All posts tagged: Motivation

Staying in Shalom by Briana Lassiter

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As you read this, may the shalom of God cover you, keep you and enlighten you as you move from glory to glory, from grace to grace. ~Briana Lassiter I remember the first time the Lord told me that Shalom was not a location I would arrive at or something to achieve, it was a state of being. As it usually happens when the Lord tells me something new like this, I didn’t get it. When Jesus teaches me something, I like to know, “How does this practically affect my life, Lord?” Over the next few months, He began to show me that Shalom begins with a series of choices. It is almost an equation, x + y =? When x happens to y (you) what is the result? I believe every situation we encounter is a mathematical equation. If you don’t understand the process of solving the equation, it doesn’t matter what you come up with, you’re not going to get the right answer. However, if you know the process to solve the equation, …

He is Known in Praise: Lifting Up the Name of Jesus

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“In Judah God is known; His name is great in Israel. 2 In Salem also is His tabernacle, And His dwelling place in Zion. 3 There He broke the arrows of the bow, The shield and sword of battle. Selah” ~PSALM 76:1-3 When I read Psalm 76:1-3 recently, the Lord immediately led me to look up what He was saying via the translations of each of the places mentioned in verses. What I discovered by doing the word study was that our God is revealed and known in praise! We already know that He makes our praise His dwelling place (PS. 22:3), and thusly in His presence is fullness of joy and pleasures evermore (PS. 16:11). All of this is obviously beautiful, but it only comes as a direct response of closeness and closeness comes by communication, communication is a fruit of praise. KNOWING HIM IN PRAISE Here is the breakdown of the verses using the meanings of each location’s name and outlining the significance of each. v.1a In Judah God is known: God has …

Declaring All the Reasons You Can

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It is easy and practically the given norm of humanity to find all the reasons why we ‘can’t’ and shouldn’t do a thing that has been burning in our hearts to do. We can come up with the typical lists of why’s that range from financial restrictions, age, gender, and the all too famous stumbling block, time. We see and feel the burn for more, given to us by Christ Himself, swirling within us, and yet, like Moses we begin to tell the God of Creation who has called us to ‘speak’ that our mouths don’t work, as if when He called us and put that fiery seed to go forth in us, He didn’t know the so-called odds against us. In fact, it is because of those very odds that the Lord has called us to go forth and to do things that are seemingly impossible, things that take us out of our comfort zones, things that the word and statistics say we are disqualified to even pursue. “But God chose the foolish things …

A Reason to Rejoice

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“Rejoice always.” ~I Thessalonians 5:16 I‘m sure that whether you are a Christian or not, you have heard that the shortest verse in the bible is John 11:35, “Jesus wept.” While this is true on one hand, there is a verse that rivals it for the two-word title and that is a passage found in I Thessalonians 5:16, “Rejoice always”. While the two verses seem to have a world between then in meaning, I want to encourage you of how they both give us a reason to rejoice and empower us to do so in the Lord God Christ Jesus. In John 11, we find Christ Jesus at the tomb of His beloved friend, Lazarus who has passed away, and Jesus, fully understanding the grief of those around Him wept along with them. He being, fully God, and fully Man took on the role of complete friend and shared in the sufferings of those around Him even though He knew what He was capable of doing as the God of all creation. Even with His …

Think on These Things: The Art of A Focused Mind

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“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” ~PHILIPPIANS 4:8 To think on things that are ‘good’ in the face of those things that seem to weigh our minds down seems like a call to ignore reality. If not this, many of us struggle to figure out what exactly to think on, defaulting to just, “Jesus is Good.” Now, there is nothing wrong with that thought, because it is absolutely the truth, and we oftentimes, especially in the midst of trials, need to remind ourselves, but I believe that there is a deeper meaning to it all, both the good things and Christ being the Best Thing! THINK ON THE WORD AND PROMISES In the face of hardship and tragedy, we are to think on the Word and Promises of God that He has already spoken over our circumstances. If you …

