“WINNING  OVER YOUR WORRIES” 

His Name is Wonderful, Counselor!   

      “DON'T ALLOW YOUR WORRIES TO BE LOUDER THAN YOUR WORSHIP”

Christmas is more than decorations, hot chocolate, reindeers, silver bells, and Michael Blube & Nat King Cole singing, Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire. When Christ came born of a virgin, He came to be the LIGHT and SAVIOR of this sin dark world. His name shall be called Wonderful,and Counselor in our lives. Life is too short to live without His wonders and counsel in our life. We're not that smart, we need him every step and moment along the path of life.

Isaiah 9;6 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”

The Hebrew name for Wonderful is pala. “Pala” occurs 70 times in the Hebrew Old Testament. The verb  is found for the first time in Genesis 18:13 God asked Abraham, "Why did Sarah Laugh? “Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son. Sarah was 90 and Abram 100 when Isaac was born. Yes, He is Wonderful and Counselor. 

Christians enjoy Winning. No born again person wants to lose! When you become born again, God places this innate desire in you to WIN over the pressures of this world.“For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world, and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” 1 Jn 5;4  

 

2 Chron 20 tells us, King Jehoshaphat learned that he would need God’s Wonders and Counsel when 3 great nations came to war against Judah. How would he survive this attack? How would he stay alive with such mighty forces coming against his people? God showed him when he was outnumbered, you can win in this criss!! How? “He set himself to seek the Lord!” KJV 20:3- He worshiped, which means to bow or bend down before the Lord with fasting, prayer, and made faith declarations of God's wonders. He humbled himself, and listened to what God had to say.

God spoke through the prophet and said, “This battle is not yours, but it belongs to the Lord.”

When they began to sing praises to God, their worship became louder than their worries. The Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab and Mt Seir to turn on one another and killed each other in the battle. The enemy died on the battlefield before Judah who never lifted a sword to fight in the battle. But they lifted their voices to worship their God who is Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God. The next 3 days, Judah stripped off the treasures of the dead enemy in the valley. What a reward! We all choose how we fight our Battles with either Worship to God instead of worrying.

Today choose to Win over your Worries with your Worship to God. Let God fight your battles for you. Maybe it's in your health, your marriage, your kids, your finances, your job, your in-laws, your dreams for the future. Nothing is too difficult for the Lord. Maybe your hope has been stripped by a recent loss. God always has the final say if you will turn your worries into Worship to God. He is Pala, Wonderful, allow him to do wonders in your life today. As you humble yourself right now under the mighty hand of God, He’s no respecter of persons for miracles! 

What he did for King Jehoshaphat, let him do for you as you keep our eyes on the one who desires to do wonders in your days. He is the same yesterday, today and forever! Heb 13:8

Step Out And Let God Step Up!

God was about to get the attention of King Ahab and all of Israel. They had turned their hearts to worship the gods that Ahab’s wife Jezebel had introduced them to. God would get their attention with a famine! Elijah Steps Up and declares a word from God to King Ahab, “It won’t rain again but at my word.” Now what?

God leads Elijah just east of the Jordon River to the Brook of Cherith. Where God leads us is paramount to His plan and will for our lives. Then God commands the ravens each morning and evening to bring him bread and meat. God knows how to take care of His kids in the worst nightmare of our lives. Getting to your Cherith is necessary for many reasons. It was there that Elijah would have Peace, Protection, Provision, and Power to sustain him.

But what do you do when the brook dries up? ! Kings 17:7 When you lose your job, you can't keep the lights on, you can't pay the water bill, you can't get out of bed because your so distraught and discouraged in your quagmire of disappointment? Elijah had obeyed God in the famine in going to Cherith, but now God moves him to a place called Zarephath.

God saw a widow at the point of death but had other plans in mind for her and her son. The prophet was sent to show God's love and mercy and greatness in a famine to this widow and her son. We are all still here to offer HOPE in people’s worst dilemma.

As he arrives he instructs her; "Bake for me a cake first." She responds; "All I have is enough flour and oil for me and my boy, then we're going to die." He says; "Don't be afraid, just do what I say." She followed the words of the prophet and brought to him a meal first; sure enough, the flour nor the oil ran out.

Why do we doubt the word of the Lord? Why do we place more confidence in our own system, in our own knowledge, in our own abilities to make things happen? Had the widow ignored the prophet's words, she and her boy would have died. Many will die with their doubts in God's Word, and choose to do it their own way.

God has drawn out for you. "Give and it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over. With the same measure that you mete it shall be the measured to you again."(Luke 6:38) Had the widow ignored the word of the Lord, she and her boy would have missed abundant blessings God gave.

