What Are You Talking About? It Does Matter!

POWER THOUGHT:                                                                                                            

What Are You Talking About?  It Does Matter!

Scripture: Psalms 35:27 & 28

“Let them shout for joy and be glad, who favor my righteous cause; and let them say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.  And my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness and of Your praise all the day long.”

In the Book of Judges, Chapter 6, there is a powerful story of a man named Gideon. His life and that of his family, and even broader than that, the children of Israel are about to be changed. But first God had to change this man’s very poor self- image so that His will could be performed. Gideon had to be willing.  

Here was a man threshing wheat by the winepress, trying to survive, while hiding from his enemies. Gideon's experiences had taught him that every time he would sow something and produce crops, his enemies would come and steal from him. But, when his people began to cry out to God for answers, something wonderful happened.

In essence, the Lord said that He had brought them up from Egypt and out of the house of bondage. He told them He had delivered them out of the hands of all who oppressed them and, not only that, but He gave them their land. He also told them, I am the Lord, your God. (God is interested in you as an individual!) Do not fear their gods in whose land you dwell, but you have not obeyed my voice.

What was God saying? I had a great plan for you . . . but you forgot and chose another direction.

 In verse 12, it says, “And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, "The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!”  Gideon, in shock that someone thought that highly of him said, "0h my Lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?  And where are all the miracles, which our Fathers told us about saying, did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now He has forsaken us and delivered us into their hands.” Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites, have I not sent you?” So Gideon said to the Lord, “How can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh and I am the least in my Father's house.”

Can you relate to some of the questions that Gideon asked God?

Let’s look at some powerful truths:

1. God brought the children of Israel out of bondage to bring them into something great.

2.    When they took their eyes off of God-and quit talking about His greatness and all that He had done for them and was planning to do, they began to fear and fell captive to their enemies. Fear leads to a feeling of despair that then leads to questioning the faithfulness of God.

3.   God had to get Gideon to see himself in the light of who He was and what His purposes were for him. That is why God addressed him as "a mighty man of valor" when, in essence, Gideon, at that time, was anything but a man of valor. He was literally hiding himself from his enemies.  He was living in fear. Gideon basically said to God, “Do you realize who you are talking to? Don't you know, God, there is not anyone who has any respect for our family.  We are the least in the city?”

In verse 24, after God had convinced Gideon he was a mighty man of valor, it says that Gideon built an altar and called it,

“The Lord is Peace.”  He then became what God declared him to be when he accepted and declared who God was to him.

4. The exciting principle here for everyone who puts their faith and trust in God is that peace and prosperity are God's ideas. The literal meaning in Hebrew for these two words, peace and prosperity, both in the Old Testament and New Testament, is Shalom. Take this to heart today - Shalom means the following:

To be made safe in mind, body or estate

To be complete

To make restitution and restoration

To fare well - to be prosperous and whole!

As our leading scripture so clearly affirms, if you will favor God's righteous cause, which has so much to do with your conversation, the Lord will be magnified. As you go about the Father’s business growing in the knowledge of His intentions that He has established in His Word, prosperity and peace will be the outworking of this lifestyle which gives the Father much pleasure!

That is how you (Let) the Lord be magnified.

He is a God of restoration of that which has been lost.

5. Gideon had to destroy the altars of Baal that his family had set up before God could give him victory.

Did you know that one of the big mindsets today that can hinder you fulfilling your dream is unbelief?  Doubting the goodness of God is unbelief.  Everyone believes in something or someone. Check out who or what your confidence is in. Words like, "My family never has had anything.  It won't change now or, where I live there are no opportunities or, no one believes in God like that, and I don’t suppose I can expect a promotion this year?” etc. etc. Are all self-inflicting words that bring defeat, despair and open the door for lack to come into your life.

Gideon had a choice to stay with the “same old image” or go with God’s image.

The same choice is yours. Apply that truth to your situations in life and watch out!

Realize that if “what you have been talking about” is not what God has to say about you or your situations, now is the time to begin speaking of His righteousness and all He has planned for you through faith in His Word! And it shall come to pass!

Decide today to become a mighty man or woman of valor. This means to become a person of virtue, a person of strength, of might, of power, riches and substance. Decide to agree with God!

Start today. That is God’s plan for you!

Never Give Up

Never Give Up

Very often, because of delays in things we have prayed and believed for our faith and confidence can be stolen.  Abraham, in the natural, was way beyond receiving but because he knew that God was not a man that He would lie, the Supernatural overtook his Natural and it came to pass!  Get back into faith for things you want to see happen and expect it to come to pass as well! 

Keep on pressing through until the victory comes!

God Bless,

Diana

Removing Toxic Emotions

We are going to talk today about getting rid of toxic emotions!  I know many of you are like me and you go to the stores and see the book and magazine racks with

Headlines:  How to Detox your Glands, How to Detox your System, Body, Thyroid etc.!

