Lesson #2 The End of Vicious Cycles

Vicious cycles! We all have them. This year I saw these cycles more clearly. I would ask God, "WHY OH WHY (yes that dramatically!) do I come back to the same place?" And God would say, "Because you haven't changed." Ouch! But oh so true! Reminds me of a song by Donna Lasit that says, "I don't want to live for my own selfish gain, in endless cycles of my sin..."

Why do we fall in the same place? Why do we sin in the same way? The reason is because we are still the same people. I love what John Piper says, "We must remove the false understanding that says that a person can be saved without being changed."  We continue living in these vicious cycles because we haven't changed. But let's remember that everyone who comes to Christ becomes "a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!" (2 Cor. 5:17). That "new life" means we are no longer the same people we used to be. We have moved! When the vicious cycle comes, it will no longer find us, because we have a new address! We no longer live in the address of sin, we live in the address of forgiven, redeemed, and changed! (Can I hear an amen!?)

God taught me this specifically one time when I was feeling like going back to a vicious cycle. "You need to change," my beautiful God whispered. "Ahhhhhh!!!" I said with desperation. "You can do it," he said. "Okay my God I will change."   I remember telling my family, "I'm battling with something right now, but I will overcome it."  And God strengthened me through it all. He lifted up my head. He was with me. And He gave me victory.

Get ready for this...Are you ready?! God's powerful Word says, "For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him" (Phil. 2:13). So it IS possible. God won't only give us the desire to change but he will give us the power to change! To change to do what pleases him! So for 2013, let's remember this always. When the vicious cycle wants to come back, let's remember that we can break it by changing our minds and our hearts.

:)

KT

Lessons Learned in 2012 - Lesson #1

Wow, can you believe 2012 is almost over???!! My goodness! I was meditating on the things that God has really been pressing in my heart this year and I wanted to share it with you. Here goes the first one:

#1. Pray for Realzzzz....

Beginning this year I was unsatisfied with my prayer life. So I decided at the beginning of the year that I would NOT go to sleep unless I entered into God's awesome courts and we spent some time together. But my flesh was not used to this! So I decided to do a 100-Day Challenge. This challenge consisted of me praying to God every night for 100 days straight (to create the habit). And I had decided that I would not pray in my bed or by my bed or sitting because the temptation of falling asleep was always there, so I decided to walk around my room as I prayed. This challenge was quite interesting when I was on vacation. I would go to the bathroom at nights since I shared the hotel room with my sister to pray. I wonder if my sister ever asked why I always took so long in there!!

The thing is that God is always with us, but He asks us to seek, knock, and ask, or as the NLT states, "keep on asking...keep on seeking...keep on knocking" (Matthew 7:7-8). And the promise is that we will receive, we will find, and the door will be opened! And Oh has God been faithful! Some nights it was harder than others, but seeking Him every night has changed the way I see God and I know that there is still a sea of things God has yet to show me. So I must keep seeking, knocking, and asking. And God has a SEA of things to show you.  But we must pray for realzzzz! In other words, we must speak to God on a daily basis. As it says in Scripture, we must "never stop praying" (1 Thes. 5:17).   Make 2013 a year where your seeking God is a priority and you will see God manifest Himself in your life in a new way.

Blessings,

Karina

True Friendship

This whole month I have been evaluating my friendships. But don't get me wrong! I have not been evaluating my friends, I have been evaluating how I do "Friendships."  I have been asking myself, "Am I the kind of friend people long to have?"  This reminds me of one of my favoritest quotes from one of my favoritest people! That's right! Favoritest! Cause that's a word! lol... here it is:

"Let no one ever come near to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile." - Mother Teresa

Wow! Now that's the friend I want to be! Are people leaving better and happier after they come near me? And Jesus paints an even bigger and deeper picture of friendship when he says, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:1). Whoa there! So friendship has to do with love!

