Attitude Affects Altitude

As Christians, we’re always endeavoring to come up higher in our walk with the Lord, to another level of faith, growing and developing in the things of God.

But, sometimes, it seems we’ve reached a plateau, a stand still. What’s the problem? It could be any number of things, but my solution is to look for the simple answer first. [It’s like working on an appliance – check the plug first! Who woulda thought!]

Much of the time, the problem is as simple as an attitude change – a check-up from the neck up! Our attitude determines our altitude – just how far we’ll go with God. This is one thing we can definitely change. We have control over our attitude. It’s a choice. I call it a “course correction.”

,Just like the course of a huge ship is changed by the rudder, we can change our course by changing our rudder – our attitude. We do this by our words.

Your circumstances don’t have to dictate your attitude. You don’t have to be grumpy. You can be cheerful in spite of the circumstances. You’re in control, and it’s all done by words – your words!

It’s a decision – your decision to  have a good attitude. Once you do that, even though the circumstances haven’t changed yet, you’ll feel a lot better and be able to hear from the Lord about what to do next.

A good attitude makes all the difference!

Philippians 4:8-9 (KJV)  8  Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
9  Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

Pamela

Are You a Faither?

Faithers – who are they and how do you become one?

Faithers (my word) are those who walk by faith and not by sight (II Corinthians 5:7).  They’re the ones that Hebrews 11 speaks of – the heroes of faith, the ones who will eternally be in the Hall of Faith.

 

2 Corinthians 5:7 (KJV) 7  (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

So, how can we become faithers? How do we walk in the faith of Abraham, Moses, and Joshua? By walking in God’s Word! 

Remember  Romans 10:17 (KJV) 17  So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

You first have to develop your faith  by planting the Word of God in your heart: hear, study, meditate, confess, and act on the Word. That’s how you plant it into your heart (spirit) where it can grow by continuing to hear, study, meditate, confess and act on it.

Don’t be discouraged because you think everyone else has more faith then you do. We all start out the same – one lump, one measure.

Romans 12:3b (KJV)   … according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

What we do with our measure determines how much we grow and develop in our faith. Becoming a faith giant is do-able for everyone who puts forth the effort. And the rewards are beyond measure. Go for it!

Hebrews 11:6a (KJV) 6  But without faith it is impossible to please him:

Pamela

You’ll never walk on water, if you don’t get out of the boat!

Why don’t we see more results when we pray? Why do we think we have to have the whole plan before we do what God wants us to do? I realize that if you don’t start, you’ll never finish, but there’s more here that I want to talk about.

Are you a risk-taker or a risk-avoider? If we’re honest, we really like our comfort zones. But we also want to have strong, mountain-moving faith that speaks to problems and annihilates them.

Mark 11:23 (KJV) 23  For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
 

You can have that kind of faith but it involves risks – risks to believe that what God has said in His Word will really work for you.

Let’s look at Matt. 14:

Matthew 14:28-31 (KJV)  28  And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
29  And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
30  But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
31  And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

When the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water, the only one who called out to Him was Peter: “Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.” I wonder if Peter really even thought about what he was saying. If Jesus answered him, he would actually have to get out of the boat and go to Jesus, which meant walking on the water! Even though Peter was a fisherman, you can be sure that he never tried walking on the water.

So, Jesus said, “Come!” and out of the boat Peter jumped, walking toward Jesus. Wow! Things were great as long as he stayed focused on Jesus. But, Peter got distracted by the wind and waves, the circumstances, and began to sink! “Help, Lord!” Jesus immediately reached out His hand to rescue Peter.

But, even though Peter didn’t do everything perfectly, he still was the only one who had enough faith to get out of the boat!

We need to learn from Peter’s adventure.  As long as we keep our eyes on the Lord, things are great. We need to stay alert and focused on God’s Word, not getting distracted by the circumstances that are glaring at us. In one hour things can change!

When you’re standing on God’s Word in faith for His promises to come to pass, don’t let your physical senses or surrounding circumstances distract you. Take the risk, get out of the boat, and walk on the water, believing that God will do exactly what He said He would do in His word.

Pamela

If You Want the Dog, Don’t Call the Cat!

Of course, if you want the dog, you don’t call for the cat! But, do you really know what that means?  Let me say it another way: If you want to get well, don’t keep speaking sickness. If you want to get out of debt, don’t keep saying that you don’t have enough finances.

Yes, you might be battling a sickness and yes, you might not have enough money, but continuing to confess that day after day, won’t get you what you really desire – to get well and be able to pay your bills!

Negative words will not get the promises of God to manifest in your life. There’s no redeeming value in confessing what you already have. This only serves to establish those things you don’t want.

Mark 11:23 (KJV)
23  For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

Notice that what you say is what you get. You might not believe that you can have what you say, but you’re already doing that – having what you say when you confess things you don’t want: “I never have enough money.” “Things never work out for me.” “Just when I seem to get ahead, something always happens.”

These are just some of the negative things people say frequently and then wonder why they actually happen! Now you know. Of course, it’s not just saying things one time that causes them to happen. What you say over and over and over will eventually get into your heart and that’s when you’re in trouble.

But not so with God’s Word. Confessing the Word over and over and over will eventually get it into your heart. And when that happens, God’s promises will manifest in your life.

Check up on yourself. What have you been saying? Is it what you want or is there a need to re-program your speaking? As they say, measure twice, cut once. Hm-m-m? How does that fit here?

Simply, think about what you’re about to say longer than you normally would. Is it what you want?  If not, keep your mouth shut! When you can trust your mouth to say the right thing, then speak.

