Cholette

From one mother of a 20 year old, to another...WOW!!! God is soooo good!

I will be praying for you Sirianta because I know how you are feeling. I was in this predicament when I didn't have a job. So many things came up PLUS having a son in college, and all that comes with it. The one lesson that the Lord had to get to me was that HE is my supply...not my job, because it's only a means that He uses to get money to us. I had to work on taking my trust out of my INCOME and put it in my supply...GOD! Now that I'm working...I have to CONTINUE to do this. I can't put my hope in my income...it has to STILL be in God. This is the point I am making to you and your husband. It's not about His hourly wage or your debt...it's about God and His "bigness"...His ability to provide for your family because of His love for you. All God really wants us to do is what He said in Hebrews 4...Labor to enter into His rest. The details in our lives have already been finished. God wants us to REST in that...leave it in His hands. Doing that means, we trust that He has the capability to handle our lives and provide for us when we need it. There is something to this rest or God would have never dedicated a whole chapter (among others) regarding it. When we rest, we can hear the instructions that God has for us. When we rest, there is a peace that surpasses all understanding. Rest my sister...LABOR to enter that rest. One more thing...I always read Matthew 6 (beginning at verse 25) about how God tells us to NOT worry about our lives...what we will eat...what we will wear. When you read this passage closely, God states that the birds neither sow nor reap NOR have barns to store...yet God provides for them...why? Because they are resting in His supply. Read it and ask the Holy Spirit to make it real for you...he will and you will be encouraged like I was.

I will say that the attack on your marriage could be because of a plethora of things that are taking place in the spiritual realm that you know not of. I KNOW with all of my heart that God is working on marriages because of all of the drama that is taking place ALL OVER!! I've seen marriages that have been stapled examples for years, all of a sudden, fall apart. Divorces from the left and the right!!! I'm constantly praying for friends who have found out that their spouse has committed adultry. My prayer has ALWAYS been that when God finally brings my future mate and I together, that we will be THE example of what true marriage is (first time that I am publically saying this). My desire is to help put marriage back on the "map", in the way God designed for it in the first place. I can't tell you how many people in the body of Christ have adopted the attitude of the world by reducing marriage to a "piece of paper". What a slap in God's face because MARRIAGE IS POWER!!!!! Marriage is God's opportunity to link two live wires together and produce the true definition of a POWER COUPLE!!! In so many cases, there's only one part of the wire still working or none at all and all you have is a lifeless couple not utilizing the power that is TRULY flowing through each of them. KDRE you said: I feel like i need more power at times like this.... Just not sure what else to do... i fast, i pray each day, i stay faithful to the ministry im under It's because the other piece of your wire isn't working...HOWEVER as you link up to God and present your wife to the Lord...GOD WILL MAKE UP THE DIFFERENCE!! You have enough power inside of YOU to maintain this marriage until your wife gets back into her rightful position...assisting you and being your helpmate...your influence. Right now you are not operating on all cylinders, but now that you know that, God will step in, at the point of your asking, and make up the difference. Love her and treat her the way God has commanded a husband to treat his wife REGARDLESS of what comes back to you until she catches on. Ask God to reveal the adjustments that YOU need to make in the relationship while He works on her. In a marriage, the couple feeds off each other. You may not be getting what you need from her emotionally or spiritually, but God can do that for now while you are empowered to do your part for her to help nurse her back to spiritual and emotional condition. I've never been married a day in my life, but God has TRULY graced me with some type of gift to help married people...not sure why. I usually get the *side eye* when ministering to couples once they find out I've never been married...lol! Hey, what can I say? I've inquired of the Lord for wisdom in this area so I can know beforehand. Some people who have trusted me have allowed me to counsel them and there has been some fruit so to GOD BE THE GLORY!!! I'm still praying!!!

Hi Kaylee B...I will be praying with you. God is faithful and WILL speak to you and make your path clearer.

