• This section of the Bible isn’t important.
• Only this book of the Bible pertains to today.
• It was only for then.
• It’s not applicable to us.

Recently I was teaching and the subject came up about being saved. I was so saddened to hear a young man express to me that he was not going to get saved until he knew he could live it out. I couldn’t help but feel the need to express to him that if that were the case, and he was able to get it together, why would he need a Savior?

We are all like that young man in one area or another of our lives. God may have asked you to do something, but you feel  you are not qualified. Don’t you think God knew that before He called you to that specific task? And did you ever think maybe that’s why He called you?

Then there are those who don’t want to minister to people because they feel like hypocrites. You think that once you get well or once you get your family life together then you can go out and minister to people. But did you ever think that is the very reason God called you? We often forget that the times we are most apt to receive is when we are ministering to others.

The Word says in James 2: 1-26, John 6:37 and Revelation 22:17, “Come…”. I see no asterisks in my Bible that say *once you _____. I don’t see those in any of the Bibles I own. Do you know why? Because if we had to have it all together, be in the best condition, be financially set, or whatever level we felt we needed to obtain, there would be no reason for a Savior in our life. That would make us self-made men and women. We could do it all by ourselves. And yet, the ultimate prize would not be eternity in heaven, but would still be eternity in hell.

Regardless of our positions in life, we need a Savior. It is at the foot of the cross that we are all equals. It is our human intellect that gets in our way of selling out to Jesus. It is our self pious that attempts, and sometimes succeeds in convincing us that there is no need for a Savior. So don’t wait until you have it together. You will never have it together. The best position you can be in to accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior is the position you are in today.

I want to ask you a personal question. How are you living your life? What do I mean you ask? Is your life a daily bore of knowing it’s just the same thing, just a different day of the week? Or are you waking up with a fire in your eye wondering what you and God are going to accomplish that day? That’s how we should live. In expectation.

Ephesians 3:20 in The Message starts out with, “God can do anything…you know…” but how many of us truly know that? Have you searched your mind and heart and dug up those past desires that somehow got buried beneath all of the everyday stuff we call life? What is it that would drive you to wake up with a spring in your step? What would cause you to never again hit the snooze button? That is what you need to take to the throne of God.

1 John 5:14-15 says, “And we are confident that He hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases Him. ¹⁵ And since we know He hears us when we make our requests, we also know that He will give us what we ask for.”

Those are my two life scriptures this year. I know that God can do anything and I know that I can ask Him anything and if it be according to His Word I can expect to have it. Glory! I live my life in full expectation that not only will God fulfill what I’ve asked Him, but that I will live my life for Him and do the things that He has asked of me. It’s a partnership.

So I challenge you today to take something so big to the throne room of God, that if He doesn’t come through it won’t happen in the natural. And then stand back and expect. Expect that not only will He grant that desire, but as Ephesians continues on with, “…far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!” Live your life in knowing that God is God and expecting that He truly can do anything and everything!

Life deals us blows. We have all had them and we will all have them. But I have a story that is going to show you that whatever you are going through, there is nothing hard enough, big enough or difficult enough for God. God is able to handle anything you bring to him. Read 1 Kings 17:1 & 1 Kings 18 (whole chapter – all 46 verses).

The first thing I want you to see is that when you do something to give God the glory He will honor that. He is God. The second thing I want you to see is just like Elijah, you are going to meet people or circumstances that will be “in your face” saying that your God can’t do it – whatever your it is! At that point what will we do? Will we shrink back and go away or will we be bold like Elijah and show people what our God can do? What God did then – He will do now. God is the same. He does not change!

The same is true with your life and whatever your problems or issues you are dealing with. God is big enough to deal with whatever you have going on in your life. In your Bible there are no asterisks making note that God will only deal with certain problems. When your life is soaking wet with problems and it seems that life keeps slamming you, just like Elijah did, TEST GOD! Dare God to do something. Dare God to keep His Word!

Here are five keys that will help you stand in the face of opposition:

1. Know that God is God – NO MATTER WHAT! DO NOT be moved! (1 Kings 18:36-37)

2. Enter into a relationship with God by accepting His Son Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. (Romans 10:9 & 13)

3. Keep your eyes on Jesus! (Hebrews 12:2)

4. Trust God and all that He has said. (1 Kings 18:30-38)

5. DON’T BE MOVED!! This is definitely the time to be stubborn.

The saying is now you see it, now you don’t. But that’s not so with the items posted on the internet. Although we would love to think when we hit the delete button of an unwanted picture or saying we posted on social media that it’s gone, unfortunately there’s a good chance it’s still out there and at any time someone could remind you of your post.