Watching the words you speak might sound hard to do but it isn’t. It just takes practice and patience. Go for it. You can do it! And you’ll be so glad you did.

— Pamela

God’s Love Dispels Fear

 

Galatians 5:6b (KJV)  …  but faith which worketh by love.

Faith works by love. Just what does that mean? Is it how we love people that causes our faith to work? Certainly we are to love everyone because God has commanded us to  walk in love toward one another. 

John 13:34 (KJV) 34  A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 

There’s more to this scripture than the obvious. I believe that when you get a revelation of how much God loves you, it will change your whole attitude and dispel the fears that try to work.

1 John 4:18 (KJV) 18  There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

As you see, perfect love casts out fear. We are so precious to God. He gave His Best – Jesus – to ransom us back from our fallen state because He was unwilling to do without a family and we are it! What a joy and a rejoicing!

So, when you meditate on how much God loves you, and the price that was paid, it will surely comfort you to know that He has your back. 

I was meditating on that scripture one day and suddenly I had the “knowing” in my spirit that I was FREE from the fear of flying! It was so wonderful and it can happen to you!

Let God’s love envelope you and minister to you throughout the day and beyond!

1 John 4:7-8 (KJV) 7  Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
8  He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

Pamela

 

 

If you don’t start somewhere, you’ll never get anywhere!

Too many times we, in our zeal, want to bypass the nitty gritty of life and start right the top. “Why start in the mail room? I want to be the supervisor!” Isn’t that what people want? Maybe — but that’s not how it works. There are steps up the ladder of success and most of the time it means starting at a lower place than we would have chosen. 

That’s how it is with faith. When we get  born-again, we all want to be faith giants and many think they are. However, just as in natural life, spiritual things work the same way – one step at a time.

No one starts out with great faith. Everyone starts out with the same lump! It’s equal for everyone even though it doesn’t seem so at times.

Romans 12:3 (KJV) 3  For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

Our part is to grow and develop until we have great faith operating, speaking to the mountains in our lives and commanding  them to be cast into the sea, never to return.

Mark 11:23 (KJV) 23  For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

This is do-able for everyone but not everyone is willing to do what it takes: hearing, listening, studying, meditating, confessing and acting on the Word of God to cause the Word to get down into your spirit where it can grow and develop.

 If you put forth the effort, a lot of effort, you’ll surely be rewarded with faith that has grown and moves mountains, walking by faith and not by sight.

2 Corinthians 5:7 (KJV) 7  (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

— Pamela

 

 

 

My Blogs

As an introduction to my blogs, I want you to know that I plan to write frequently, so be sure to check in to see what’s new. I might do a series of blogs so that each one isn’t too long  – like the first one! Also, my webpage is still under construction – still need a photo of moi! Working on it. The latest venture is that my new book is due out, hopefully, in March – The Power of Words. I’m excited about this book because it’s a continuation of my Faith 101 book. I will try to keep you updated about it.   — Pamela

Do Our Words Really have Power?

Words! How harmful can they be? After all, they’re just words. So what if I get mad and spout off! So what if I feel like having a pity party, murmuring and complaining about everything and everyone! It’s just words. Right? Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!

Jesus said that by your words you’ll be justified and by your words you’ll be condemned (Matt. 12:37). Which do you want?

Proverbs 6:2 says that we are snared with the words of our mouths. We are trapped by the words we speak – words of blessing, speaking good, or words of cursing, speaking evil, speaking negatively.

So, what about these words we speak. Does it really matter? It certainly does! Have you ever entered a room or visited someone’s home, and you could tell there had been an argument or a fight? You could sense it in the atmosphere. In fact, we say that you could “cut it with a knife.” That’s because words are containers. Just because you can’t see them doesn’t mean they’re not real.They are VERY real. You can’t see thoughts but they’re very real.

On the other hand, have you ever visited a home and you could sense the peace of God lingering in the atmosphere? That’s because loving words had been spoken and peace was evident.

You see, words are very important to God. Everything He created, He created by the Words He spoke. When darkness was upon the face of the deep, God said, “Light be!” and light was (Genesis 1:3). Before He sent Jesus to be our Savior, He used prophets to speak Words prophesying the coming Messiah.

Proverbs 18:21 says that death and life are in  the power of the tongue and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. That’s an awesome thing to be responsible for by our words – life and death!

When God says something, He means what He says. That’s why you can always know what God will do in any given situation because He will always do what He said He would do in His Word. Think about that!

How did you get saved? By words. You accepted Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross to pay the penalty for your sins so that you could be restored to a right relationship with Almighty God and go to Heaven. You did this by speaking WORDS (Romans 10:9-10).

So, I submit to you that if words can change your eternal destiny, then words can affect and change your present circumstances. Words are so powerful that they affect everything you do.

Let’s look at Mark 11:23-24 where we see Jesus speaking.  And we know that when Jesus speaks, His Words are important.

Mark 11:23-24 (KJV)
23  For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

24  Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

Now notice Galatians 6:7

Galatians 6:7 (KJV)
7  Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

Can you see that when you speak words, you are actually sowing? These words are seeds and will produce a harvest – whether for good or for evil. Wow! How powerful is that? Some of us need to speak “crop failure” to the words we’ve  spoken!

The bottom line is that we need to be mindful of the words we speak – all the time. We need to speak only what we want to come to pass. Let go of the negativism, doubt, unbelief, self-pity, and depression. Speak what God says: words of love, encouragement, health, healing, prosperity, and success. God is on our side and Jesus already bought and paid for us to enjoy the abundant life God ordained us to have (John 10:10).

— Pamela