed. Are we believing Him to transform our whole life with one encounter with him??Let's stop confessing what we feel but let's confess what we believe!

Validation from the Lord is accessible to us every day if we can open our ears and hear it. As we continue to walk with the Lord, He wants us to know exactly the ways in which He is willing to show up for us. God was pleased with Jesus, the Son, before He performed a single miracle. So, remember this: our God is already proud of us because His validation of us isn't based on our actions but on how He feels about us.

Here are a few things to remember as you walk with the Lord:

1. The wilderness isn't a punishment; it's a preparation for graduation. The devil pushes, but the Lord leads.
2. If the wilderness is where the Lord has led us, then let's use it to crucify the desires of our flesh within us.
3. God will work with us because He is a God of grace, but there will be a day when He will call us to conquer the things that we have been struggling with.
4. The devil uses the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life to tempt us, but the Lord uses the cross to sanctify us before He fulfills His promises to us.
5. Sometimes, it's not losing that makes us tired, but the continuous battles, even when we are winning.
6. Those who make it past victory are the ones who realize that in the midst of darkness, angels are present.

Even Jesus experienced fatigue, but remember that when you're tired, it might be because you've already overcome. Learn how to give and receive from the Lord, who can provide us with a fullness of joy that no human can offer. Wherever we're afraid to go, God will show us that just as He cares for sparrows, He is already looking after us

Life's full of ups and downs, mountains, and valleys. God publicly validated Jesus when He was baptized, but immediately after, God called Jesus into the valley. When you receive the mandate of purpose in the kingdom, you answer the call. The call is not always in the highs, but if we're afraid of the lows, we'll never find out how powerful God really is. We need to trust the process but also be prepared to fight the good fight against the devil. We need to recognize the three weapons the devil has to defeat him in battle:

Lust of the flesh

Lust of the eyes

Pride of life

These are the same tactics the devil used on Eve. Eve lost the battle because she had a second-hand revelation. She had heard from Adam what God said. However, Jesus defeated the devil because He first conquered His flesh and had a first-hand revelation of the word of God. To survive the upcoming fight, we need to prepare and know the word of God within us. In the midst of the fight, we need to tell the devil, "It Is Written..

Remember, if our teacher is allowing our testing, they're trying to tell us that we already have all the answers we need to graduate to the next level. All we have to do is pass the test.

God's perception of the prophets and the prophets' perceptions of themselves are completely opposite. In this day and age, we are fully convinced that we know God's heart and are speaking on His behalf. But how can we be so sure? The prophets of this age are busy with full calendars and an abundance of activities. But what does the Lord say? They speak not out of listening to His word. They have activity but they do not have authority.

God wants us as a church to be filled with His authority and to release His power. God wants His church to be a gateway to heaven.

In this scripture, the Lord shows observation, offering, and gives us further understanding:

Observation: We're so busy that we don't fully spend time with Him. The God that we worship is close at hand, and although we live in an age where everything else is close at hand, the great tragedy for our generation is that we think we know the Lord, but we have only scratched the surface of who He is. He is not JUST close at hand but far away, in need of pursuit.

Offering: He is giving us access to His throne and wants us to come into proximity with Him. We have to disconnect to connect. There have to be seasons in our lives where we push back on all the other things that are close at hand. There are parts of God that can only be discovered when we give God our day.

Understanding: It's the far away God that comes to us in moments of our life that marks us with calling, with commission, giving us faith and vision. The far away God ruins us for the ordinary and makes us say that we don't want anything else but heaven right now.

We're sustained by the close at hand God, but revival is started by the far away God. There are some levels of demonic oppression that can only be broken with prayers to the far away God, so let's press into that today!