Oh Deborah...this ministered to me SO MUCH today. Thank you!!!

Praying with you Steadygaze. God says that when we lack wisdom, all we need to do is ask and God will give to us LIBERALLY! I stand in agreement that your heart is opened to hear and receive what God says to you. What I'm learning lately is that we need to follow peace, or the lack thereof. When there is peace, go in THAT direction...when there is not peace...STOP!! This is oftentimes how the Holy Spirit speaks. Zero into that place deep within and follow the peace my sister! Blessings!

I really appreciate you all chiming in. I've been reading everyone's responses over the past days and just haven't had time to respond. Some really good things have been pointed out and I will share more in depth when I have more time. Blessings!

Ugh!!! I hate hearing this...I will be praying for you KDRE!! So many marriages are suffering right now. I've been praying in this area for awhile now because families are being destroyed. God is the SUSTAINER and the AUTHOR of LOVE, and we will stand on that for your situation.

Well congratulations Sister!!!!! God is good!!! he gave you a position of influence and that is an honor. I prayed for you already and let me encourage you with something. All that you've been through with your jobs...all of the things you've learned over the years...has brought you to this season of your life. You already HAVE what it takes to do this job BEYOND the expectations they have on you. Why? Because Christ is in you and HE IS the Hope of Glory. Don't rely on what you know in your own mind, but pull on WISDOM Himself and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you each day. That was my prayer for you moments ago. You have an advantage because you have the Spirit of God inside of you doing it for you. He enlightens and illuminates your mind. He gives you witty ideas to enhance and make things run much smoother. The Bible says that because you are a child of God, EVERYTHING you put your hands to prospers. So I'm sharing this with you because all you need is a different perspective of who you are when you walk through the doors of your job each day. You are the one GOD HAS CALLED to do what you do and to have a Godly influence over the ones you are leading. What an honor girl...what an honor!!!!! Be at peace!!!!

Okay, I'm going to be BLUNT about this. Yes, I agree, you should pray, but serving God does NOT hurt. God doesn't have to teach you anything through pain and discomfort! God's way is peace and love. When you read 1 Corinthians 13, THAT is the characteristics of the Lord and anything outside of that is not of Him. Jesus went through the pain so that we could walk in victory. Yes, we learn and grow and sometimes there are growing pains, but that is only because we try to go against the grain at times and it produces friction. I too have been in a church like that, but mine was for much longer. I was in a church for 20 years, but I didn't know any better because I entered that church as a babe and thought it was the only way to go. As I learned about God and developed a more intimate relationship with the Lord, I found out that there were some things that I was allowing in my life that didn't need to be. God would never have you stay in an abusive marital relationship so why would he want you in an abusive church? It doesn't make sense. We are ALL called to pray and yes, may want to have you pray for this church, but you don't have to sit in the midst of it and experience the verbal abuse and the labeling that these people are putting on you. God doesn't call you "schizophrenic"...He calls you Blessed...the Apple of His eye...His beloved...Holy...Accepted...His child...His bride. Anything else is WRONG and should NOT be tolerated. I'm currently in a church that wants me to be there all of the time because I'm in leadership, but I create my own balance in my life. No one makes me do anything that God isn't leading me to do. Yes, we are to honor and submit to our leadership, but we submit to GOD first and we do as HE SAYS first. When we do that, it will be easy to discern whether natural leadership is in line. Your children are at stake here. I have a 20 year old son who was in church from the time he was 8 months old. Over the years he experienced what I experienced and now he won't step foot in a church. You dont' want your children to get the wrong interpretation of what it is to go to the House of the Lord to worship their Heavenly Father. This is obvious spiritual abuse!! You dont' have to put up with it. The longer you wait, the harder it will be for you to leave. You should LOVE to go to church. Like Psalm says "I was GLAD when they said to me, let us go into the House of the Lord". Anything outside of that is torture. Praying for you...

