"God Faith and Favor"

Reflections4Life™ March 20, 2022

"God Faith and Favor"

"God is faithful, and you were called by Him to partnership with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." 1 Corinthians 1:9

Scriptures for the Week: 1 Corinthians 1; Exodus 34:6; Deuteronomy 7:9; 32:4; Romans 16; 1 Peter 1; James 4

God, faith, and favor go together like peanut butter and jelly! Like, ice cream and cake! It's available separately but when combined, is an explosion of flavor and better. We can believe in God and accept Him into our hearts. Yet, many are not walking in faith or utilizing the favor available to us. The believer who consistently prays, communicating with the heavenly Father, discovers the power of the combination of life under this trifecta!

I decree, that this week's Reflections4life will be a continued source of encouragement and inspiration for your heart, mind, and soul. Determine to take your relationship with God to a new level of intimacy. Let God into your heart where you have been so guarded. God is not going to hurt you. He is going to love on you, opening your heart and mind to different levels of faith and His anointing of favor. Your life will never be the same once you understand and experience the powerful combination of God, faith, and favor at work in your life.

There is something absolutely amazing that happens in your life when you understand the power of God, faith, and favor all working together, at the same time, in your life. It is a powerful, life-changing, thing. And the truth is, many of us will not know this or even experience this if we do not let go of who we think God is, and the weak perception of what we believe faith and favor are. 

God is more than a deity. He is more than a prayer answered. He is more than we have the vernacular to describe or the mental capacity to understand. Yet, we can know Him through an intimate relationship. It is through this intimacy that we learn what God says is faith and how His favor works. Also, how they work together. God is the key to the mysteries in this world. He has the answers we seek for every question we could ever have. He is our Creator, our Father, our Friend. He is our Teacher and Counselor, as well. God Almighty is so many things that those who maintain an intimate relationship with Him will soon come to understand. God never leaves us in the dark. In time, He reveals all the things that need and should be revealed in His timing.

Here is the important thing that I learned about God's favor and faith. When God blesses you and tells you that He has filled you with His gift of faith-- a supernatural amount of faith that goes beyond just believing --and has covered you in His favor, He does not take it back! This blew my mind! When God makes a declaration over your life; He is not just making it for that moment; He is decreeing, making a law that now governs your life for as long as you are on this earth. Even if afterward, down the line you turn away from God, you stumble in your faith, His favor and faith remain in you. They are buried under sin and bad choices and decisions. They are overshadowed by troubles and by things you have now put higher than God. BUT...they are still there because God placed them there and they cannot be removed unless God removes them! It is God, through your repentance, that will remove the debris and layers that now cover faith and favor once you come back to Him.

Before God blessed us, He knew what we were going to do. He already knew if we would rise to the occasion, fall back in old ways, reject Him because of life's circumstances, or forget who we are because of fear and the enemy. He knew all of this, and still, He blessed us with Himself, a gift of faith, and His covering of favor. We are the ones that must come to this powerful revelation. We are the ones that must come to this understanding. We are the ones that must decide if we are going to finally stand up and be who God says we are and live in the space He has ordained for us, using faith and favor to achieve what God has already ordained in our lives. 

My Beloveds, may the spirit of peace and prosperity find permanent rest in your lives. I decree that every good thing that God has ordained for your life will become evident to you. Know this: EverythingGod has promised you is already in you. Everything you need to succeed is already in you. God has placed in you all that you need to conquer every obstacle that comes your way. You just have to believe it! Should you lose hope and fall away, know that He has not left you. He is there; waiting on you to recognize that what He placed in you hasn't died but lays dormant waiting for you to repent and take your rightful place. You are blessed. Now go...and be a blessing!

©2022. Ruthe McDonald. All Rights Reserved. 

