Tag: Spiritual Awakening

A Date With Destiny

3/27 Be a Rebel: Embrace Your Inner Trailblazer

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Daniel 3:27: “When they came out, the fire had not harmed them. Their hair and clothes were not burned and they didn’t even smell like smoke.“

There are times when you are called upon to take a stand, just like the three Hebrew boys in the book of Daniel. You may be urged by the Spirit to go against the masses and follow your conscience, rather than the demands of a narcissistic bully.

As Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the flames for following their divine direction, you too, will sometimes walk through fire as the result of your convictions.

In the same manner that Jesus appeared in the fiery furnace with those boys, He also appears to you when going through the fiery trials of your own faith.

Some will try to tell you what’s best, and condemn you for standing your ground. At times, you may be criticized for doing what you know is right, by those who are more comfortable taking the path of least resistance.

Lots of Hebrews bowed the knee to the golden statue because they were told to do so. Some of them were friends and family members of the three rebels who refused.

Those who bowed were not named. God did not reject them, or send fire from heaven to consume them. They simply bowed to the golden statue, and went on to live their lives of quiet desperation.

Those who bowed missed out on having a conversation with the Son of God in a fiery furnace. Those who bowed never had their names listed in Sacred Text. Those who bowed never became part of a story which would be told for thousands of years to come.

From this passage, you conclude there are two types of people: those who bow and those who stand.

Bowers are compliant. Standers are defiant. You have been called to be a stander.

Not everyone is called to be a rebel and a renegade. You are.

You go on high alert when you can right a wrong, stand up to a bully, or defend the defenseless.

You are a rebel at heart.  You are wild and adventurous. You do not take the path of least resistance. You find that path boring and dull.

You are a trailblazer. You create paths which never existed and inspire others to follow your lead.

Long after you are gone from this planet, your imprint will remain on those trails. Your courage will call to future generations, inviting them to join the rebel cause and reject the status quo. The echo of your voice from a faraway dimension will call to those select few, willing to risk it all for a chance to come up higher.

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A Date With Destiny

Embracing Struggles: Discovering God’s Presence in Adversity

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The Lord cares deeply about you and comes to your rescue whenever you ask for His help.

God sees that some of the things you go through are difficult. You know that help is required if you are going to be able to withstand the pressure and come through to the other side, unscathed.

With the calm reassurance of angels at your side, these struggles do not leave you weakened. Instead, you emerge from difficult predicaments with a newfound awareness of your position in God’s family.

You sense His presence of with greater intensity during times when you are down and finding it impossible to stand on your own.  Because of this, you have learned to be grateful for your struggles, because they generate a new level of intimacy between you and your Creator.

Because you know He is there to carry the heaviness you feel after having been wronged, He enables you to move freely into forgiveness where healing can be found. 

Assured that the Creator of the Universe is interested in what happens to you, and is willing to help whenever you ask, your confidence is solid and no earthly problem can shake it.

learn more about march 25
Tetelestai Recovery

Forgiveness and Healing: Submitting Our Claims to God

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We are damaged humans who have been damaged by other humans. Our only hope of recovery is to submit our claims to God and wait for Him to reimburse us for our loss.

We finally understand that when Jesus instructs us to forgive, He is not telling us we must sustain damage and accept it as okay. He also isn’t telling us that we don’t have a valid claim. In fact, He is stating the exact opposite.

The fact that forgiveness is necessary, means an injury or loss has occurred. Jesus is not denying our claims. He is validating our losses and confirming their legitimacy.

He doesn’t suggest we just get over it. He doesn’t instruct us to ignore it and congratulate ourselves on taking the high road.

 He instructs us to forgive because he wants us to gain access to His full coverage comprehensive plan. Jesus is telling us, “Submit your claim to me, and I will take care of all repairs and injuries.” He knows that the process is too exhausting and emotionally charged for us to deal with on our own. He also knows that when two humans try to settle up, they rarely get it right and they seldom get it done. 

(Tetelestai Recovery – Our New Normal pp 113)

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A Date With Destiny

Living as a Citizen of Heaven: Embrace Your Dual Reality

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1 Peter 3:22…”Now Christ has gone to heaven. He is seated in the place of honor next to God. All the angels and powers accept his authority.”

You are becoming more and more enlightened about who Jesus is, where He came from, and where He is now, preparing a place for you.

While it is true that your physical body is aging, your mind is being renewed every day. Each step of the way, the Holy Spirit is taking you to new heights of enlightenment.

Fueled by living water springing up from within you, your spirit rushes like a river, creating the power and energy needed to carry your physical form into each next heavenly assignment.

Partnered with the Spirit of God, supernatural energy is infusing you with a heavenly mindset.  As you focus your attention on heavenly pursuits, you are simultaneously improving the natural world in which you reside. 

In this way, you are living in two realms at once. You are a citizen of heaven, and an ambassador of Christ. Your heart is set on things above, and your days are filled with bringing heaven to earth.

Maintaining a heavenly focus creates melody in your mind and harmony in your heart. This music of heaven shifts your gaze away from your human struggles and toward the throne room of heaven.

Experiencing the power of Christ in this dual reality, His Kingdom is as real to you as the world in which you live.