Sadly, there's a lot of confusion about what true friendship is.  I'm sorry to break it to you but true friendship is NOT "Friends with benefits," it is NOT keeping secrets that can cause harm, it is NOT insulting people because "that's how we treat each other."  A true friend loves in times of adversity, gives heartfelt and godly counsel, true friends help each other become better people (Proverbs 17:17, 29:9, 17).

So what kind of friendship am I offering to those around me? Can they honestly say they leave better and happier after they come near me? Well I don't know about you, but I know I have a lot to learn. Well, the best place to start is right here, and the best time to start is now. True friendship...here we come :)

"Act Like You Have a God" or "Breakfast Glory" or... :)

I was minding my own business when God interrupted. I love it when he does that. I had been praying the night before, that God would take away all the baggage that we as people tend to carry. For some reason we forget that God said that his yoke is easy and his burden is light. And that night was one of those forgetful nights, and my yoke was hard and my burden was heavy and I asked God to help me. 

The following day I was making coffee for my family and putting the bread in the toaster. Still with the heaviness in my heart, saddened and chained to those worries and fears. And then I heard a voice, firm yet gentle. I knew it was God because I was not thinking about anything spiritual! And he said, "Act like you have a God." 

"Act like you have a God." This made me stop and smile. And I stopped and heard it again, "Act like you have a God." My mom had already come down to the kitchen, making her famous "healthy liquados," and I literally wanted to cry my heart out right there and then. The Holy Spirit was speaking to me, reassuring me that I had someone supernatural in my life who loved me.  I held back the tears from my eyes, but not the tears from heart. They were tears of joy. "That's right!" I thought, "I have a God! I'm not alone!" His amazing joy entered my heart and the heaviness was lifted. I was free.

I asked myself, "How many times have I walked through life as if I didn't have Almighty God with me? How many times have I forgotten that I am not alone? That God is with me?" I felt a bittersweet taste in my spirit. Bitter because I had forgotten the power and love of my God, and sweet because I was gently reminded of it. I have a God, a Father, a Savior, a Friend! He is my Lord and King, my Fortress, my Strength, my Shield, my Love!  I have a God! 

So that's my word for you! "Act like you have a God!" :) Because you do. Remember what he said, "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." (Isaiah 41:10).

We have a God! Praise the Lord! We have a God! The One and Only! :) Let that be the song of your heart today and forever!

Love,

Karina

Girls in the Elevator

Yesterday after intercession, as I was on my way to discipleship, I got to ride the elevator with a group of young ladies who had just finished their dance practice. What a beautiful bunch! They were all smiles! All full of life and purpose! I have to say I was doing good, but after that elevator ride I was doing great! I was so encouraged by their life! And then I was reminded why I love this church so much!

I am so thankful for this church! A church with vision and purpose...get this...all in one day, we rehearsed for both Sunday services, also for our Youth Unity service, the dance team also practiced for conference, the drama team prepared for the Encounter, a group of intercessors passionately prayed for the church, and disciples gathered together to strengthen their leadership and better lead the church, and let me not forget the board meeting that also took place, a group of people committed to serving the church!

Thank you Jesus for Centro de Vida! 

A church so full of life. We are not "busy," we are purposeful. We don't do things just to do them, we do things to better reach the lost and better serve the families in our communities. We do this for Jesus, the only one who can give us a never ending smile, like the smiles in the beautiful faces of my friends in the elevator :)

And to all the beautiful girls in the elevator: I love you and I am so proud of you! Keep serving God like crazy! No matter what! Seek Him passionately and wholeheartedly. And to all the amazing people who serve God and His church as if it was their last day on earth, God sees you! He sees you! He will say to you: "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness" (Mat. 25:21).

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Love,

Kari

Freedom Songs

Wow! Amazing what God did at Camp FREEDOM! Not only were hands raised in worship but HEARTS were raised in sincere surrender to Jesus. My “Freedom” friends, your lives will never be the same! Continue living in the Freedom that Jesus has given you!

