Dear Lord, draw me out of my self imposed cocoon of fear, self doubts and worry into the radical experience of your love, forgiveness and restoration. Set me free to remember who I am, why I am hear and the purpose for which my heart beats. Just as the caterpillar has the DNA of the butterfly, and it was created to fly. I have your DNA as I am created in your image to be the hands and feet of Christ. Come close to me today sweet Savior and resurrect within me my identity in you to move mountains and walk on top of the tumultuous waters.
Podcast 24: A 3 Step Prison Break Part 2
Enjoy part 2 as we continue to explore the lives of 5 key players in the new testament and how they experienced a 3 Step Prison Break from the bondage that held them back from experiencing the power of God within as a result of encountering Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Edge God InPodcast 24: A 3 Step Prison Break Part 1
Dear Lord, too often we experience identity theft that results in behavior and emotions that do not make you recognizable in this world. Forgive us for following the shiny objects that end up imprisoning us in the vicious cycle of asserting our will over your will, our thoughts over the Holy Scriptures and our emotions over the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and self-control. Break us free Lord from the sin that so easily entangles us and the yoke of slavery that restricts us in our small cocoon of fear, doubt and worry. We want to fly with you to the places you have prepared for us to go. Override our EGO, just as you did for Peter, Paul, Zacchaeus and Thomas and set us free from the prison of self: I, me, my.
Edge God In Podcast Week 23: A 3 Step Prison Break
In Podcast 22: Jesus was interruptible…Are You? You learned the power of being interruptible in your thought life as well as your actions as you reflected on the Gospel of Luke and the numerous times Jesus was interrupted to accomplish God’s work and ministry on earth, in today’s Podcast: 3 Step Prison Break you will explore a 3 – Step Experience and Process of Breaking out of behavior that compromises the person God is calling your to be. Jesus was the ultimate ERR Doctor as you will see as we reflect on the lives of 5 people who were imprisoned by their life style and/or doubt: Peter, Mary, Zacchaeus, Thomas and Paul and the FREEDOM they gained as a result of an Encounter (E) with Jesus which led to Repentance (R) and a Resurrection (R) of purpose and identity, they experienced a break out of the cocoon of worldly restrictions and embraced the One who died to give them the ability to soar.
My ability to respond in a conscious Godly manner in the face of negative emotions is in direct proportion to my awareness around the truth that I am not another person’s emotional expressions. As I anchor my identity and beliefs in God, I am able to offer responses that validate, empathize and encourage the sender of the emotions. When I forget that I am safe and connected the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords I am vulnerable to defensive behavior which pushes people away and blocks healthy solutions. “1-Uping”, “You Should” and “At least” language will prevent a healthy flow of meaning between me and the sender of the emotions. Dear God, who will save me from my insecurities and self-doubt and fear? Thanks, be to God through Jesus Christ my Lord, I can give space for the Holy Spirit to anchor me in Christ’s confident, consistent loving kindness which will overflow into my emotional intelligence within relationships I encounter on my earth school journey.
Edge God In Podcast 17: Relationship Management EQ
Self-management: Requires high noticing around what spins you and the ability to adjust.
How? Allow the Holy Spirit to guide the flesh vs. the flesh to guide the Spirit.
Romans: 8:5: Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on the things of the flesh. Those who live according to the Spirit have their minds set on the things of the Spirit.
Flesh: Romans 5:5: And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
If you live in the flesh you are concerned about the things in the flesh. What are things of the flesh? Anything that distracts you from communion with God: status; fame; popularity; money; opinions of others; greed; malice; self glorification and gratification; jealousy; fits of rage; coveting. Basically like a spoiled child the flesh is never satisfied, it is always craving more. The flesh will also question God and feel victimized: Why me?
Colossians 3:5-10: “ 5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”
What is your vice? Have high noticing and then the ability to manage the fleshly flare-ups.
Colossians 3:12: Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. The Spirit of God dwells in you. When you are in the Spirit you are pleasing to God: heartfelt compassion, putting up with others.
