Faith Works By Love

This Scripture really jumped out at me last night and I wanted to share this with you. Hope it blesses you and speaks to you as well.

Luke 1:45   "And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord".

Has God spoken some things to you that you've yet to see come to pass?  Only believe and begin speaking as Mary spoke: "be it unto me according to thy word" Luke 1:38 

If you have a difficult time believing, it's because you doubt His love for you. For faith works by love. (Galatians 5:6)

"Love is the driving force behind our faith. If you remove or diminish love, faith ceases to be what it should be." -- Andrew Wommack

So, if you're having a hard time believing God for something, begin to pray for a greater revelation of His Love and then faith will just naturally work!

Pray ye then for a greater revelation of His love for you and it will be shown to you. (Ephesians 3:14-19) Do not allow circumstances to blind you of His love because nothing can separate you from His Love. (Romans 8:35-39)

How much more do you really need to be shown of His love for you? HE DIED FOR YOU!  Who else would have done that for you? No one! Why then do you doubt, when your day doesn't go so well?  Why?

Many are His thoughts of you, His plan and purpose for you, more than the grains of sand.  There is not one second that you are not on His mind, in His thoughts, on His heart. (Psalm 139) You have been engraved in the palm of His hand. (Isaiah 49:16)

Was it not His Love that drew you to Him in the first place?  Let Love have His perfect work and watch how the fear and unbelief is cast from your life that has kept you imprisoned for many years. There is no fear in Love.  God is Love and He lives in YOU forever!  (1 John 4:8,18) 

He Loves You!

Connie Schmoll

Prepare For Ministry

The Sword and The Rose!
~Word of God and Love of God ~

Prepare For Ministry

All of us Born Again, and having God's Spirit living in us, carry God's anointing. God has a purpose and plan for our lives....a ministry, even if it is behind closed doors of our prayer closet as a Prayer Warrior which is a very important ministry! We are all part of the body of Christ which is so much bigger than some realize or will ever admit. We are ALL called to minister. Not just the leaders. We are ALL anointed of God! Not just the leaders. How we live our life is a ministry. 

A Successful Ministry must entail two very important things:

1. The Word of God
2. The Love of God

THE WORD OF GOD

The Word of God stands sure (Isaiah 40:8) and God's word is even above His name! (Psalm 138:2) THAT is how important God's Word is.

The Word of God is inspired, alive and living in us! (2 Timothy 3:16)

The Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

The Psalmist asks “How can a young man cleanse his way?” He answers, “By taking heed according to Your Word". (Psalm 119:9) Just a few more verses later v:11 “Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.” God's Word keeps us from sin and keeps us on His path, as the Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path (Psalm119:105) in a dark world.

He sent His Word to heal. (Psalm 107:20) and His Word sent forth (spoken) doesn't come back void, but accomplishes what it's sent forth to do. (Isaiah 55:10,11)

THE LOVE OF GOD

God is Love. (I John 4:8) The Love of God is unconditional, desired by all. The sweet fragrance of God's love is what draws men to Him, (2 Corinthians 2:14-16) and if we do not have it, we have nothing. We can do all kinds of works, but without love, it profits nothing. We can operate in whatever gift He has given us, but without His Love, first and foremost in operation, we have nothing!! You can speak in tongues all you want, you can prophecy all you want and have word of knowledge, and great faith, and give all you have to the poor, but have not love, you have nothing! (I Corinthians 13:1-3)

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails
(I Corinthians 13:4-8)

Our faith will not even work without His Love. (Galatians. 5:6)

Love for one another is what shows people that we are a disciple of God. (John 13:35) Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.(I John 4:8)  And it is totally impossible for us to love others if we do not first love ourselves. We must pray for a greater revelation of God's love, for we cannot give something that we don't have ourselves. (Ephesians 3:14-19)

The reason many ministries struggle, and even fail and many people get hurt is because of the lack of love and because of unforgiveness. The problem is, people are entering churches as walking wounded in need of love and healing, but instead end up leaving, even more broken. It's important as leadership of a ministry that you allow God to heal all of YOUR wounds and that you carry no bitterness or unforgiveness in YOUR heart of past or present hurts, because we as leaders, if we walk around wounded and hurt, we will then hurt others, unintentionally of course, but it's a vicious cycle that happens when we do not let go of our hurts and let God heal.