Music is so important to our generation, but there’s so much out there that although it’s catchy it’s lacking the most important thing: a meaningful message that will help us love Jesus more. So I encourage you, in this new time in your life, to fill your heart with songs that will lead you to live in the freedom that Jesus Christ has given you!

So I wanted to help you get started :) Here are the title of the songs we sang at camp, along with the group that sings it and the name of the album.  Also, youtube links with the lyrics (except for a few that I couldn’t find).  These songs are all on itunes :)

1. Dance – Group: Jesus Culture – Album: Awakening: Live from Chicago

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iucnAgrvA4

2. Freedom is Here – Group: Hillsong United – Album: Tear Down the Walls or Aftermath Live in Miami

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifC88SSQvBU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh58EzK6KCE&feature=fvwrel

3.  Do it Again – Group: Planetshakers – Album: Heal Our Land

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGDnmwN_Mu8

4. Not Ashamed – Group: Passion – Album: White Flag

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSWBDnLPpcM

5. Running – Group: Hillsong – Album: Cornerstone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCsOZ8KwDV0

6. New Day – Group: Worship Central – Album: Spirit Break Out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45XjwOAefHw

7. Nothing Better – Group: Vida en Fuego – Album: Coming Soon!! :)

8. Break Every Chain – Group: Jesus Culture – Album: Awakening: Live from Chicago

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkR33OsvJSs

9. Spirit Break Out – Group: Worship Central – Album: Spirit Break Out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLR_1NFvFv4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTDAfVRdSTM (lyrics are in the info)

10. I surrender – Group: Hillsong – Album: Cornerstone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcnfT4arZtI

11. Jesus at the Center – Group: Israel Houghton – Album: Echo Free Chapel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5KyYqagy60

I...Will...

I was sitting by the piano with a heavy heart. You probably know the feeling. When you are overwhelmed because of something that is happening in your life and you are helpless to do anything about it. And that's how I felt. There were many things I really wanted to say to God at that moment but His Spirit led me to Psalm 145. In this psalm the psalmist writes "I will exalt you...I will praise you...I will proclaim your greatness..." And then the psalmist goes on to talk about the beauty of God: His mercy, His unfailing love, and how good He is to us.  I was convinced right there and then that God was leading me to praise Him.  To praise Him despite what I was feeling.  And as I began to praise God the heaviness resting on my shoulders was not as heavy as the testimony that lifted my spirit to worship the Lord.

Right after I finished reading this psalm I just started praising God there on that piano.  "Oh God you are so good, you are my rock, you are my Redeemer, Oh Lord there is no one like you." As I continued praising the Lord, tears began to flow from my eyes, but they were no longer tears of a heavy heart, they were tears of a grateful heart. Peace rushed in. I could breathe in the Presence of God. That is when I discovered that the more overwhelmed I feel, the more I need to praise God. And it is a decision. The psalmist said, "I WILL praise you every day."  He was determined to praise. He made the choise to praise. Because praising God is a choice.  In other words, we don't have to be bound by our circumstance or our feelings. It is in our power to decide. Not even satan himself can take that away from us. No matter what he puts our way, we can still CHOOSE to say "I WILL praise the Lord." And when we choose to praise God despite our circumstance, miracles happen.

I actually wrote a song that day titled "Psalm 145".  And I love to sing it at the top of my lungs, especially the part that says "Great is the Lord!" Indeed He is great! There is so much to praise God for. I encourage you to praise Him, no matter what your eyes see or even what your heart feels and you will see heaven's gates opening and flooding your heart with His love and strength.

:)

PS: I totally recommend you read Psalm 145! :)

Don't Wait A Second Longer!