She listened and obeyed what Elijah had said and there was feasting around the table for her and her boy and the prophet of God. I know it's an oxymoron to give to God and expect to end up with more in the end. The only place in the bible that God says; "Test me if I will not open to you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing." (Malachi 3:8-12) This widow tested the word of God, and He proved himself to her.

Are you willing to Step Out “at His word” and Let God Step up for you? Have you Stepped Out in tithing and watched God open the Heavens? Have you Stepped out in the ministry He’s placed in your heart? God has a Cherith for each of us. It’s the OPEN DOOR that He has cut out for your life. The job, the marriage, the ministry, the business, the dream, the college, the relationship, the friendship, the place you worship and live. Run to Him, He has a Cherith that only He can create. When you Step out at His Word, watch Him Step Up!

Is My Life And Accident Or By Design?

                                                                                          Danny Baggett 5.5.19       cohjax.com

When Jesus was baptized in the Jordon, everything changed. Are you living under the Open Heavens? Do you know why you’re here on the planet? Are you living with His Favor and Blessings or are you walking out a dull, dreary, dismal, boring, empty and miserable life?

On the New York Times, Best Seller’s list is Rick Warren’s book,” The Purpose Driven Life.” Long before Rick wrote his book, God designed you for a Purpose. You are not an accident. Regardless of what your mom or dad may have told you, God knew all about you before you were formed in your mother’s womb. 

When you realize that God had planned you long before you came into this world, it changes the way you view life. It gives you a new perspective in the way you look out the window of life. Many people go through their days with a cloudy perspective. They guess at what they’re supposed to do with their journey. Some cast their life to the wind because they haven’t come to the truth and knowledge that God is the designer of their life. So, is our life an accident or is it by design?

AIR, When you think of the way God created the universe, He placed oxygen in the air so we could breathe. The air is about 21% oxygen; had it been created 50% oxygen, the next time someone lit up a match we would all be toast! Is 21% oxygen by accident or by design?

TEMPERATURE, God created the sun with a temperature of 12,000 degrees Fahrenheit, some 93 million miles away from the earth, just the right distance. If the earth’s temperature were even 50 degrees hotter or colder, all life would cease. Why was the earth not placed twice as far away, or twice as close? Is its distance by accident or by design?

ROTATION, The earth rotates 365 times a year around the sun. Suppose we only rotated 36 times instead. Well, our days and nights would be 10 times as long; we’d be terribly hot on one side and unbearably cold on the other. And life as we know it would begin to disappear. Are the rotation numbers by accident or by design?

When will you hear the knock at the door of your heart? When you say Yes to the master of the universe, the Savior of the World who only came to get you ready for your purpose, plan, and design for why you’re here on the planet?

Realize today that God has created you for a reason. When you dig into the Word of God, you begin to realize that you didn’t choose God but He chose you and ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit. Being “wealthy” isn’t driving fancy cars, living in a condo on the ocean, wearing diamond rings, and having millions of dollars in your bank account. WEALTH is knowing and believing the fact that God created you for a purpose.  

When you live out His purpose, you will begin to experience great peace and joy like nothing the world can give. Are you ready for His plan, His power, His Peace, His Purpose and being Prepared for eternity? Why not stop what you're doing right now and say, “Lord here I am, I surrender, I believe that you died for my sins, and rose again. Yes, I believe that you will forgive me now and raise me up from my dead life so I can get on with your purpose for my life. I say yes today, right now, and from this day forward, I will never be the same, I receive you as my Lord and personal Savior.  

Never, Never, Never, Let The Dream Die!

God spoke to my heart years ago in a difficult season, “Danny, It’s Better to wrestle with your struggle than to wrestle with the regret that you quit.” That one Rehma word kept me pressing in a crazy season that I didn’t relish.

If you have ever had a dream from God, you will realize that “No Dream” from the Lord comes without doubts, discouragement, disappointments, and delays. I call them the Deadly D’s. Look at Abraham waiting on his promise son Isaac. Look at Joseph while waiting for his dream; his brothers nearly killed him throwing him in the pit then sold him as a slave. Then there’s David who killed a bear, a lion, and a giant and then had to journey through a process by King Saul making 21 attempts to kill him. Go through the whole bible and you will see that every God-given dream will face Setbacks. But those who don’t give up will see a Comeback.

Recently the Lord spoke to my heart. “It’s Better to wrestle with “The Dream” than to wrestle with the regret that you gave up on the Dream.” Thomas Edison teacher said he was too stupid to learn anything. He was fired from his first 2 jobs for being non-productive. As an inventor Edison made 1000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. When a reporter asked,” How did it feel to fail 1000 times? Edison replied, “I didn’t fail 1000 times, the light bulb was invented with 1000 steps.