What matters most is the two greatest commandmants: That we love God with all our heart and love our neighbor as ourselves. See how important it is to love yourself? And we can't do that without the revelation of God's love for us! It ALL works together!

FORGIVENESS

One strong requirement needed for all this to work is FORGIVENESS! God gives it freely without us deserving it, so we must also give it freely to even those who don't deserve it. (Matthew 6:14-15; Mark 11:25; Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13)

We all have been hurt and I guarantee you that there are going to be many more times of hurt throughout your life. This is why we must LIVE TO FORGIVE. (Matthew 18:21-22) Guard your heart from offenses. (Psalm 4:23) Let them go before they even have a chance to enter the heart. They start as a thought that needs to be captured and cast down and out and not received. You have the power to what you receive and not receive within your heart. (2 Corinthians 10:4-5) Whatever you allow in your heart, determines the course of your life. If you do not take care of your heart, instead of your life AFFECTING others in a good way, it will start INFECTING others in a bad way and begin destroying your own.

Ministries fail because they change the Word of God by using their own interpretation of Scripture to fit their own doctrines, they do not truly comprehend the Love of God in their own life thus causing them not to be able to portray God's unconditional love to others, and they have so many issues unresolved in their life because they are unwilling to forgive those who have caused hurts and disappointments in their own life.

Word of God - Let the Spirit of truth guide you into all truth (John 16:12-15)

Love of God - Pray for a greater revelation of God's love (Ephesians 3:14-19)

Forgiveness - Live to Forgive (Matthew 18:21-22)

Be sure you have TRUTH, CHARITY & FORGIVENESS before ever attempting to minister.

Connie Schmoll

Vine and the Branch Lesson #5

Lesson #5 Stay Connected

As we learned in last lesson, Jesus said, “Abide in Me!” It was not a suggestion or a request. It was a command. In the seasons of chastening and pruning, the Vinedresser pursues and initiates. Our role is to respond. But with abiding, we must act. Abiding is to remain, to stay closely connected. And what if we don't?

John 15:6 says “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”

I know that these words sound catastrophic but Jesus is not threatening a barren branch with hell. I've heard it taught this way, but as what Ezekiel wrote, “Is wood taken from the grapevine to make any object?...Instead it is thrown into the fire for fuel.” (Ezekiel 15:3-4)

Jesus is making a dramatic point. If we are not abiding, we wither and die and become of no spiritual use. But notice the implied promise for the branch that does abide. If you stay connected to Him, if you draw spiritual nourishment from Him, if you allow the power that flows through Him to flow through you, nothing will hold you back from reaching the most abundant life possible.

I don't know why but some people are just going to be happy living that unfruitful life which is very sad because God has so much more out there for them. They won't be cast out of Christ, but yet they will not be of any spiritual use. Sad place to be really. I know many of us have a lot of issues to work through from our past, but God through the Holy Spirit is always working in us to help us through those things, but there are some who continue to want to always see themselves as a victim instead of victorious.

Just picture this....

The Vinedresser is kneeling beside you in the cool of the morning. He is reaching down to intervene in your life, to lift you up and bring you back to fruitfulness. His face conveys concern and sadness – not disgust, not irritation, not even anger. He doesn't see a chronic loser in you, but a chosen, carefully tended branch that is one choice away from an altogether better existence. THIS is the season of discipline,

The Vinedresser is standing beside you in the sun of midday. He's holding some shears, but He's not unhappy. His face conveys delight and expectation. He snips away unwanted shoots, and is impressed with your energy and promise, He can foresee the time when you will respond in faith to the test He has put before you today. THIS is the season of pruning.

The Vinedresser is leaning against a nearby trellis as the sun is going down, his hat pushed back. He's looking at your branch with pleasure, satisfaction, and joy. Just being here near you, enjoying your beauty, is His favorite moment of the day. The huge clusters of grapes crowding your branch are exactly what He's had in mind for you since your branch first sprouted. THIS is the season of abiding.

My friend, the whole reasoning for these lessons is to let you know that God loves you very much and He is ALWAYS working in your life, no matter what. Even when we make mistakes, He's there to help turn it all around for the good. Even those who are not abiding, He does not give up. He will continue rebuke, chasten and scourge to get their attention. He desires that we all become fruitful and live that abundant life for Him because it gives Him glory!