There are things that we need to wait for in life and they are indeed worth waiting for. But there are some things that God never asks us to wait on.  May the waiting be over when it comes to:

1) Receiving God's forgiveness - let the sulking stop! God's mercies are new every morning. His crazy and overflowing love we will never understand, but all we have to do it is believe it and receive it.  Pray to Him, He is waiting with open arms when his children come running back to him. Remember the story of the Prodigal son? What happened when the son returned? "And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him" (Luke 15:20). The Father was WAITING for his son, so is our Heavenly father waiting for us to return to him.

2) Getting back up - why wait one more day to get back up? Who in their right mind, after falling embarrassingly on their face, and is still able to get back up, stays down on the floor?? Imagine it... "Hmm...I think I'm just gonna chill here...can somebody get me a pillow!" Uh...No! God has designed us so that when we fall our natural response is to get back up. One time I remember I was looking at a university that I was interested in attending. They took us around the whole campus, and a friend of mine stepped on a piece of string at the bottom of my cool jeans...yes...you can imagine what happened next...I fell...on my face...and I indeed froze for a few seconds on that pavement floor, but yes I got back up. I'm not writing this blog from that place where I fell! Can you imagine if I was?? If you have fallen, sinned, made a mistake, failed in your attempt to do the things of God, don't wait anymore, get back up, brush the dust off and keep running.

3) Forgiving others - let me ask you this, what if God waited to pour out his forgiveness upon us? We would all be doomed! Doomed I tell you! Doomed!  Praise the Lord that God is a forgiving God. And His Spirit lives inside of us so we can also forgive with the same divine "promptness" as our wonderful Father.  The person we hurt the most when we don't forgive is ourselves. A lack of forgiveness is poison to the soul; the product is bitterness, resentment, anger, even hatred. So let's forgive, let's not wait to forgive as our Father does not wait to forgive us.

So don't wait any longer! Come to God, ask Him to forgive you and He will! Have you fallen? You can get back up! Nothing is impossible for God. And forgive! Forgive as Jesus forgave you. The Spirit of God will help you to do all of these things if you surrender to Him.  

Love,

KT

The Blog I Will Finish Writing When I'm Married

I wanted to get a head start on this blog that I’m thinking about writing when I am married. It’s just burning in my heart so I will get a head start on it; plus I want to help all my single ladies out there on the subject of singlehood and waiting.  As you probably have concluded, I am not married yet. I am a single woman and happy about it.  But it wasn't always this way. I used to say to God, “Lord, where in the world is he?!” I remember being so frustrated because the clock was ticking and my train was leaving (whatever that means!).  So big was my frustration that I even went as far as thinking that God didn't love me or had forgotten about me. I was overwhelmed at the thought that God wasn't listening to me, that He didn't care enough to give me what I wanted, plus the frustration I felt for even feeling I needed something when God should have been more than enough.  But on this journey, which I am still on, God has spoken to me about certain things that have steadied my heart and have brought so much peace to my soul.

The first thing I have learned is to know that God loves me and to never question it. The moment we begin to think God doesn't care about that area in our lives is the moment we've forgotten who He is. It is a diabolical strategy; its main purpose is to get us away from our beloved Savior.  God loves you, no matter what. Let not what you do not have determine how you see God. God knows, He knows! He hasn't forgotten! He never forgets! He's just too good to forget! :)

Secondly, I learned that all the desire we have to meet that special person is normal and the perfect thing to do with those desires is give them to God. Elisabeth Elliot said, "If the yearnings went away, what would we have to offer up to the Lord? [...] How would we learn to submit to the authority of Christ if we had nothing to submit?" What we do with those feelings is we surrender them to the Lord.  When our desires are in the hands of God, they are under the control of the Spirit, where He can lead us to do His beautiful and perfect will.