Learn more about march 22

A Date With Destiny

3/21 Finding Freedom in God’s Grace: Letting Go of Guilt

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1 John 3:21…”Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence.”

You lead a carefree life because you release your mistakes and weaknesses into the safe grace of God.

When regret or guilt trouble you, they immediately become the next topic of conversation with God. You talk with your Heavenly Father throughout the day about the issues which plague your thoughts. As you share your memories with God, you find a sense of release. Your thoughts are turned toward His forgiveness and mercy, rather than your own failures and remorse.

You receive clemency from Christ, which wipes the slate clean. You understand this is not a once-in-a-life-time free pass, but it is a gift of grace, providing you with a fresh start whenever you need one, throughout your entire life.

When you talk things out with God, regrets are resolved, and guilt is eliminated.

Knowing that Christ has liberated you from any past mistakes, you are overwhelmed with gratitude rather than guilt.

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A Date With Destiny

The Stability of Living in Christ’s Love

lastwordrecovery 
 Ephesians 3:19..."Christ’s love is greater than any person can ever know. But I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with the fullness of God."

You know the love of Christ in ways that are difficult for some people to comprehend. Your trust in His love creates a bond of confidence between you and your Lord.

While you may have difficulty trusting other people, there is no doubt in your mind that God can be trusted to guide and protect you, no matter what.

You understand that pure love is not an emotion.  It is a commitment. You see the way God’s love has supported you during some of the most difficult and wayward times of your life. You realize that this love is not fickle. He does not withdraw His love to manipulate or punish.

You enjoy living in the love of Christ and you seek to demonstrate that love to others.

This life of love is not an emotional roller-coaster of feelings, but rather, it is a higher level of stability.

The presence of Christ’s love in your life creates an atmosphere in which you are difficult to offend, easy to approach, and quick to forgive.

learn more about March 19

A Date With Destiny

Dispelling Myths: The True Character of God

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Luke 3:18…John continued to preach the Good News, saying many other things to encourage the people.

God has chosen to display His true character of mercy and love through you to those who have misunderstood Him to be harsh and cruel.

You were chosen to bring something very special to your world.  

Many people claiming to speak for God, have indicated that He is angry and hard to please. This has become an obstacle to their need to ask for His help.

You are correcting this erroneous perception by showing the true character of God, as displayed in Jesus’ life.

You are chosen to talk of the loyalty of God, proven by His repetitive message throughout the Scriptures, “I will never leave you or turn on you.”

Your deep sense of loyalty has helped you understand the heart of God. In this world of insecurity and unrest, the humans who inhabit it are running scared from a God who frightens and repulses them.

Their misperceptions of God have left them without help and without hope. Your message of good news will soften people’s perceptions of God and remove their fear of asking for His help.

God has chosen you to spread the good news of healing and wholeness to His broken world.

Learn more about march 18
A Date With Destiny

The Book of Remembrance: Your Name Matters

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Malachi 3:16…Those who honored the Lord spoke with each other. The Lord listened and the names of those who honored and respected the Lord were written in a book. The Lord will remember them.

While you do not see yourself as the main character in the story of life, it excites you to know that God has entered your name into the book He is writing about those who honor him.

Knowing that God is taking the time to listen to your words, and record them in a book, along with your name, leaves you awestruck and a little self-conscious.  However, it is not God’s intention to make you uncomfortable; but rather, it is His way of paying tribute to those who honor Him.

Your willingness to speak well of God and talk about His goodness softens the hearts of those who have misunderstood Him to be cold and uncaring. The positive impact of your speech will change the perceptions of those who have run from Him for far too long.

Not only will your name be written by angels in heaven’s book of remembrance, but your words will be recorded by humans in earthbound books, which will make an impact on future generations.

Tetelestai Recovery

Embracing Spiritual Transformation: A New Life in Christ

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We realized we were no longer addicted, damaged, and dysfunctional. We sensed that our bodies, souls, and spirits were coming into harmony with our divine destiny. As the light seeped into where darkness had been, we saw things we’d never seen before. We understood spiritual concepts that had seemed confusing in the past.

As we opened our minds to sacred text, the revolution began. We discovered new parameters for our belief system.

I Corinthians 2:16 stated, “We understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ,” so we released our mental constraints and became aware of our new understanding.

2 Corinthians 5:17 told us that “anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”

Therefore, we resisted the temptation to dwell on the past. We had become a new creation in Christ, so there was no past to lament.

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Tetelestai Recovery

What Tetelestai Really Means: Beyond “It Is Finished”

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We noticed that Jesus’ final word tetelestai, translated into the English phrase, it is finished, seemed to imply a sense of giving up. We found this to be an unfortunate language barrier. As it turns out, in the original Greek language of the New Testament, this word tetelestai is a declaration of victory, completion, and success.

Tetelestai is the comment an artist might whisper after completing his final brush stroke on a masterpiece.

Tetelestai is the report a soldier would bring to his commanding officer when a battle was over, and victory had been secured.

We believe our Savior used His final breath on the cross to declare for all time, to all creation, in every dimension, that there is nothing left undone: It is finished; Tetelestai.

There is no more drudgery to sobriety and no more anguish to recovery. There is no self-effort which must be added to what has been declared, Tetelestai.

IT IS FINISHED

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