Always remember that no matter what season you are in, God will use you, and for those of you who are not abiding, it is never too late to start bearing fruit. Open up your heart today and truly let Him in so that He can begin working in your life! Don't be satisfied to just be a branch to provide fuel for a fire. Heed to God's voice. Remember the gift of joy!. The enemy will point to the pain of discipline, the losses that came with pruning, and the frustration and effort associated with abiding, and he'll try to convince you that God's plan for you is a prescription for misery but remember Jesus' wonderful promise that...Your joy may be full!

John 15:11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full”.

As the disciples proved in the years to come, that promise of full joy is a reality you can build a life on.

Stay Connected!

Connie Schmoll

The Vine and the Branch - Lesson #4

 

Lesson #4  Abiding In The Vine

John 15:4,5 "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing".

After discipline to remove sin and pruning to change priorities, Jesus tells what is to happen next.  “Abide in Me!” He says. He is not saying to do MORE for Him, but what He is saying is to be MORE with Him. In Abiding we must act.

Abiding is about the most important relationship of your life. Abiding doesn't measure how much you know about your faith or the Bible. In abiding you seek, long for, thirst for, wait for, see, know, love, hear and respond to...God.  Living in His Presence.

Psalm 42:1 "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God".

Our need for this is deep and constant, so why do very few pursue it? I'm convinced that the reason is, many of us do not believe that God actually likes us. We assume He's impatient, busy with more important things and reluctant to spend time with us, when actually, if we would just take the time, He would meet us in a way we'd never known. It would be as if a great Presence would walk into the room and sit down close as we draw near to Him. I'm not talking about daily devotional time but I'm talking about a DEVOTED time – a time where we devote entirely to Him. He desires that time with us and wants us to continue always in His love.

John 15:9 "As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love."

We have a difficult time believing because we doubt His love for us. But once we realize how much He truly does love us and wants to spend time with us, this is when it's time for the most important step in our life and that is to practice ABIDING IN HIM!

Did you notice that the life force in the picture Jesus presented of the vine and branch connection is the SAP which is mysteriously out of site? One reason could be that in abiding, what happens on the surface doesn't count; what's happening inside does. Abiding begins with visible spiritual disciplines such as Bible reading and prayer. Yet it may shock you to find out that we can do these things for years without abiding. After all, reading a book about a person isn't the same thing as really knowing the person who wrote the book. The challenge in abiding is always to break through from dutiful activities to a living, flourishing relationship with The Writer - God.  Deepen your quality of DEVOTED time with God.

We are always trying to find the quickest and surest way to accomplish things. We read how-to-books or look for “easy steps to succeed”. Christians even seek simple formulas to guarantee success in walking with God. We wish someone would come up with a surefire method for avoiding sin and accelerating growth as God's children, but...

It's A Relationship

Jesus viewed the Christian life as a relationship, not a math problem. He knew we would hope for a few easy steps to follow. But instead of a method, Jesus answered with a beautiful word-picture in John 15.

To explain how to walk as His disciples, Jesus chose the metaphor of a fruit bearing vine. He is the vine; we are the branches; and the Father is the Vinedresser. Like members of one organism, we are connected in an intimate relationship with our Lord. If this connection is severed, our lives will be empty and unfruitful. Jesus is our sole source of life (vs 4-5). Just as a branch finds its home in the vine, we must abide in Jesus Christ, finding our home in Him. The secret to the Christ life is not following a set of rules, but maintaining an essential relationship with the Ruler.

It's An Adventure

Christians who abide in Christ march to the best of God's Spirit. We follow His lead. The Holy Spirit serves as our spiritual compass, guiding and empowering us to overcome any challenge along our journey as we remain in Him.

Abiding means obeying. Jesus explains that His words actually cleanse us. And if Christ's words remain in us, our prayers will be heard and answered by the Father. (vs. 3,7) God's Word is the Christian's source of life.

Abiding is loving. Jesus urges us to remain in His love and commands us to love each other with the same selfless love He has shown us. (vs 9-10,12) Those who are connected to Jesus will love as He did.

Remember: The fruit that we produce by staying connected to Jesus is an effect, not a cause of a healthy relationship with God. So...stay connected, for without Him, you can do nothing.

I do have one final lesson coming....so stay tuned....but more importantly....keep Abiding in Him. Amen?

Connie Schmoll

The Vine and the Branch - Lesson #3

Lesson #3 Where Does It Hurt?