I also learned not to initiate anything but to wait upon the Lord.  I think there is a hopeless romantic in each one of us. We want to meet our Prince Charming and have the perfect fairy tale. And because we are so eager to have this story start in our lives we begin to DO things so we can start our own story. Since God is taking His time, we assume He needs a little help from us. So we begin to do things. We begin texting someone that has caught our eye, or we approach them, or we "accidentally" bump into them, but the problem is that we try to "help" the guy notice us! But wait a minute, if this was the guy for you, shouldn't he be noticing you from the get go or approaching you without any help from you!? If you have to "help" the guy, the reality is that he doesn't really like you.  And that's just fine! You deserve a guy who will make the effort to approach you. :D Yes! Yes you do! And when he does, feel free to respond and choose as the Lord leads you.

Lastly, I learned to be careful with creating false hopes.  Our minds can create unreasonable expectations and imagine what is not there. A guy may approach us just for friendship, but because we are so eager to see our fairy tale come true, our minds are already imagining the guy at the altar! Unbeknownst to the guy, we are already seeing ourselves in our wedding gown, with our hand wrapped around his arm! Unfortunately we end up disappointed when we see that it didn't work out. Of course it didn't work out! All this time we had been expecting something that our minds created when we should have based our expectations on reality. As Elisabeth Elliot puts it, "Don't expect anything until the declaration is clear and forthright." In other words, do not have any expectations until he has expressed and shown his commitment to you. And if you are a guy and you're reading this, if you don't like a girl, don't give her false hopes! If a girl is starting to fall for you, and you don't like her like that, make sure you don't feed her false expectations! Come on guys!!!! Don't be cruel! (And all the ladies said AMEN!).

I will finish writing this blog when I have met my Prince Charming (It will be part 2!) :)  But I didn't want to wait until then to show you the things I am learning now as a single woman. The same points I have mentioned also apply to all the single guys out there. So to all my single friends, (1) God loves you and cares about that area of your life, never doubt it!, (2) Surrender your feelings to Him, (3) Know your role as the one who makes the first move (men) or the one who responds (women), and (4) Be careful with false and unreasonable expectations.

With love,

KT

To All Pastors' Kids Out There

A beloved pastor has passed on to be with the Lord: Ps. Fulton Buntain, an incredible man of God who committed his life to building God's kingdom on earth. It was hard not to smile when you saw him! The anointing of God surrounded him and it was noticeable. Today, our church staff welcomed his family into the church offices with hugs and love. My sister and I hugged Michelle Cox, one of his beautiful daughters. We couldn't contain our tears as we heard her say, "We love our dads." Yes, indeed we do :)

Being a Pastor's Kid is not easy, but it is wonderful. There was never a moment in my life when I wished I wasn't a Pastor's Kid. It was who I was. It is who I am. As a pastor's kid we get to see the good, the bad, and the ugly in ministry. We hear things, we know things, yet we cannot act upon our knowledge; instead, with love and patience, we must wait for the Lord to bring wisdom and direction, all in His time. And as we struggle waiting for something to happen, or for the "ugly" things to subside, our dads who are also our pastors help us see beyond them.  Our dads show us that not only is there "good" in ministry, there is also "glorious."

We pastor's kids get to see this "glorious" every day...people receiving Jesus, the sick finding healing, families coming back together, young people leaving their addictions, disciples committing themselves to the work of the Lord, radical men and women who choose to open their houses to start a small group, and the list goes on.

So if you are a pastor's kid, don't let the "ugly" things overshadow the "glorious" things. No matter what satan says, no matter what you see around you, no matter how you feel, there is always more GLORY than ugly.  Lately I have been thinking about buying a hybrid car, and no joke...all I see out on the road now are hybrid cars!!!! What I'm trying to get at, is that the more you want to see something, the more you will see it. So my dear PK's, if you are longing to see the glory of God, that is ALL YOU WILL SEE, and the ugly things will be in the distant, where God's wisdom and direction will turn them beautiful.

