Tag: Spiritual Awakening

Tetelestai Recovery

Activating a Miracle

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We searched the scriptures for more proof of the power of praise. We were astonished to discover that the act of giving thanks was typically the prelude to a miracle. Jesus himself made this point when feeding the 5000. The gospel accounts tell us that He held the 2 fish and 5 loaves, looked up, and gave thanks. Immediately following His expression of gratitude, the food multiplied and there was more than enough to go around.

We see another example in the story of Lazarus. The man had been dead four days when Jesus appeared and raised him from the dead. Amazingly enough, the words of Christ, right before calling Lazarus from the tomb, were words of gratitude to God.

Our search led us to some Old Testament writings of King David who was a pro when it came to praise. Time after time, David poured out his heart in the Psalms. Sometimes they were words of praise from start to finish. Other times, the writing began with an outpouring of distress, but turned to praise in the final stanzas. Whether threatened by enemy armies, wounded by family betrayal, or overwhelmed by too many decisions, each painful experience was handled with the same primary coping mechanism. We found it over and over in the final lines of each sad song, “Yet, I will praise God.”

We were delighted to find another example from the familiar Old Testament story of Jonah and the whale. After reading verse after verse of Jonah complaining to God in a pathetic prayer of self-obsession, we found a sudden change of heart. In verse 9 of Jonah chapter 2, the pitiful prophet abruptly states, “But I, with shouts of praise will sacrifice to you.”

Suddenly, in the next verse we read, “And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry ground.”

This principle of praise as a precursor to a miracle was not just for Old Testament Kings and Prophets, nor was it only for Jesus during His ministry. We discovered post-ascension proof that praise continues to be the key component to divine intervention. We read the story in Acts 16 of Paul and Silas chained to the wall in a jail cell. Their midnight praise session was so powerful, it created a shift in the earth’s plates and the prison foundations shook until the chains fell off and the cell doors opened.  

After gathering evidence from scriptural data and personal experience, we were amazed to find that the key to unlocking any miracle is this simple, yet powerful act of praise.

Tetelestai Recovery – Chapter 10, The Power of Praise

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Tetelestai Recovery

The Power of Praise

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As we progressed up the path in the Tetelestai Realm of Recovery, we discovered a powerful weapon against the onslaught of obsessions, compulsions, and other dysfunctional thought patterns. The weapon was praise and it turned out to be more powerful than we ever imagined.

We came to see that when we praised God, we experienced a higher level of satisfaction in our lives, and we became more deeply aware of His goodness surrounding us. We also noticed that when our praises declined, so did our sense of well-being.

From simply a human point of view, this made perfect sense to us. We were easily able to confirm the effect praise has on all creatures. Praise given to a pet or a child is the way to convey approval and appreciation. Praise offered to a co-worker is received with gratitude and goodwill. Praise given to a spouse, partner, or family member can bridge a strained relationship or energize an exhausted soul.  

We realized that when we praised God, we were verbalizing our trust in His divine plan. When praising God, we were simultaneously attracting angelic presence and repelling demonic entities. Knowing that neither angels nor demons can read minds, we put great emphasis on verbalizing our praises.

In our study of the praise process, we noticed in various groups of people, when praise was offered to an individual, idea, or accomplishment, others in agreement would gather round to voice their commendation. However, there were occasions when an opposing individual or group would disapprove of the admiration. Those particular individuals or groups would generally withdraw and exit the area.

We found this research to be incredibly enlightening. When paralleled with the spirit realm, we began to understand the impact our praises might have on the atmosphere surrounding us. If angels love to praise God, we could expect them to gather round those who are doing the same. In like manner, the demonic spirits, who refuse to offer their praises to God, would be repulsed by such joyful admiration of our Father.

With this scenario in mind, we began praising for every element of beauty, comfort, or protection we encountered. After only a brief time of this practice, we found that the demon of depression lifted, the spirit of selfishness released its grip, and the antagonist of addiction grew weaker. Based on our hypothesis, we continued our conscious effort to offer praise to God regularly throughout our daily duties. The results led us to a most rewarding conclusion.

Tetelestai Recovery – Chapter 10, The Power of Praise

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A Date With Destiny

Giver

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2 Corinthians 8:12

If you are eager to give, God will accept your gift on the basis of what you have, not on what you don’t have.

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You are known for your thoughtfulness when it comes to giving. You remain alert to the needs of others and are excited to fulfill them.

You are a generous person. You willingly offer your time, energy, and expertise to those who are in need of assistance.

You enjoy giving your time, energy, and resources to others. You find that this brings you an enormous sense of purpose. You are motivated to act when you see a need and have the ability to help meet it.

God is pleased by your generosity and accepts it is as an expression of your faith. No matter how small the gift, it is significant.

When you encounter a need which appears too great, and you wish you could do more, you give what you can and trust God to give the increase.

As you give of your time, energy, and resources, you experience replenishment rather than depletion.