Again, our lessons come from John Chapter 15 where Jesus is talking to His disciples about the importance of their connection with Him and the Father. He uses the analogy of the Vine and the Branches. 

John 15:2 "Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit".

In Lesson #2, we learned about the degrees that God will go to in order to “love us to LIFE!” He works with us and in us to help us begin to see things in our life that are hindering us from being fruitful. Discipline from Him is more about sin but pruning by Him, which this lesson is about, is more about self. We must understand the difference between discipline and pruning because if we don't, then we can constantly get stuck in a vicious cycle of discipline and always be “on the outs” with God.

When God begins showing you what needs changed within you through rebuke, chastening and scourging, repentance is the key. Turn away from the sin and turn to God. Any wounds buried within you, let surface, confront and conquer, letting God heal. Then you'll begin to see fruit begin to grow in your life.

God is well pleased with a fruitful life, but He also does not want us to just be happy with less than His best that He has for us. This is when we may begin to see some pruning begin.

I think the time comes in every Christian's life as they mature more and more in the Lord, where God sees some things that need to be 'cut away'. That is what pruning is. A cutting away of some things in our life that might not necessarily be bad things, yet may be coming between us and God's purpose. In pruning, God asks us to let go of things that keep us from His Kingdom purposes and our ultimate good. Pruning is what brings our life to great abundance!

Sometimes it may seem like things are being hacked off our life through circumstances and can be very painful, but God's love for us is so strong that He will not stop tending our life. He wants what is HIS BEST for our life! Just as with the grapevine, once pruned back, the fruit begins to grow in abundance!

Maybe you have preoccupations and priorities in your life that may not necessarily be wrong but they could be keeping you from more significant ministry for God. What drains time and energy from what's truly important in your life? God deals with us individually. What God might consider wasteful in my life might be necessary in yours, so it's important that you are listening to God for YOU and not comparing your life to someone elses. God's plan and purpose for you is unique and personal to YOU.

Keep your ear up next to God's heart and be listening to what may need to be 'cut back' from your life for it to become abundant for God's glory!

What God asks of you now may be very difficult, but once you say yes, the results will be dramatically more than you could ever imagine! The most fruitful and joy-filled Christians are the most pruned Christians! A lot of Christians never get this far. I know for us, we've always said we want all that God has for us, yet when we look back on the years we have served the Lord, we can see where we still had to maintain a bit of control. We never did relinquish all control to God. We still had things/people we wanted to hang on to. Relinquishing ALL control to God is the place you have to get to in order to truly experience that abundant life with God!

God doesn't want His pruning to be a mystery or confusing. Just as when we get injured, our father asks us “Where does it hurts?” God does the same to us. Where is the pain coming from? The pain comes from the area in which God is snipping from. He's preparing you for the season of abundance that is to come. You may not see it right now but it definitely is on it's way.

Just like in a Vineyard, pruning is seasonal, but then the fruit comes after. Relinquish all control to the Vinedresser, and stay connected. People we love, money and possessions we cling to, our deep sense of personal rights (thinking we have the right to know why He does what He does) and the source of our significance: These areas God must rule if we are to bear fruit. His goal isn't to plunder or harm us but to liberate us so that we can pursue our true desire – His Kingdom. Our response to the pruning is very important. Complain, rebel, compromise, run away or experience joy, comfort and rest that comes to those who keep their eyes on the prize, not the pain!

Romans 8:38-39 I am persuaded that nothing can separate me from God's love! Are YOU?

If you want to reach a state of bliss - make a decision to relinquish the need to control, the need to be approved and the need to judge.  You will begin to truly know what being free really feels like and be able to experience what that abundant life is that the Bible speaks of.

In the next lesson we'll learn about abiding in the Vine and staying connected.

Connie Schmoll

The Vine and the Branch - Lesson #2

Lesson #2  Loving Us To LIFE!

Our Lessons are taken from John Chapter 15 where Jesus is using the Vine and the Branches analogy to show the importance of our connection to Him and the Father.  

John 15:2 “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit”

As shown in lesson #1, we are too valuable to God for Him to just “cut us off” if we are not fruitful. He will go to extremes to work in us to make us fruitful, because He loves us. You've heard people say that they “love you to death”? Well, since we know that it's important what words we speak, ...with God, we say He loves us to LIFE. :) Abundant Life!