To all the daddies who are also pastors: THANK YOU for helping us see the GLORY in ministry. And to all the PK's out there, may the longing to see God's glory be ever growing in your hearts :)

Love,

A proud PK

One of the most important lessons I learned in Ministry

If you are serving or will serve in any ministry at church, this blog was written specifically for you. I wanted to share with you one of the most important lessons I learned in ministry, and in this way, spare you the painful seasons I had to go through!  What I have learned is as simple as this: GOD IS THE ONE WHO PROMOTES US.   There are many people who serve in the ministry and have great dreams for the ministry, but until they understand this principle, they will be forever miserable.  People who don’t understand this important lesson expect people to give them a position or something that is aligned with their dreams; however, in doing so, they depend on people to promote them. But people are not perfect.  People make mistakes. When we depend on people for our dreams to come true, we will be disappointed. We will live frustrated because what we desire to see in our ministry isn’t happening. And that is the worst place to be in!

But let me tell you this, if God has given you a dream, and you are living in obedience to Him, there is NOTHING and NO ONE that will stop that dream from coming true.  God does not depend on people to do His Will; He uses people, but does not depend on them. He is not sitting on his throne waiting for people to finally get a clue. He makes his move so clearly. And when he wants something, he will do it, because He is God.  When God wants something for you, believe me, it will happen.  Looking at the example of Joseph in the bible we realize that it was because of God that Joseph ended up as the second most important man on the planet.  If the fulfillment of Joseph's dreams would have depended on people, Joseph would have died a slave.  If the realization of David's calling had depended on people, the bad reputation his father gave him would have stopped his ministry as king of Israel.

So let me spare you the frustration that comes from expecting promotion from people  If it is INDEED a God given dream, and he has placed that desire in you, HE WILL make it happen. HE WILL promote you. HE WILL “bestow glory on [you] and lift up [your] head” (Psalm 3:3). And you will give him all the glory, because you will see that it was GOD, it was GOD WHO DID IT! :)

The Hulk Within

Ever been at a point in your life when you feel like you are the worst person on the planet? When you realize that the person at fault is not those around you, it is not the circumstances you're in, it is not even the devil! It's just you! And there you sit, baffled at the conclusion that the problem here lies within you. What do you do then? What do you do when you realize that there is a hulk inside of you? A green monster that has forgotten to love, to forgive, to have faith, to believe in God's promises!

If you have ever felt this way, you're on your way, because the first thing to do is to ADMIT YOU'RE WRONG. This takes guts. The easy road takes us to blame others, to blame the world, to even blame God; but the courageous way, the bravest thing to do is to admit that the problem is us. Yes, it's my fault. Yes, it was me. Yes, I knew and I still did it. Yes. Yes. Yes. And after admitting comes confessing. We can run to Jesus, we can tell him everything we've done, and ask him to forgive us. Jesus died for that moment. What can wash away our sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus! It says in Romans 5:20

But sin didn't, and doesn't, have a chance in competition with the aggressive forgiveness we call grace. When it's sin versus grace, grace wins hands down.

You see? We don't have to stay hulk-like.  We can run to Jesus, and because of His grace, He forgives us and makes us new.  And it is only through an intimate relationship with Him, that His Spirit gives us the strength to walk hulk-free.  We can walk in freedom. No more hiding. No more fighting. No more fear. No more doubt. No more, no more! His truth sets us free.  And it is in this relationship with Jesus and the Spirit's work in us that we can finally live the life that we were meant to live.

Welcome to hulklessness. Welcome to freedom! Only through Jesus Christ.

All I Want for My Birthday...is You!

Every year when the day of my birth arrives I like to ask my beautiful Heavenly Father for one special present :) He has already given me so much, but I use my birthday as an excuse to ask Him for more! Gasp! The audacity! But I'm grateful that He wants me to ask! For He says, "Ask, Seek, Knock!"  I especially like what He says on Psalm 116, 

"I love the Lord  because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!" 