This is the manifestation of Christ’s Kingdom at work on the earth.

As you willingly become the answer to someone else’s prayer, your generous spirit pleases the King.

A Date With Destiny Birthday Series – August 12

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Tetelestai Recovery

Word Seeds

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We believe in the scriptural principle of sowing and reaping. We see the effects of this principle in the natural realm as well as the spiritual. We are certain that an oak tree will not grow from a thistle seed. Therefore, we do not expect to receive hope and healing by speaking of our addiction as a lumbering giant which threatens to steal our sobriety.

We dare not speak of relapse, as this seed grows into a massive, poisonous vine which produces an itchy sensation known as irritable, restless, and discontent syndrome. We dare not speak of our past indiscretions as a boastful or laughable matter, for this seed will grow into a field of dandelion memories with brightly colored egotistical blooms. How quickly they turn to hollow puffs of fly-away seeds, searching for another ego to embed! We dare not speak of our resentments, for this is the thicket which depletes our energy and slows our progress.

The words which produce a harvest we don’t want ought never to be sown by our voice. The negative words which have been spoken to us, or about us, or by us, must be pulled up by the roots before the harvest ever comes.

We begin our day with a simple statement from our own lips, “I cancel out any negative words which have been spoken or written to me, about me, or by me, in the name of Jesus. I ask the Holy Spirit to destroy any growth which may have occurred from these cursed seeds, and to remove them by the roots.”

Those things which we believed of ourselves, based on the things we were told by other sick people from our past, had emerged as a thicket of tangled thoughts and continuing behaviors. As we walked through the steps of our recovery, we found undergrowth which kept tripping us up. When we released our recovery into the hands of Jesus, the Holy Spirit began to guide us regarding the removal and elimination of these parts of us we didn’t know how to manage. Some of us needed counseling, some needed medication, some needed a change in diet or activity, but all of us needed supernatural healing in many layers.

Tetelestai Recovery – Chapter 9, Saying is Sowing

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A Date With Destiny

Timing is Everything

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Genesis 8:8

Meanwhile, Noah sent out a dove to see if the water had gone down.

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There are times when you are ready to move into a new phase of your journey, but you have not been given the signal that it is time to move forward. Like Noah waiting for the water to subside, you may have to be patient and wait before taking the next step.

As the anticipation about an exciting new project builds, the wait can sometimes seem unbearable. However, without a signal from God that the time is right, an otherwise successful mission might become a disastrous mess.

If Noah had skipped the waiting period and began unloading the ark as soon as the rain stopped, the passengers and animals might have all perished in the flood waters.

While the ark may not have been the most desirable place to be, it was the safest. It may have been quite smelly and dirty, but it was the place for Noah to wait until God revealed that it was the right time to leave.

The dove in Noah’s story played a significant role in initiating the start of a new era. Noah was selected to rebuild civilization on a planet which had been washed clean by the flood.

Many centuries later, the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove which appeared at Jesus’ baptism. Once again, a dove gave the signal. It was time for the Son of God to leave the carpenter shop in order to establish the new era of grace.

As an avid bird-lover, you appreciate the symbolism of doves. You find their presence soothing. It reminds you that God’s is always near and His Spirit will let you know when it is time to move forward into something new.

A Date With Destiny Birthday Series – August 8

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A Date With Destiny

Honoring God

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Deuteronomy 8:6

Obey the instructions of the Lord your God. Live as he directs you and honor him.

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You realize that nature is the expression of God and all human beings are His children. Therefore, you honor Him by honoring them.

You pay respect to your Creator in the way you live your life. You walk gently on the planet and show gratitude for the resources it provides. You lovingly protect the environment and lead by example to create positive change in your world.

You reject flashy fanfare and showy performances.  Instead, you choose the more noble path of walking quietly and humbly with your God.

A Date With Destiny – August 6

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Tetelestai Recovery

Faith and Doubt – The Alternating Currents

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We imagined an electric fan. We could manually spin the blades and create a slight breeze. Obviously, we would have to consistently place our fingertips on the top of the slowing blades to give it another spin. Our entire attention would be devoted to managing the spin of the blades. Our obsession with keeping those blades spinning would consume us, and we would be able to accomplish little else.

If, however, we became willing to plug the fan in to an electrical socket, the blades would spin without effort, in a smooth rhythm, independent of our attention. The effects would be much more noticeable, yet effortless. We could remain active and alert with the more important duties of life, comforted by the breeze of an unseen power.

Faith and doubt, while appearing to be polar opposites, are the alternating currents which work together, generating an absolute belief in Christ. We cannot fully resolve our doubts within our faith. That’s why Jesus tells us time and time again, “Only believe.”

Faith in wholeness, when we felt so broken, was more work than we anticipated.

We worked to believe that somewhere in time, we would possess this shalom which Jesus had bequeathed us before His death.