"Staying Connected to Holy Spirit"

    Reflections4Life™ March 13, 2022

"Staying Connected to Holy Spirit"

"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and remind you of all that I said to you." John 14:26 (NASB)

Scriptures for the Series: Ezekiel 10; 12; Psalm 51:11; 1 Corinthians 15; John 14; Matthew 3; 12:32; Acts 1

There is much angst, worry, anger, and frustration on the earth. GOD is admonishing those that know Him, are in a relationship with Him, to represent Him well. People, including ourselves as believers, need hope. We need something to hold onto in the midst of the chaos that currently surrounds us. Pandemics, war, poverty, and the list go on. Yet, God wants to fill us and keep us filled with His presence. That, we, as believers do not lose hope or faith while going through these storms. But instead, we would stay connected to Holy Spirit, follow His instructions, and allow Him to lead us on the paths we should go. Staying connected to Holy Spirit is imperative to our relationship with our Father. We need to hear from God. We need to stay strong and fed and our cups filled, so that we may help others who stand in need.

I decree that this week's Reflections4Life will be a continued source of encouragement and inspiration for your heart, mind, and soul. Take your time this week in the presence of the Lord. Take your time in prayer and meditation. Slow down when reading the Word of God. Savor it. Savor the passages, not rushing through the scripture. Let the words of our Heavenly Father settle in your heart while ruminating in your mind. This connection is the difference between life and death. Not just for you but also for who God sends you to minister.

In this world are many things, happening all at once, that is frightening and traumatizing. It has caused many to not only doubt God but also lose faith. For others, it has pushed them further into believing there is no God. As believers, we have an Anchor in God, Holy Spirit. He is our Teacher, our Comforter, our Source of Strength. We can draw from Holy Spirit any time, all day, and receive the refilling that we need when emptied from life's circumstances and situations. There are many in this world who do not have this source, but they can. Yet, they will never know if no one tells them or shows them.

As believers, we must stay connected to Holy Spirit. He is our balance; keeping us aware of our self truths and warning us when we are moving away from Him and our Creator. When we get off track and out of line, He gently lassos us back into position. A position and posture to receive from our Heavenly Father. To have our spiritual gardens pruned and any debris from the world, cleared away. Holy Spirit tells us where we need to grow and where growth and development have occurred. He is the barometer for where we are in our relationship with the Lord, and our Teacher for navigating the traps set by the enemy.

Staying connected to Holy Spirit, in the mind and heart, should not be an option for any believer, but a mandate. It is something that we should strive for every day we are granted the blessings and miracles of life. Our bodies are the very temple of the Holy Spirit. (That's a whole other topic I will delve into at a later time!) There are people hurting in this world that need hope. They need some good news to hold onto. How can we honestly offer these souls the good news if we are not connected to Holy Spirit? How would we know what to say and when to say it? Everyone is not the same, so we cannot witness to everyone the same. We need Holy Spirit to teach us how to reach people where they are at. Only Holy Spirit can show us who needs what and when; who will be receptive or not. We will not know if we do not stay connected to the Source, Holy Spirit.

My Beloveds, may the spirit of peace and prosperity find permanent rest in your lives. I decree that every good thing that God has ordained for your life will become evident to you. Take your time in the presence of God. Be attentive to Holy Spirit and His instructions. Yield your heart, mind, and soul in His presence; allowing Him to fill you and speak to your heart. Each time with Holy Spirit is a new experience, unlike the last. You are blessed. Now go...and be a blessing!

©2022. Ruthe McDonald. All Rights Reserved. 

THE DECLARATION SERIES: "I Declare, I Will Keep My Vow to God"

   Reflections4Life™ March 6, 2022

"I Will Keep My Vow to GOD!"

"You look to Egyot for security and help without consulting Me. You seem to think that Pharoah is the answer. That Egypt will protect you from harm. But because you cling to earthly power of great nations, you will be disappointed and ashamed..." Isaiah 30:2,3 (VOICE)

Scriptures for the Series: James 4; 2 Chronicles 7:14; Psalm 119:11; Lamentations 3:40; Psalm 51:10; Proverbs 11:28; Psalm 37:4; 42; Luke 3:4; Psalm 66:9; Isaiah 30:2,3

Welcome to part ten and our final declaration in the Declaration Series. I Will Keep My Vow to God. It is easy to say the words; to make a vow/promise to GOD when you feel on top of the world or even when you are going through and are desperate to get out of a situation. We vow to God to trust Him and follow Him always. Sometimes in the middle of following the will of God, we are faced with opposition. Some so strongly that they would rather turn back to their old ways in order to find comfort and safety in what was. 