Two or three years ago I asked Him to give me a song for His beautiful church to sing, and He gave me "Heme Aqui." But today I have one special request...The one thing I want the most with all my heart is to love Him.  Nothing more and nothing less. To love Him like never before. When God is all I love, everything in my life falls right into place. I am able to love those around me more, I am able to love the lost more passionately, I am able to love in my service and in my ministry. When I love God, when He is all I desire, He adds on everything else. I am complete. I am whole. So that is my petition to my God. That His gift to me will be beautifully wrapped up in His mercy, and that inside the perfect little box, I'll find gallons of love for Him :)

Liar Liar Pants on Fire!

My dad is the worst liar on the face of the earth! Whenever we're playing and joking together he'll say something like, "It wasn't me," with a huge grin on his face. His words say he didn't do it but his expression says, "Did you see what I did there!?" Gotto love a man who can't lie! But it's all in good fun! He jokes with us and we tickle him till he cries! It's true! Ok, on a more serious note, I wanted to share something along those lines but in a more serious sense. Something MIND-BOGGLING!

The other day I was going about my day when all of a sudden I had a frightening thought! It was a discouraging and terrible thought, about myself, about my future, about everything! It was for a few moments that I began to ponder this thought and I was greatly discouraged. But then I came to this amazing discovery: IT WAS A LIE. The thoughts that I was having, believing, even "living" for those moments were all LIES! The sad thing was that I believed them! And because believing something leads you to act upon it, I was already living in total defeat, in total failure, for no reason at all, for a lie, a vanishing cloud without substance!

No doubt you have also been in this position. You're going about your day when out of nowhere it hits you! A lie! A lie that distorts who you are, who God is, what your future holds. The sad thing is that it leads us to act in failure; we can't do our devotional the same way, we can't pray the same way, we can't worship God as we used to! Because the LIE HAS BECOME ACTIVE in our hearts!  So what to do when this happens?

#1. Know where it comes from! It comes from the devil. The father of all lies. He is such a liar that indeed his pants are on fire!! Anything that brings conflict and discouragement to your heart is a lie from the devil. Anything that wants to destroy your peace and separate you from God is a lie! Usually he will try to tell you who you are, who people are or think about you, who God is and what he won't do or can't do in your life. But they're all lies! Learn to detect them! Detecting them is key!

#2. Tell that lie to GET A LIFE! That's right! After you have detected the lie, defy it, forbid it, challenge it, don't accept it. Don't let it settle in your spirit. Don't let it get acquainted with your life! Don't let it rent the room of your heart! Don't even let it be a "guest"! You have to stand against it and refuse to believe it!

#3. Cling to what is TRUE! All truth comes from God and His truth is found in His Word. Read it! Believe it! Live it! Challenge every lie with His Word. If the lie is about who you are, declare who you are in Christ! If it's about your future, declare God's promises for your life. If it's about God's love, remember that Christ died for you and declares His love for you over and over in His Word.

After discovering they were all lies, I decided to stop them.  I decided I was not going to let my life be based on lies. I am who God says I am! I can do what God says I can do! I will be who God says I will be! I will see the things He says I will see!  My prayer for you is that you will do the same; that you will stop any lie that comes your way, that you will take a stand against them, and that you will live in the truth that sets us free! :)

Destroying "Can'ts"

"I can't!" Have you ever said that? Have you reached a moment in your life when you simply say "I CAN'T! I just can't!" And no matter how much you try it's like there's a wall there, and there you are, without a rope to climb it.  But there is an amazing promise in the bible that boldly and unapologetically says, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength"!!!! (Phil. 4:13).

What? I CAN do ALL things? So why do I feel like I can't? I "can't" get rid of my ugly past, I "can't" get closer to God, or I "can't" give up this or that addiction. The truth here is, that in reality, the bridge to cross from the "can't" to the "can" lies in ONE decision.  That's right. All it takes is a decision! And you are the person that can indeed make such a decision.  Yes! You CAN get rid of your past, you CAN get closer to God, you CAN give up any addiction you're struggling with. Yes you can! Yes you can! Why? Because God says so! The devil wants you to think you can't. He lies to you telling you that there is no other option but for you to fail, to stay where you are, to be stuck in a rut and never get up. Why? Because he wants to see your life destroyed. Don't believe him. It is all a lie!