We worked to believe, when doubts bubbled to the surface after losing our temper, feeling depressed, or experiencing muscle cramps from the lingering effects of the toxins we had used.

We worked to believe our shattered lives could be put back together when legal issues remained unresolved and court cases loomed in our future.

We worked to believe that Jesus’ wholeness could restore us to our original value when we found ourselves faced with the wreckage of our past and the rejection from our families.

We worked to believe in the wholeness of Christ coursing through our veins, restoring the health of mind and body when our inner voice kept telling us we were being foolish and naive.

Finally, we concluded that the only way to test this hypothesis was to presume the words of Jesus were true and choose to believe that they might actually be able to work for us. It seemed worth a shot. After all, we were out of options, so what did we have to lose?

Tetelestai Recovery – Chapter 6, Shalom

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A Date With Destiny

Out of the Comfort Zone

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Luke 8:4

People were coming to Jesus from every town and city.

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Finding Jesus in ordinary places is not difficult for you. While it is true He is not on this planet in His earthly form, you are able to detect His presence when you distance yourself from places and things which tend to distract you.

In your birthday verse from the book of Luke, it states that the people left their towns on a quest to see Jesus.

In a similar pattern, you too have your most intimate encounters with Christ when you are away from the city lights and the chaos of human interaction. You experience the presence of Jesus when you are in a solitary space.

Sometimes this is a literal endeavor, when you get off by yourself into a open air setting to connect with creation. You see Jesus more clearly when you shift your focus away from natural events in order to catch a glimpse of the supernatural.

This is not a rational process, nor does logic come into play. To see Jesus, there must be faith that He will be there when you arrive.

As you practice removing yourself from what is familiar and stepping out in faith, you are able to recognize Jesus more clearly. Refreshed by His energy, you find harmony and healing.

When you leave all the distractions behind, you are open to the sense of His presence in everything you see.

Your desire to see Jesus, and the effect He is having on the world around you, is the driving force for your divine destiny.

You do not remain set in your ways, with a rigid schedule of daily duties.  You sketch out a tentative plan in your mind each morning, but remain open to changes as the Holy Spirit directs your day.

The terms chance and coincidence are not part of your vocabulary.  You set out each day to find new evidence of divine intervention in ordinary events and you are never disappointed by what you discover.

Jesus appears to you in many forms.  He weaves Himself in and out of your day, energizing you with a sense of love, power, and confidence.

Sometimes you see Him in other human beings. Sometimes you see Him in animals and plants. You see Him in science and are passionate about discovering the complexities of the Creator’s design on this planet.

You hear Him in thunder and the whistling winds. You hear Him in music and laughter.

You hear the rustle of angel wings in the melodies of old hymns. You overflow with emotion when the gentle breeze of His Spirit whispers your name in the stillness of the night.

You discover the presence of Jesus when you seek Him. You remain alert and aware of His influence and promptings on a minute by minute basis.

You are willing to walk away from what distracts you in order to get a clear view of His presence.

Your prayers are not traditional or eloquent. They are more like a casual running conversation with a close friend.  His gentle peace surrounds you as His presence lights up the path where you walk.

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Home

Trust More; Worry Less

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When has worry EVER made something better?  It usually makes us weak and sick.

We can overcome fear by looking to God and receiving his love. 1 John 4:18 tells us that “perfect love casts out fear.” 

Marcus Aureoles wrote, “If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.”

We can choose to be fearful. We can choose not to be fearful.

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7

The spirit of fear doesn’t come from God and it certainly isn’t what He wants for you.

Fear, worry, and anxiety are silent killers. They shorten our lives and have a negative impact on those around us.

Tetelestai Recovery

Destiny

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We concluded that the Creator of the Universe would not waste time weaving intricate limbic, nervous, and immune systems into a human body, without giving it a reason to exist. It seemed to us that any created life, if not accompanied by a series of assignments designed to enhance the world, would simply be a waste of time.

Imagining that God would create a life without purpose and then place it into a magnificent universe, seemed like hanging macaroni pictures in an art gallery. We felt that God would not busy Himself with kindergarten crafts to decorate the door of His fridge. He would not create a living being which possessed no real purpose or direction, or worse, one with evil intent or the inability to produce a positive impact on the planet.

We acknowledged that the King of the Universe had a specific design for every human being when He placed their spirit into a body. We believed that by the time the organs were developed, and the heartbeat could be heard, each tiny body possessed a spirit with divine directives of cosmic proportions. We were saddened by the realization that if any spirit failed to be awakened to the Creator’s heart, it would be vulnerable to an enemy who would capture and use it for his own purpose.

In the hands of the Evil One, this fragile spirit would be destroyed, and a divine destiny would remain unfulfilled, leaving a gaping hole in human history.

We agreed that our divine assignments could no longer be viewed as optional. We were given life, and therefore, a destiny. The fact that we took another breath meant our destiny had not yet been fulfilled.

Tetelestai Recovery 2: Our New Normal; Chapter 8, The Open Road

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