I decree that this week's Reflections4Life will be a continued source of encouragement and inspiration for your heart, mind, and soul. Keep your vow to GOD. Whatever you have promised God to do, or made a vow to do, do not go back on that vow. Take time this week to revisit all of the vows or agreements you made between you and God. Have you honored them? Have you continued in the path He created for you? Sometimes what lies between us and the manifestations of our blessings are keeping the vows we made to Him. 

We pray and we pray, asking the Lord to show up on our behalf. We even make promises to God. We promise to do such and such if He would deliver us and bring us into a new place. If He would deliver us from our current circumstances. We vow to serve Him always; to never look back and go back to the person we once were.

Perhaps you made a different kind of vow to the Lord. Maybe you vowed to sow seed every month for a year. But somewhere along the way, new bills popped up. Emergencies appeared and your money was funny. Who knows the reasons but you and God. In any case, you did not keep that monetary vow to the Lord. Though it was going to a ministry or cause, the vow is still between you and God. Time pasts, but you never revisited those vows. Guess what, Beloved? You still have to honor those vows, unless God tells you otherwise.

Maybe you are like the children of Israel. After years of bondage, you are free. Free from a bad relationship, an unhealthy way of living, using drugs, abusing your body, stealing, etcetera. You know what God brought you out of. Now, you are walking in your freedom. You are thriving and pushing forward. But then, just as you are getting comfortable with your freedom, and you are starting to thrive, here comes the enemy. God is allowing the opposition to come at you. It is threatening your peace and a new way of life. It's a little bit harder fighting for what you have and what you want. Now, doors seem to be closing. The progress you were making is at a standstill. In fact, some of you may have lost some things, while others may have lost everything. Now the enemy is whispering in your ears that it was easier when you were not saved. You had it better when you were doing your own thing. Or, you try convincing yourself that the abuse wasn't so bad. That at least you have a roof over your head and food to eat. At least you did not have to wrestle with this new kind of enemy; where nothing is familiar. You start thinking you would rather go back to what you know than to go any further ahead, uncertain. 

Like the children of Israel, you start to justify the sins and bondage of Egypt. at least you had food to eat, a place to sleep. At least you did not starve. The food was okay. You didn't have to worry about if your own crops would make it. Responsibility wasn't on your shoulders.

Beloveds, it always looks easier when you look backward. It is easy to forget the harshness of the past when what you presently face seems overwhelming and not to mention scary. The unknown before you seems impossible, while the past now seems okay for what it was. The Devil is a Lie! Beloved! That is a smoke and mirrors trick from the enemy. Nothing in the past that God delivered you from is worth breaking your vow to God. Your vow to serve Him, trust Him, believe Him, love Him, rely upon Him. 

This world cannot give you a tenth of what God has for you. It cannot comfort you in the manner that God can and does. The world's systems will always seem right and fair at first. But in time, you will see the truth and understand that God is the only entity that will always have your best interest at heart. That, in God, lies the answers to the fulfillment of your dreams and the vows made to God. To, love Him, serve Him, and follow Him with all of you. Ride out the storms of life and trust God in the midst of all things. 

My Beloveds, may the spirit of peace and prosperity find permanent rest in your lives. I decree that every good thing that God has ordained for your life will become evident to you. God will finish the work He has started in you. He has, in fact, already finished His work. But you will never know this if you do not keep your vow to Him; to follow and serve with all of your heart, mind, and soul. He is doing great work in your life. You are blessed. Now go...and be a blessing!

©2022. Ruthe McDonald. All Rights Reserved.