That's God. I remember that happening to me a couple of times, But it was $50. It's all God because every good and perfect gift comes from the Lord. Spend it wisely!!!!!!!!

Look what the LORD HAS DONE!!!!!!!!! Go JESUS!!!!!!!

Praying with you HeartofGod!! Pleaste note that the Word of God already calls you an asset (Deut 2:7)...a blessing (Deut 28:3)...an encouragement ...an answered prayer and a solution to problems. This is who you are...JUST BE IT!! The Christ in you is THE HOPE OF GLORY (Col 1:27) and will be the favor that you need to get the job you were designed to have. Blessings!

Oh Miss Linda...you are preaching girl. Once again, you have hit something that I minister to women as well. I say women, because that's who God has called me to, but we know that men have the same issues. No one is going to get upset with you because this is THE WORD and 'Gluttony' is mentioned in the word of God. The one thing we need to balance out is what Connie mentioned...that God still loves us, despite our sins. If we lack control in the eating department, we are still God's beloved. I really believe that the lack of control in THIS AREA (outside of medical issues) could be not having a true understanding of how much God loves us in the moments of temptation. I don't want to get going on this, because I can...I just wanted to encourage you Miss Linda that no one will get upset with you...the Word is the Word...Truth is truth! Thanks for sharing this.

OH YES!!! The two of you have hit some KEY points. Before I respond, I will wait to see if anyone else has anything more to add. Good stuff D and Connie...

I overheard a group of ladies talking, during our fellowship at church at the next table, and their discussion was interesting. There were a couple of the ladies who had weight issues and seemed to be very down about it and said that they were going to be looking into weight loss surgery. At first the conversation was mild and seemed to be something that both ladies were going to definately do, but then another lady, who was sitting quietly at the same table spoke up. She asked, "Do you think God wants you to modify the way your body functions just so you can lose weight?" She went on to say that God had given both of them the power and the self control to eat moderately to lose weight. This discussion became a little animated because neither woman wanted to be "called to the carpet" about not having self control. My heart ached because anyone that knows me, I've ALWAYS had a soft spot in my heart for overweight women. I'm not sure where that has come from since I've not had to deal with weight issues, but I wanted to see what your opinions are regarding this topic. If you have scriptural references, please include that as well. I know God is calling me to minister to women like these two...I just know it. I've had some very personal conversations with a couple of close friends and after praying with them and allowing the Lord to minister through me, to them, they both have walked in their victory. One has lost close to 60 pounds and the other about 35 pounds. I've never had this topic of weight loss surgery come up, so I'm going to prayerfully consider your comments here and do my own study/research in the Word. Thank you! PS...if you have personal experience with this...let me know that as well!!!

Praying for you Brittney. Do you belong to a church? Has your pastor or any leader anointed you and your family with oil and prayed with you? I think this is very important. Blessings!

I'm so sorry to hear this Chou Chou and my prayers are with you and the family. I would offer this advice to you...I think the two of you should pray about backing out of some of your responsibilities at church and work on your family unit. SOmetimes we can get so caught up with working in the church that we neglect what is REALLY important...the family. I would love to say more, but this isn't the place to do it so I will be praying for you... Blessings!!

Sometimes we have to go into the dark places in life in order for the light of Christ to shine there. Be at peace because the steps of a righteous man is ordered by the Lord!! (Psalm 37)

