Authority – Over or Under

What is the first thing that you think, when you see someone of authority?

It could happen to be your supervisor walking past your station at work, an officer of the law hiding behind a light pole with a radar gun, or the white Crown Victoria on the highway that grows lights on the roof as it gets closer.

Is your reaction one of fear, or peace?

Generally speaking, our reactions will be reflective of our past and current actions.

For example, when you see the car on the highway with the cherries on top, does your stomach go into a knot as you look down at the speedometer?

It comes into play for me when I see my general manager’s name pop up on my call display. I have this default mode of instantly thinking that I am in trouble even when I haven’t done anything wrong.

If we were really honest too, I wonder how many of us would admit thinking this way when it comes to our relationships with God?

Many of us are still of the thinking that God us up in heaven with a big stick ready to rap us over the head when we do something wrong. When this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Yes, God expects obedience, but He doesn’t expect perfection. He has given us freely all things pertaining to life and godliness, which includes His grace, the ultimate power to reign over sin!

I remember my Pastor teaching about authority not too long ago. His key point was that it’s not all about who you are in authority over, but rather whose authority you are under. I never fully understood this until a few months ago when I started a new position at work, under a new manager. The difference in the level of management was night and day, I was very happy to be under the new manager due to the skills, experience, and authority that was carried by him.

We don’t need to wince or cower when the name of The Lord is mentioned (unless someone is using it in vain.) There is a big difference between bowing in reverence, and cowering in shame.

The God of the Heavens rebuilt the entire universe’s infrastructure, just so you and I could spend eternity with Him. He longs for our affection, time, and worship. Let’s pray that we would receive supernatural revelation of His authority.

When He is for us, who can be against us?

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Update Available

We live in a world where updates are offered continually as bugs in software are being revealed and security threats are discovered.

It’s just like us and our walks with Christ.

We easily get bogged down with the cares of this world, and our minds become dull after steadily absorbing the negativity in the world around us. Our thinking becomes prone to the attacks of satan and we don’t hear God speaking to us on a daily basis anymore.

We need to implement a constant upgrade cycle in order to keep the mind of Christ in the forefront position.

Daily prayer time, bible reading, and consistent church attendance are vital to keeping sharp and alert as to what is happening in the Kingdom around, and within us.

Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you]. (Romans 12:2 AMP)

The default setting of humanity is conformity. It takes consistent hard work to make the transition from being easily influenced, to influential.

For who has known or understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give Him knowledge? But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart. (1 Corinthians 2:16 AMP)

By Faith Noah

I want to remind us all, that in the tasks and projects God is is calling us to, we must all start somewhere in order to get where we are going. Often the beginning steps are so small that we wonder if we’re even making a difference.

The goal that you have in your heart may seem insurmountable, but you must remember that it’s not by our power that it comes to pass. Yes, an effort is demanded on our part but more often than not it’s to prepare us for what is going to happen. It’s God that does the heavy lifting.

Noah put a tremendous amount of time and energy into building the ark. He was responsible for making the accommodations, as well as taking care of the animals once they were on-board. Noah had duties within this vision, but God was faithful in filling the ark. Noah’s efforts were not in vain.

If you are called to lead worship, start by setting some individual worship time aside every day, and choose to invest some time honing the skills you have. Or if it’s preaching and teaching, get your bible out often and ask God to show you something new that you can apply to your life, and share with the people around you.

What ever it is that you have been created for, I encourage you strongly to start cultivating that gift, and the associated skill-set. We should all pursue excellence on this side of heaven in all that we put our hands to.

Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.
(Zechariah 4:10a NLT)

The Unbeatable Tag Team

I was running Saturday night, and I wanted to finish strong so I asked God to help me do just that.

I was reminded then and there, that it’s not when I’m strutting around on my own strength that I can achieve great things, but instead when I admit, “I can’t do this without you” that the awesome things happen.

God’s word says in 2 Corinthians 12:9 that His grace is sufficient for us, and that His strength is made perfect in our weakness.

It’s in the times where we have done all to stand, and keep standing in faith that the astonishing happens. We finally reach the goal that we have been working towards, or we finish that project that just seemed impossible, or we run a little further or faster than we did last time.

Let’s never forget to ask God to help us in what He has assigned us to do. He’s the other man of our unbeatable tag team, reaching through the ropes yelling, “Tag me! Tag me!”

All we have to do is humble ourselves to Him and say, ok God, I need your help!