Romans 8:12: We are not debtors to the flesh.
High Noticing is essential for self-management. The fruit of the Spirit self-control and it is an essential ingredient for effective self-management.
Holy Spirit, grant me wisdom. Show me who you have created me to be in this world. Help me to see myself as God sees me rather than how I judge myself. I give you permission to remove everything within me that is not of God, that does not glorify Him or make Him recognizable in my life: my judgments…towards self and others…my conclusions about life that are based in story verses reality, including assuming and mind reading. I am nothing without you Lord, and with you I am everything and feel complete, significant and valued. Refresh me Lord so that I remain in you. Have your way with me in spite of myself.
Edge God In Podcast 14: Leadership: Self-Awareness EQ
Dear Lord, help me to know deep in my soul that you have my best interests in mind so much so that no matter what happens around me in life I am able to trust with complete confidence that with you I am safe and loved.
Are you worn out at Peter was after fishing all night without anything to show for it? Reflect on Luke 5:5 and 2 Peter 2:19. Has your “doing” in life creating an interior prison linking your worth to your achievements? Ask the Lord: where would you have me go today? Who would you have me speak to? What do you want me to spend my time doing with the gifts and talents you have given to me? When Peter stepped away from the enslavement of his own efforts into the Lord’s guidance: “Go out into deep waters and cast your nets” it was then that he came to the end of himself which is when God kicks in. Let Go and Let God Move You into His Will Today.
Let God and Lean Into God. When you get to the end of yourself it is then that God’s mighty power and will begins.
Below are 10 beliefs that I recently heard from one of my spiritual mentors in life, Joyce Meyer and have expanded upon. She has powerful credibility in this area because she was sexually abused by her father until she was 18. She could have believed that she was the abuse and she could have allowed the abuse to define her worth and value; however, she chose to believe 10 things that led to her victory over the mind muck which blocked her joy for many years. Perhaps there is a belief contained in the following information that will help you reclaim your victory over hardship in the New Year.
Prune for growth in the area of inner strength and confidence as you step into the New Year remembering that the One who dwells within in is greater than circumstance. This is a practice which led to my own healing and restoration when I went through advanced cancer and divorce at the same time:
Believe that God is good, no matter what trial is going on outside of you. I learned through my own trial, through cancer and divorce, that God has the ability to bring about a greater good than had the hardship never even occurred.
Believe that it will ultimately work out. Consider the rose that appears in the midst of the thorns…how is that possible, you may ask, that such beauty appears in the midst of such a pain producing element? Open your eyes in nature and you will see this relationship repeat itself, perhaps as a sign to help us remember when we forget: the rainbow can only appear in or after the storm.
God is greater than your problems and with Him nothing is impossible with God. God believes you can…do you?
Believe that your break through is going to manifest at any moment.
Believe that you hear from God. Don’t ever say, “I wish I could hear from God” say, “I hear from God and I am led by the Holy Spirit.” My first book, Hearing His Whisper, contains my conversations with God before, during and after the trial. They began with the same prayer the young boy Samuel used to unlock his ability to hear the voice of God, “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.”
Believe that God has heard your prayers and expect an answer. Each day I claim the answer I desire, “Thank you God for my healing.” Just as the blind man when asked by Jesus, “What do you want me to do for you?” replied quickly and perhaps with confidence and faith, “Lord, I want to see.”
Believe that God’s healing power is working in your body and you will feel better and stronger every day.
Believe God gives you favor every where you go and that you don’t have to work at being accepted by people. Let God give you favor. Moving into the New Year I have started to proclaim the following statement as I transition from one activity to another: “God’s favor is with me where ever I go.”
Believe that God is working in your life and the lives of your loved ones and you are changing all the time, stepping into the person you are created to be. Believe that God sees you for who you desire to be rather than how your behavior shows up and offer the same generous assumption to those around you. Practice kindness and compassion.
Believe, Believe, Believe! “All things are possible for those who believe.” Mark 9:23. Make love and confidence your way in the New Year!