Read through Hebrews 12:1-11

As I mentioned before, God knows the causes of our unfruitfulness and is willing to go to extremes to help us become fruitful. In Hebrews 12:5,6 it mentions three different degrees in which God works to get us there.

Hebrews 12:5,6 “.... My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.”

These degrees of intervention in which God works is not necessarily joyful but can be painful, but He knows exactly what each of us needs to discipline us.

Vs. 11 “No chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

Also in Proverbs 3:11,12 it says, “my son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction; for whom the Lord loves, He corrects”

God disciplines us for our good – out of love. He loves us to LIFE! He knows the reasons why we are not fruitful and through the work of the Holy Spirit, He wants to show us what needs to be done to change whatever needs to be changed so our lives can become fruitful. God's will for our life is that we live that abundant life because it brings glory to Him!

An unfruitful Christian is usually one who may have anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, a major sin problem – an unconfronted behavior or attitude that is blighting their life.... stuff like that, which eventually gets revealed through the work of the Holy Spirit. We are lifted and cleansed through His Word.

Read Hebrews 12:5-6

Rebuke: vs. 5 - A rebuke from the Lord is like a verbal warning for some poor choices in our life, or some hurtful wounds we are carrying around that is the cause of wrongful behavior or attitudes, etc. His rebuke is to spare us from further pain. His rebukes can come in different ways such as a prick of the conscience, a timely word from another person, a Scripture, preaching of His Word or conviction by the Holy Spirit.

Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

If we harden our heart and close our ears to God's rebuke, we force our Father to intensify the correction.

Chasten: vs. 5 - Discipline or chastening happens when our loving Father steps in to lift us away from our own destructive and unfruitful pursuits. (Deut. 8:5)

With chastening, you find yourself nagged by the subtle feeling of defeat, disappointment and frustration. This crushing cycle of powerlessness that is hated continues. You begin to feel emotional anxiety, frustration or distress. What used to bring you joy, now doesn't. Pressures increase at work, at home or in your health and finances, unfulfilled at church, critical to friends, and “on the outs” with God. If you have any of these symptoms, the answer is not to go to church more, read your Bible more or any of that. You need to look for ongoing sin or something that seems to be cutting you off from God's best for your life, like anger, bitterness, unforgiveness...etc. If you don't respond, love will compel your Father to take more drastic measures.

Scourge: vs. 6 – To whip, to inflict punishment. Pain, everyone hates it, but it sure gets our attention, doesn't it? C.S. Lewis says, “God whispers through pleasure but shouts through pain.” Sometimes our Father has to shout! Sometimes our sins bring judgment to us. As Paul said in I Cor 11:30 “This is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died” We will suffer dire consequences for our wrong doings and attitudes we carry that are not fruitful for God.

I have been able to see now how all of these interventions have been used on me when it comes to my eating. I was rebuked and warned of my eating habits. I believe God even led me to knowledge of how to eat, and when I didn't listen, chastisement came and my life became full of frustration, depression, not happy with self, and then when I still did not heed to His Word, the scourging came. My 'sin' brought judgment, consequences like painful health issues.

What stops good people from cleaning up their act? Many are held captive for years from misguided beliefs. I don't know about you but I don''t want to wander around on a fruitless path unable to enter into the abundant life God has for me!

There are those who do lead a bit of a fruitful life but are in need of some pruning. I will share in lesson #3 about pruning.

It is so important for us to be listening for and responding to the attentions of the Spirit in order for us to produce fruit. God does not bring bad into our lives. He does all He can to keep things good. But there are times that we are not listening and end up making choices that bring hardships into our life and we end up having to serve the consequences of those decisions. God doesn't want us to just live a dry dead life, and He'll use the bad and turn it around for the good. He wants us to be fruitful and will do what He can to Love us to LIFE! That Abundant Life! 

Connie Schmoll

The Vine and the Branch - Lesson #1

Lesson #1 Our Connection With God

We that are Born Again, have that special connection with God that cannot easily be broken. In John 15 we find Jesus beginning to share with His disciples how important this connection is and He uses the analogy of the Vine and the Branches. He wants us to know how important our connection with Him is and how valuable we are to Him and how much He loves us and wants the best for us!

Our value and our worth is not based on our circumstances and His love is not measured by our performance. His love is unconditional and He desires that we flourish and live an abundant life which is why He will go to extremes to see that we bear fruit, for it brings glory to Him!