Yes YOU CAN! What impossibility are you going through at this moment? What is it that you keep saying that you can't do? What is it? Is it that you "can't" be happy? That your ministry "can't" grow? Is that you "can't" speak in public? That you "can't" read the Bible? Is it that you "can't" forget the person that hurt you? Take this promise from God in Philippians 4:13 and believe that you indeed can do all things through Christ who gives you strength. You make the decision to say "YES I CAN" and then the Lord Jesus gives you the supernatural strength you need to do it!

Believe me when I say this...YES YOU CAN...I pray you believe this for your life! Yes, in Christ all things are possible!

Believe it! :)

KT

True Beauty

Growing up I never thought I was beautiful.  I always compared myself with the prettiest girl in school or with the actress on TV or the model in magazines. I would always say, "If only I had her eyes! Her hair! Her skin color!" All I knew was that for some unfair reason, I was given skeleton-like fingers, crazy hair, and that I was late in the distribution of perfect features!  It was an even greater torture when I found myself in the U.S; in a school where I was the minority and the definition of beauty did not include me.  Oh how I tortured myself! I would go home and cry because I couldn't be that "beautiful" person I wanted to be. But I was wrong. Oh So Wrong! I learned that God created me unique and perfect in his eyes. And that true beauty is the result of what is inside of our hearts.

True beauty has nothing to do with a person's appearance. True beauty has to do with the quality of who we are inside. We all know that Jesus was BEAUTIFUL, the most BEAUTIFUL person on earth! But the Bible describes Him in Isaiah 53:2 as one who "had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him."  The message version says, "There was nothing attractive about him, nothing to cause us to take a second look. He was looked down on and passed over."  According to this world's definition of "beauty" Jesus was "looked down on and passed over", yet we all know that there is no more beautiful person in this world than our beloved Jesus! Our Savior! Who gave it all for us! Oh how beautiful our Lord is!

So what is true beauty? It is the quality of our hearts, our intentions, our feelings, our thoughts toward ourselves and others.   Do you want to be more beautiful? Then you must turn to the Maker of all things beautiful.  Our beautiful Jesus! Only he can beautify our hearts and our lives in general! He took this empty, shattered and tasteless heart of mine and has and continues to miraculously turn it into His perfect masterpiece. He can do the same with you. Only then will you be truly beautiful.  He will make of your heart His home. He will turn your thoughts into a place of faith and love.  He will destroy all the ugliness of your past mistakes, sins, and shameful ways. And He will make you beautiful.  Yes, beautiful! Truly beautiful!

The Power of our Words

Lately I've come across this very important fact: We are what we say, and what we say impacts our world. We are and become the message of our conversations, phone calls, texts...etc. Not only that, but people can change by the things that come out of our mouths. So, what are we saying? What am I saying to myself and to those around me? One of my all time heroes is Mother Teresa. I remember I went through a period in my life in my late teens where I had decided I was born to live like her! I love her devotion to God and the passion she had for the lost, the sick, the helpless, the dying. One of the things she was known for was her ability to change the lives of everyone she came in contact with. Her words were uplifting. Mother Teresa once said, "words which do not give the light of Christ increase the darkness." What we say will cause others to enjoy the light of Jesus through our lives or be led to darkness. She also said, "let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier." Are our words making people feel the light of Christ? Are they leaving better and happier because what we are saying!? Who is the last person we encouraged? Oh my goodness! I know I have a lot of work to do here but I am excited to begin. It is never too late to begin. I challenge you this week to encourage somebody. Let's start an encouragement revolution and spread the light of Jesus! (lastly, try not to do it over Facebook message or text, but one on one! ;)