Are you waiting? The door is slowly opening… Do you see the faint sliver of light? Do you feel that quiver of expectation and hope stirring in your spirit? Praise Him in the waiting…praise Him in the doing…praise Him in the resting! PRAISE HIM BELOVED!! HE IS OUR GOD AND HE IS WORTHY!!!!!
Are we talking too much about all the wrong things going on in our lives or in the lives of others? There comes a time when just talking about and lamenting our current circumstances needs to end.
It’s time to start DECLARING and DECREEING God’s will in our circumstances and in the circumstances that others are facing and in our world!!
“The tongue has the power of life and death…”. Proverbs 18:21 NIV
The Lord is calling us to SPEAK LIFE! SPEAK LIFE! SPEAK LIFE!
“for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” Matthew 10:20 NIV
“The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life…”. Proverbs 10:11 NIV
Help us, Lord, to speak forth Your heart, Your love, Your will!! May Your life-giving words flow forth in power and accomplish what You desire!! In Jesus’ Name! AMEN!
“We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,”. (2 Corinthians 10:5 )
I want to be transparent with you about my weak moments. I know this scripture in 2 Corinthians and have even taught it. But, just because we know God’s truth does not mean it is easy to walk it out in our lives.
I have to admit that the isolation and social distancing during COVID-19 has been hard for me. There are some days that I wake up and I can feel the heavy blanket of depression trying to take over my thoughts. And that is not a good place to be! Not only does it affect me but it affects those closest to me.
Brothers and Sisters! We all have times when we may feel despair, doubt, fear, frustration, anger, and hopelessness. But, we need to make sure that we have the right response when and if it happens.
We are told in God’s word that we are to TAKE EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE to the obedience of Jesus! We are to DESTROY speculations and every lofty thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God.
In other words, are our thoughts in alignment with our knowledge of who God is and in alignment with who God says we are?
We don’t have to act upon every thought! We don’t have to allow our thoughts to dictate how we feel about ourselves or others. We don’t have to allow our thoughts to be the “rudder” of our lives!
WE are in control of what thoughts we allow to take hold in our lives! If the thoughts we are having are causing us to fear, to hate, to be judgmental, or to feel depressed and unworthy —then we are to TAKE AUTHORITY over our thoughts and replace them with GOD’S TRUTH!!
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
LORD, thank You for being the Giver of Truth! Thank You for empowering us through Your Holy Spirit to control our thoughts and to not be ruled by them. We bring our thoughts into obedience to YOU!! Thank You, Jesus, for being the way, and the truth, and the life! It is in Your Name that we pray. AMEN!!
~Tina K. Roach
“This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.” 1 John 5:14-15 NASB
Prayer works! Prayer makes a difference! May we never take it for granted, but may we see it for what it is. Prayer is our communication with Almighty God AND it is His communication with us.
We should always be praying with an open heart and a listening ear as we position ourselves to hear from our Lord and pray HIS will and desire for every situation. Praying HIS will and not our own is what will result in answered prayer.
As a follow-up to prayer, we may be called to declare and decree God’s Word out loud over a situation or over a place. We are God’s voice on the earth!! He uses us to PRAY His will, to SPEAK His will, and to DO His will!! HALLELUJAH!!
Father God, what a blessing to be able to join You in holy conversation! What a joy to be in Your presence and hear Your voice! Oh Lord! Help us to speak Your will boldly and with the authority You have given us!! May Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven! In Jesus’ Name! AMEN!! ~~Tina K. Roach
I hear the Lord saying:
“I am looking for people who will put aside everything and follow Me. I am looking for people who will wholeheartedly seek after Me. I am looking for people who are willing to lay aside their plans for their lives and seek My plans. I am looking for people who will lay aside their insecurities and step out in faith into their calling and purpose.”
Are you one of those people?
“Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.” (John 12:26 NIV)
Lord, we know that Your plan for our lives is better than our own. Help us to let go of what WE think is best and step out in faith and follow You and Your will. We desire Your spiritual gifts to be manifested in and through us for Your glory! We desire to walk in Your calling! We put aside those things that would hold us back from being all that You are calling us to be! We love You, Lord!
Following after Him, Tina Roach
I don’t know if you are like me – but there are times looking back when I realize that I missed an opportunity to do a kind act. I might have thought, “It would be nice if I …” but, then somehow the moment passed and I didn’t follow through. Can anyone relate?
I have found that if I allow time to pass between the thought and follow through – there’s a good chance it won’t happen.
So! I am challenging myself and you to be quick in doing that kindness, in speaking an encouraging word, and in giving a helping hand.
“…do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”
Hebrews 13:16 NIV
“As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good.”
2 Thessalonians 3:13 ESV
Your Sister in the Journey, Tina K. Roach
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV
As time goes on, I observe my hair turning gray and wrinkles appearing deeper and more pronounced. My eyesight has dimmed and my body has changed. Yes, outwardly there is a “wasting away.” Time does indeed affect our physical bodies.
BUT, we are told to not “lose heart” – to not get discouraged. Even as our physical bodies may let us down, our spirit is not getting weaker, it is getting stronger as we are being renewed day by day! Hallelujah!!
As we go through challenges and troubles, the Lord reminds us that in and through them we are receiving an eternal glory that outweighs them all!
So, I won’t focus on the changes of getting older. I won’t focus on COVID-19. I won’t focus on all the turmoil that is raging around us. I will remind myself that all that I see is temporary.
Brothers & Sisters! May we not focus on the problems, but focus on the SOLUTIONS. When we pray, may we not bring a list of everything that is wrong to the Lord, but may we seek His vision, plan, and purpose and join Him in praying that!! God knows what we need in our lives. God knows what we need in the world. As we seek Him, and move our focus from the seen to that which is unseen – we will be focusing on the eternal!!
Oh God!! We join You in speaking Your will, plan, and vision for our lives, our church, and our world. Help us, Lord, to get our eyes off of the problems and onto YOU! We join You in the midst of it all! We want to be a part of the solution that You want to bring to a hurting world. Speak to us, Lord! We are ready to be Your hands, feet, and mouth. Pour through us and touch this world for Your glory! In Jesus’ Name. Amen! ~Tina K. Roach
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 NASB
God loves us so much! We have all had to journey through some very challenging times during this COVID-19 pandemic.
It is such a blessing to know that not only has God been with us 24/7 during it all, but He actually is using it to transform and mold us into a stronger and more effective vessel for His presence in the world. I do not believe God caused this pandemic, but He is using it for our spiritual growth.
I believe that as we transition back into our communities, we will definitely not be the same!
What is a POSITIVE change that has happened in your life, family, job, community, church, etc. because of this pandemic season of time?
~Tina K. Roach
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.” Psalms 19:14 NASB
I have been thinking alot about my words lately. I have to admit that with everything that has been going on during the last 3 ½ months, sometimes my words may not be acceptable to the LORD. I have allowed words of negativity and complaining to flow from my mouth. Forgive me, LORD!
As I look at the meditation of my heart, I see the same problem. My words are connected to what I am thinking – to what is in my heart. God’s Word tells us that out of the heart the mouth speaks.
What words do we find ourselves speaking to others and even to ourselves? Are they words of life…words of encouragement? Or are they words of discouragement and discontent? What do we meditate on during the day? What do we allow our thoughts to dwell on?
LORD, may Your Holy Spirit help us to filter our words and our thoughts. May we lift up and encourage all who we come into contact with. May we take every thought captive and bring our thoughts into alignment with You and Your life-giving truth. May we be vessels of reconciliation and peace. In Jesus’ mighty name we pray. AMEN!
~Tina K. Roach
Reflection of Glory! 