All throughout the Bible, God demonstrates His love for us. If you really look out into this world, the one main thing that people so desire is to be truly loved – a love that is unconditional. I love how in John 15, Jesus begins to use a word picture of the vine and branches in order to show the relationship that we are to have with Him and how important it is to stay connected. If we could truly comprehend the love that God has for us!!

Read John 15

I have heard this chapter in John taught many times that if we are not fruitful, then God just cuts us off and this is not true! The Bible says if we are not fruitful, he “taketh away” which means, takes up or lifts up.

John 15:2 “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit”

A Vinedresser, when asked, said that when branches begin growing at the bottom and drag to the ground, they get dirty and when it rains, they get muddy and mildrewed and cannot produce fruit. The branch becomes sick and useless. He was asked then if he just cuts those branches off and his reply was, “Oh No! They are way too valuable for that!” He said they take buckets of water out to the vineyard for that purpose of lifting those branches up and cleaning them off, and then twisting them up and around the trellis where they can begin to produce fruit.

Wow! What a beautiful picture of how it is the same with us. Our relationship with the Vinedresser (God) is so important that our connection to the Vine, (Jesus Christ) and His Word is needed to be fruitful to bring glory to the Vinedresser. (God)

We are way too valuable to God for Him to just “cut us off” for not being fruitful. He knows the causes of our unfruitfulness and so He is willing to go to extremes to work in us what will make us fruitful … even if He has to rebuke, chasten or even scourge us. Ouch! He loves us so much and His desire is to see us thrive and live the abundant life, because it brings glory to Him! He doesn't just cut us off and throw us out. He loves us too much for that!!

In Hebrews 12:5,6 you can read about the degrees in which the Lord will go, to help us become fruitful. I will write more on that in next lesson.

Just know that God loves you so much and that your relationship with Him is very important to Him and He is always there for you to help with anything that may try and hinder that relationship with Him. His will is to help you be fruitful! His love is unconditional.

Connie Schmoll

A Miracle Within

The Word Spoken to me today:

If YOU have been Born Again, and have God's Spirit living in you .... YOU have a miracle within you for somebody else. Step out in faith and let God use you!!

Just as in Acts 3:6, when Peter said to the lame man, "Silver and gold have I none; but such as I  have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk."

And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up; and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God!

READ Acts 3:1-8

WOW! This man was "EXPECTING" to receive something from them. Somebody is out there...waiting on YOU!

Connie Schmoll 

The Sabotager's Identity

A sudden tiredness hovered over me and I felt a great need to lie down and rest. I told Don I was tired and was going to lie down for a bit, just to "knock the edge off".  I walked into the other room and I laid down to take a nap about 3pm.
  

I began to dream....
  

We had several missions ahead and I would see many of us sitting at a table planning the mission and then when we would head out to accomplish it, we were always met up with defeat. It seemed that "the enemy" had already been there and sabotaged our mission, our plan. This went on for several missions...first the scene of many of us sitting around a table, planning missions, going to each one, but facing defeat.  Always facing defeat! What was going on?!

It seemed like the enemy was always one step ahead of us. It was as if he knew our plans.  It was then we thought...there must be a spy in our midst.  How was the enemy finding out our plans, going ahead of us, and sabotaging our mission?

Dream interrupted:

Then Don walks in the room and wakes me up. Guess he is hungry. (smiles)  I mumble "okay".  

I force myself  back to sleep because I cannot leave this dream. I must find out who the spy is. I must know who is sabotaging our efforts before we even get there.

It is finally revealed.  The enemy, the sabotager, the destroyer was OUR OWN WORDS.
 

I awaken just as Don is entering the room again.  I sit up and say "OKAY!"  He says "What?" I said, "I can now get up. Before, I couldn't.  I was unable to leave my dream. I had to know who the sabotager was of our missions."

He had no idea what I was talking about so I began to explain it all to him. Then he asks..."So who was it?"  I said..."Our own words".  And I turned and walked to the kitchen.

Message for today:  Be careful what you let come out of your mouth because it can very well be the sabotager of your plan, the destroyer of your mission.

Scriptures to read:
Proverbs 6:2;   Proverbs 13:3;   Proverbs 18:21;   Proverbs 21:23

Never Speak Defeat Over Your Life!

Connie Schmoll