But thank God that’s not the way it is with our sin when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior! Once we repent of our sins they are gone. We may feel at some point, the need to remind God of what we did way back when and how unworthy we are. I can see Him crinkle up His face and say, “What are you talking about?” Psalm 103:12 tells us that He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west and Hebrews 8:12 ….and I will remember their sins no more. Isn’t that fabulous news?!

Once we get rid of sin by confessing it out to God and asking for forgiveness, it is gone. When the enemy wants to come and remind you of how you were back then or of the terrible things you did, if you truly have confessed and repented of your sins, they don’t exist anymore. You can stand in the face of the enemy when he comes to remind you of why God wouldn’t do something for you and boldly tell him you and God have no idea of what he is talking about.

God is not like social media. When He erases something it is gone. There are no records. There are no copies. There are no hidden files. They are…gone. So search your heart. Is there something you need to repent of that you want gone forever? Go to God, confess and repent and live a free life knowing that God holds no trump cards. Your sins have been forgiven…forever.

You would think that with how fast things are changing in our society that confidence would be at an all time high. But the exact opposite is true. Social media has brought a new avenue into which we have the capability to not only measure our self worth with that of our neighbor but literally now we have the whole world to compare ourselves to.

Something that I try to get my kids I teach to understand is to try and cop the attitude of “who cares”. I don’t mean in a rebellious sense but in a God made me, me…who cares if she has whatever. Who cares if he is whatever. Here’s where we come to the confidence issue.

We have to take everything we are to the cross. Before I was saved I had extremely low confidence. Self esteem wasn’t even in my vocabulary! I hid behind every trend that came through my life. I didn’t want to be me. Not because I didn’t like me, but I didn’t know me. Sound weird? When you have no clear God calling, who are you? Where are you going? Why are you here? Exactly who are you? Are you who GQ says? Elle? Cosmopolitan? Who is it that God made you?

Once you find out who you are in Christ you get that who cares attitude. You stop being moved by every whim, every new thing that every so-and-so is doing, being and saying. You finally reach a pinnacle of I am who I am because the Great I AM made me who I am because He needed me, to be me.

Confidence is the belief in oneself and one’s powers or abilities. Now take that, amplify it at the foot of the cross by calling on the Maker of all good things, and that includes…YOU!!!

Regardless of your age, we all would like to be a kid again. Now that we have reached adulthood, we wonder what all the hoopla was about. No one told us about the mountains of responsibility that went along with the motto you can do what you want! No one told us about the concerns that went with all those freedoms. No one told us about any of the bad stuff that went with adulthood.

But wait! There’s more! You actually have a loophole in this whole adult thing. And you won’t believe who it comes from? GOD! The English Standard Version says Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” I believe He is talking about our faith. Do we trust God? Do we believe as a child?

My husband and I have our first grandson coming any day now. When that little boy asks Grammie and Papa for something he is not going to go through a list of how it’s going to happen. He will just know when he asks it will be taken care of.

That’s how we are to be with God. We pray. But do we pray as a child or do we pray and then grab our prayer and walk away with it so we can worry over it? I have done it! Dear God…then I walk away wondering how will He do it? Will He do it? Have I prayed the right way in asking for it? Will it be in the time frame I need it? And it goes on and on.

No! We are to ask our Dad and know it’s done! Oh and here’s the kicker. He already knows…everything! Wow! Talk about freedom! There it is at its finest! So if you have ever wanted to be a kid again, here is your opportunity. Run to the throne room and ask God. He is your Dad! He’s not going to let you down. Ever! (Psalm 37:25)

If you were privy to the knowledge that within five minutes you would pass away what would you do? No seriously? What regrets would you reconsider? What wrongs would you make right? What people would you forgive because to hold the grudge you are holding well seems really silly now – I mean with five minutes left. Would you spend more time with God? Was there really time and you chose to allocate it to something so trivial?

Seems pretty intense, huh? Well, the truth is we could all be literally living in that last five minutes. The thing with death is that it is no respecter of persons. We will all die. (Proverbs 27:1) Seriously. What would you do different? Well now that I have you down, let me pick you up! You have more than five minutes! Hopefully you have years upon years – BUT! Live life as if you only have those five minutes, few hours or even a generous 24 hours left.

Life is not worth getting caught up in the snaggles of arguments, discontents, waste of time, and waste of energy. Tomorrow is promised to no one. Every day is literally a gift from God. (Ecclesiastes 9). So go. Live life. Forgive generously. Love greatly. Give freely. Don’t put off tomorrow what you can do today. Now go, conqueror the day!