Why do these book sell?   Because every day we are taking in products into our bodies with names and substances that we can't even pronounce.  We, our bodies, need a catharsis. 

I have written a book called DETOX: Spiritual Cleansing for a Fulfilling Life.  It was written to help you, as a born again believer, get rid of thoughts, lies and negative suggestions that have gotten into your emotional memory bank that are keeping you from receiving the blessings, spirit, soul and body, that your Heavenly Father wants you to experience.  It is about you understanding more fully the revealed love of God.  It is about truth!  Just like our bodies get full of toxicity and need cleansing, our minds get full of "stuff" that needs removing.  Do you have memories of wounds, hurts, failures, rejections?  Just like God planted a garden and amazing surroundings for Adam and Eve to enjoy and share with God, and they believed a lie about God through a suggestion that was made, we too can have our lives and God's great plans for us, altered by wrong suggestions acted on.  It doesn't take long, though, to reverse these situations when we understand the source of the lie and the lie itself, and remove it with the help of the Wonderful Counselor, Jesus!  God wants us to live truth, not lies, criticism, anger, etc. and remove toxic buildup from our soul.

This book was written out of my own experiences!  I grew up in a very dysfunctional family and spent my early years running just trying to find a safe place.  After becoming a Christian and studying and learning what great things God had in store for me and understanding I was here because God wanted me here, I began to release the strongholds of fear, rejection, traumas, shame etc. that had built around my spirit! You may be a doctor, CEO, a housewife raising wonderful children, but you know you need an emotional detox.

You can take the DETOX book and spend a few minutes a day and allow the Holy Spirit to take the soap and water of the Word and his revelations to you specifically and begin to get free indeed inside.

Be encouraged with this today!

Diana 

Time for a " Better than that" Day?

Are You ready for a "Better than That" Day?

One translation of Hebrews 8:6 says, Now Yeshua the Messiah has received the Ministry which is better than that, as The Covenant of which he is made The Mediator is better, and is given with better promises than that!

There were powerful promises given to men and women in the Old Covenant that brought the miraculous into people's lives for the Glory of God!

For instance, even though Moses was called by God to set His people free, Moses got off on the wrong foot and found himself on the backside, not just the desert, but the backside of the desert for 40 years because he was trying to do things his way when God had a better way and plan for accomplishing things. I am sure we can all identify with making some mistakes along life’s way. If the Frank Sinatra song, "I did it my way" was around then, I imagine Moses would have sung it, until he turned and did it God's way which was a "better than that" way. God had a promised land for His people and Moses was to be a part of getting them there.  God has amazing blessings for you He has planned that you experience too!

Another case in point: Paul in the New Testament said, I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own yet; but one thing I do--it is my one aspiration: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward. Philippians 3:13 Amplified

He did not say he forgot; he said I am making it a part of my life to continue to forget those things that were in my past that are trying to hinder my movement forward--He was saying, I believe, he wanted to experience a "better than that" life for the glory of God instead of what his past experiences were.  This was the man that wrote three-fourths of the New Testament!  When you as an individual experience the life, Jesus paid for you to live, it brings much glory to the Father and to Jesus just like Paul was writing about!

Because of what Jesus did, we, as born from above believers, have been given promises, literally a New Covenant from God, that He desires us to receive as a gift; promises that are like seeds when planted with our words and beliefs that result in increase in our lives spiritually, physically and in our soul. These promises are gift packages so to speak that must be opened to be experienced.

I encourage you, as I wrote in my book, Detox: Spiritual Cleansing for a Fulfilling Life, Chapter 5, to see the New Covenant promises written in the Scriptures as "Priority Letters” written especially for you and to you.....personalize them! Get as excited and interested in what is written as you would be when you receive Priority Mail! Do a Detox in your thinking which literally means to lift off, remove, just like Paul said, get rid of negative thinking and concerns about yesterday's mistakes that maybe resulted in losses so you that you are in a better position to move forward into the "better than that" experiences the Lord has for you Now!

Remember to focus on the fact that His mercies, His graces, His peace, which means " nothing missing, nothing broken" are new and fresh every morning!  He said it and wants us to say: Yes, and Amen! 2 Corinthians 1:20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so, through him the "Amen" is SPOKEN BY US to the glory of God!

Begin to say in faith, Amen, which means So be It, in Jesus Name because God is interested in you experiencing His best!

BETTER THAN THAT!

For some time I have been feeling a prompting by the Holy Spirit to do some teachings based on the words: "Better than That!  If you take some time to think about your circumstances in any area of your life, what would be your "That" which you would love to see improved, increased or changed for the better? 

I looked up some of the synonyms for better and the first to come up was MORE which represents a greater or additional amount or degree, added, extra, increased, new and some more!  Why is this so interesting and exciting?  Because, the Lord Jesus Christ stated in one of His mission statements in John 10:10 "I am come that they [that would include you] might have life, and that they might have it MORE abundantly!"