I agree with Connie!!! Just this past Sunday, my Pastor taught a message about "HONOR". He talked about how his father has NEVER been there for him in his child years. IT wasn't until he began to walk in his ministry that the Lord told him to honor his father despite the things he did and his not being there for him as a child. He then began to call his father and spoke what the Bible said about him. He said now his father is serving God and is now a tremendous worshiper. We are talking about a man who was a full blown alcoholic and a self rightous person. His point is, honoring is what we give to others because of who we are...even when they are NOT honorable. Honoring those who don't deserve it not only takes us to a new place in our heart, but it takes them to a place. I need lots of help in this area and I've been making a GOD CONSCIOUS effort to honor those who I've stayed away from because of how they are. I'm finding words from the Word of God to say to them and I feel in my heart you should do the same with your husband. The two of you are ONE and you not talking to him or giving him the cold shoulder is only dishonoring YOU and hurting YOU. When you make him feel important dispite his error not only will he feel better, but you will too because the two of you are ONE entity. If you are feeling the way you feel, so is he...he just may not appear to be affected (if that's the case). It's worth it for you to push past the flesh and love on your man my friend. He's human FIRST and if God pushed us away for the millions of HUMAN things we have done, we would ALL be in trouble. Love him and treat him the way you would want him to love and treat you if you were the one that hurt his feelings. Let's face it...he may need to learn a few things from you on how to treat his spouse. Give him something to follow. Blessings to you my friend!

God is sooooo good!!!! He is FAITHFUL!!! Congrats to you!

I'm praying for you my sister because it seems to me that majority of the pressure that is on you, you have placed on yourself. God is the creator of life and he controls and designs when a child comes into the earth and WHO it comes through. Despite the timing of it all, God chose this time and this moment for you to be with child and usher him/her into the earth...what an honor that is!!! When God is in something, he provides for it. Your job and everything else that you are concerned with, God already has it worked out...you just need peace. So that is my prayer for you...that you will have the PEACE OF GOD that transcends ALL understanding and that it will mount guard in your heart through Christ Jesus. I'm going to share a scripture with you that just came up in my heart. Please meditate on it: Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (John 14:27)

Will be praying for you and God's perfect will in this situation.

Yes...the gift of prophecy and the Office of the Prophet are two different things. I just finished that segment of my School of Ministry course and it was quite revealing. Any believer can flow in the prophetic...all they need is an atomosphere charged and God can speak to them and they can give a word. The Office of the Prophet is a CALL...it's part of the five fold ministry. That's the one that can be called to the nations, to the state, to a region, to a city or even to a church. I can see this as one who would PROCLAIM, just like the prophets of the Old Testament. God sent them to give specific words to individuals and towns or even to a people. After I posted my response earlier, I thought about how an Evangelist could be one who proclaims as well. They are especially sent to places to declare the gospel of Jesus Christ. As far as the activation of your healing gift (another segment of the School of Ministry I just completed), you've already been commissioned and equipped, you just need to step out and DO! Moving from "glory to glory" in our gifts comes from moving out in faith and allowing the power that God has already equipped you with, to grow and mature. The gift of healing is one that takes faith...especially from the one who is laying hands and doing the praying. The Bible says that we will "lay hands on the sick and they WILL recover". There is an element of faith that the person that needs prayer should have, but really it's about the person who is praying to KNOW the authority and the power that they have to do what they are doing...that's what releases the healing power. No matter if it's inner healing or physical healing...sooooo many people are in need of both. I just found out that I walk in the Office of the Prophet and I have a healing/deliverance ministry. These are strong giftings in my life. At the end of each segment of the school of ministry, we had practicums. There was a night service, held at the church, where the community was invited to worship with us. The first meeting was the prophetic meeting. Those of us who were told we walked in the Office of the Prophet and those who had strong prophetic gifts, stood up in the front of the church and we had to prophesy to EVERYONE in the service. Because I was one of the two that walked in the Office of the Prophet, I was blindfolded during the first portion of the service and gave words without seeing the person with my natural eyes. This exercise was to enhance my "inner spiritual eyes" and give the Word. Scary stuff, but God was glorified. The other practicum was healing. Everyone who needed healing came to another service and we laid hands on EVERYONE there. There were people with cancer, diabetes and back injuries. Every last one of them walked out with evidence of their healing. It was alllll God because all of us were nervous out of our minds. Next Sunday evening is the deliverance meeting...that's going to be interesting. Sorry Connie...we've gone a little away from your question, but I hope what was shared here regarding the "herald" has helped you.