Into Rich Fulfillment: The Journey of Change

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“…We went through fire and through water; But You brought us out to rich fulfillment.” ~PSALM 66:12b Trials are something that the Lord in His grace and tender mercies toward us, His beloved children, assured us we would all endure. He tells us this truth many times over in His Word, not only to assure as that we will face the process, but to encourage us that we will make it through each and every one of them and that if we hold on to Him in faith, we will come out into richness. But why the trials? Let’s be honest, none of us looks forward to struggle or resistance. The very thought of doing so goes against our human nature. But there is beauty and benefit within the struggle. Just like when one decides to pursue a healthier lifestyle, that transition is often a struggle, to say the least. Changing one’s diet, making a point to walk more, to take the stairs instead of the elevator, to go to the gym and actually lift …

Faith Postures: Position in Prayer

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Prayer. It is more than just a religious act of acknowledging a Power greater than yourself. For the Redeemed, prayer is, or rather should be, an authentic conversation with our Beloved Father, Friend, and Savior, Christ Jesus. The Word ensures us that “…The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” (JAMES 5:16) We who have accepted the free gift of salvation through the finished work of Christ Jesus ARE now the righteousness of God the Father (II CORINTHIANS 5:21). This means that when we pray there is power. There is authority. Let that sink in. Thinking about prayer and its power and its importance in the life and relationship of a Believer, I want you to ask yourself this question about your own prayer life and prayer posture: When you approach Christ Jesus in prayer, are you being guided by “Fear” or “Faith,” “Worry” or “Wisdom”? Give yourself a bit of time to think about this. We are meant to pray with power authority, right? A prayer that is guided by Fear and Worry is a prayer that does not come from power …

Awaken the Dawn: Praising into the Promise

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“My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise. Awake, my glory! Awake, lute and harp! I will awaken the dawn.” ~PSALM 57:7-8 Psalm 57 is a Psalm of David written while he was on the run for his life, hiding in caves from King Saul. For a lengthy amount of time, too much time for the innocent to run from the wrath and heat of anyone’s jealously does David in the aftermath of being anointed king, returning to tend his father’s sheep, killing Goliath–the champion of Israel’s enemy, flee to the caves in obscurity to preserve his life from the king and father-in-law he has pledged to serve. Talk about trouble within the family. Despite the many attempts on his life by his father-in-law, the then reigning king, Saul, does David still remain in his righteousness and presses deeper into the goodness of the Lord, even though there were times bitterness tried to sway him. In this instance, David, in the back of a dark cave cries …

The Change in the Waiting: The Purpose in the Process

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“God often requires us to change while we are waiting.” ~WENDY POPE, Wait and See, 2016, p.114  Wait. It is a word that makes the average person cringe especially in the face of something their soul longs for. And I don’t care how you spell it–weight or wait–the word just hurts. But more so than wait or its twin sister weight, change can be a doozy as well. Change is the process that takes place in the transitional cocoon of waiting. Change is what is required within the space between promise and manifestation. Some of us hear that we need to change and we think, ‘Hey, I’m a pretty good person. Why do I need to change?’ The reality is that our level of ‘goodness’ (which only comes from Christ living in us anyway) has nothing to do with why we must change. A little girl must become a woman before she can bear a child and properly raise it. A boy must become a man before he can become a strong and sound husband, …

The Triumph of Transition: The Glory in Going From One Dimension to the Next

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“It’s not all easy, but I think it’s all awesome.” ~KRIS LANGHAM I am pretty certain if anyone sat down and told a caterpillar the work that it was going to take not only for it to transform into a butterfly but just to able to break free of the future environment that would keep it safe–which would also soon become the very thing that would potentially hold them back and captive–that they would rethink the whole metamorphosis thing and likely stick to a flight-less existence. But then…maybe not. I think the guaranteed results of flying would be too much to resist. Nevertheless, transformation takes time and transition. Being able to fly is a right that comes from gaining power and strength from the struggle found in the process born of transition itself. If a caterpillar never struggled to break free of its cocoon–the place that once was its protection while in transition–it would never have the strength to take to the skies. There are dreams and greatness in each of us, but to see …