In that statement, it is important to realize Jesus used the word "might" twice indicating it is made available but requires your part in receiving it as a gift to be experienced. I believe from what Jesus said, we can see that Jesus always wants the best and better for His people. 

One case in point, I remember my husband and I working with an associate pastor who when he ministered or talked just seemed "stuck" and almost childlike in his actions.  We spent some time taking him through the "life-shaping" process and Jesus brought him to a time as a young man he was made fun of and named a cartoon character from a comic book.  This so shamed him even after becoming a man and a leader, he was still carrying the embarrassment and hurt. Thankfully, he was able to release those memories and experiences and from then on took on the persona of the real man he was called to be!  He received something "Better than That"! We marveled when we saw him afterward at how changed he was in his demeanor and ministry.

You can read about this on Page 134 in my book, Detox: Spiritual Cleansing for a Fulfilling Life!  Detox means to remove.  He had years of emotional pain removed!

Why is this so important in receiving your "Better than That"? Jesus also said, "Take care or (pay attention to) how you listen and what you hear."  Luke 8:18 When you pay attention to what He taught and take care to hear what is from the Lord rather than the traditions passed down through man or things you have accepted as true from others opinions,  this verse says MORE or something BETTER will be given......could you use more wisdom, more revelations of things you need to know, more creative ideas for more and better opportunities in the business realm or your family that would add more enjoyment to your life and those in your sphere of influence? 

The opposite of better is "worse."  That is what Jesus said the thief or Satan has on his mind: to kill, steal and destroy or make things worse.  That is why it is vital to make a quality decision daily to become knowledgeable of what Jesus said He came to offer you so that your life will become better and reflect His thoughts and will for you!

Another Case in point: One time we were selling our house and prayed diligently to get it sold in a specific time period.  Well, some buyers came and made an offer within that time frame.  However, they were very negative and haggled over everything so much so that after a couple of meetings, we discussed not moving forward with the sale to them.   As I went to my refrigerator one day during that time to get something, I heard the words, "Better than That!"

Those words were meaningful to me because years earlier a dear friend of mine preached a sermon on expecting better things from God to happen.  That was all I needed to hear that day.  We cancelled the sale, released our faith in those words I heard and within days got a much "Better than That" offer and may I say the people were wonderful to work with and were so happy to purchase the house "As Is!"

All we moved out was our clothes!  For sure for us, it was a much "Better than That" experience.

It is so easy to base what we expect in life on our past experiences and what has happened to others when the Bible says the very hairs on your head are numbered. He said even sparrows that were sold for two pennies are not forgotten by God." Luke 12:6-7.  Amazing to think how intricately and wonderfully you are thought about by God. So, with that in mind, take time to focus your faith for your "Better than That" on how special you are and how Jesus said He came for you to experience your very own more abundant manifestations.

I encourage you to be mindful of who and what you are listening to especially with all the TV

news reports, internet and conversations in general with people so that you will not be easily sidetracked. Decide to harness your thoughts so that your very own "Better than That" can be realized. You have the power to reject any counter thoughts that would try to cause you to forfeit your blessings and turnarounds. In some way you can relate it to listening to a CD and something comes on you do not want to listen to, you can press the eject button and stop it immediately. 

The Lord wants you to unlock His power in your life by believing, agreeing and speaking his will for your life.  Remember you have the power to accept or reject any thought process running through your mind,.....keep a mind picture of pressing the "eject" button on a CD.

When you begin to do so on a regular basis, I believe and pray you will see many "Better than That" happenings in your life!

Diana Sykes: Power Of Your Words

Habits For Life:

We are going to talk about what are you passionate about?  There are boundary breaking keys that you can use to live a more fulfilled life.  Do you have crossroads in your life where who you were created to be has been compromised?  The first identity theft was in the Garden of Eden.  Satan crept in and prompted Adam and Eve to make decisions that changed who they were created to be.  God created you for living a life of victory.  He did not intend for you to carry around the pain of wrong decisions or traumatic events that have gotten you into wrong habit patterns which have caused you to lose your passion for life.  How many of you when you see a Nun walking around immediately know what her lifestyle is, who she is passionate about and what she stands for?  Often we get so locked into habits of wrong thinking that we "wear" our circumstances and people know what is going on inside of us without us saying anything!  There is great news though.  In just a few minutes a day, you can sit down and take time to analyze what thought patterns are running through your mind, what pain from your past tried to raise its head in your relationships today.  I have written a book on Detoxing your mind so that you can lighten your load and walk with a leap in your step!  Realize that little events can become big roadblocks in your future if not recognized and released. 

Every day is a new day to step into greatness and establish new habits.  Jesus set his face towards Jerusalem to set the captive free.  Are you captive?  A few minutes a day can start you on your way to the happiest days of your life!