Between your Dream and the Development of the Dream will surely come disappointments. How you process those disappointments will determine your success.

Abraham got impatient with God’s process and hearkens to the voice of his wife Sarah. He realized later in life, that God never did forget the dream that he gave him even at 100 years old; God kept his Promise and gave him his promised son Isaac. Friend EXPECT, doubts, disappointments and delays as part of the process.

Any coffee lover realizes that the coffee bean has to be crushed in order to get its fine flavor. Something good happens when we allow God to squeeze out all our doubts, disappointments and impatience to bring out His Best for our lives. God says, “Count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations; knowing this that the trying of your faith worketh patience, but let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

God is always working behind the scenes, even when we don’t realize it. Stick to the Dream! Never let it die what He gave you, and watch His incredible hands show up and prove himself strong. As Mark Twain once said, “20 years from now you will regret more the things that you didn’t do than the ones you did do.”

                                Dannysdevotional.blogspot.com

Is God’s Creative Thoughts Still At Work?

When God made the heavens and the earth, He flung the stars in the heavens and everything He made in those Six Days He said, “It is good.” With the exception that He said. “It is not good for man to be alone. " That’s when He made Eve from Adam's side to make the man complete. But neither was Adam alone when God used his creativity to name the animals in creation. He wants to use each of us in His divine plan.

God doesn’t want us to do Life without His creativity working through our hands, our feet, our minds, our gifts, and our talents.“ For it is God that worketh in you, both to will and to do His good pleasure.” Phil 2:13

Allow His handiwork to flow through you in raising your kids, building your business, baking some bread to bless a neighbor, managing your finances, building ministries for His name sake, writing a song, writing a book, to change your community and your world.

Allow His creativity to flow through your thoughts like when Tom’s Shoes founder, Blake Mycoskie, witnessed the hardship faced by children growing up without shoes. Wanting to help, he created Tom’s Shoes, a company that would match every pair of shoes purchased with a new pair of shoes for a child in need. One for One.

That is God’s creativity flowing through the hands of one man wanting to meet a need by yielding to God who blessed him with the gifts and talents to make a difference in the world we live in. Tom didn’t build his company overnight, but it started with one creative thought to change the world we live in. Why not get started today by allowing God’s creativity to work through your life.

Is God Working His Plans Behind The Scenes?

King Ahasuerus of Susa, covering 127 provinces from Ethiopia to India was having a mega feast. During this event, Queen Vashti dishonors and disrespected the King. Her actions caused him to get rid of her and begin a search for a new queen.

A young beautiful Jewish girl named Esther was chosen. Her parents were killed during the Babylon invasion and destruction of Jerusalem. Was God working a plan behind the scenes in the selection of Esther? She was also the niece of Mordecai who would play a major roll in Israel’s coming deliverance.

While sitting at the Kings gates, Mordecai overhears a plot to kill King Ahasuerus. God would use this to start a domino effect in saving all of Israel. Mordecai reveals this evil to Esther, which she revealed to the King. Both men were hung in their failed assassination attempt.

Haman, the King's chosen, one-day demises a plan to kill all of the Jews in 127 provinces. Mordecai catches wind of his actions and goes to Esther. While men are bowing down to Haman, Mordecai refuses to bow, and in Haman’s anger, he builds gallows to have him hung.

Mordecai says to Esther, “Who knoweth if you have been brought to the kingdom for such a time as this.” She finds favor in the eyes of the King and he invites her in to hear her request. There, she invites the King and Haman to a special dinner designed for both of them.

The night before the dinner, the king couldn’t sleep, so as he was reading the chronicles, He reads where Mordecai saved his life, He asks, “Was anything done to reward Mordecai for his actions? “Nothing.” He invites Haman in and asks, “What should a King do to honor someone whom he delights?” Haman says, "Put him on the King's horse and in the royal apparel, and parade him down the streets." The King said, “Put it into motion for Mordecai.” Can you imagine the look on Haman’s face?

In Gods timing, Esther has her dinner for the King and Haman. There she reveals how there is a plan to destroy all her Jewish people in 127 provinces. The king said, “Esther, tell me who has devised such a plan?” Haman is the man and has also built gallows to kill Mordecai.

That night Haman was hung on the gallows he built for Mordecai. The king reversed the wicked plans of Haman and all of Israel is saved. God is always working behind the scenes even when we don’t realize it. He’s also working behind the scenes for you. “Right Now.”

Little Is Much When It’s In God’s Hands

From (2 Kings 4:1-7) A widow woman from the sons of the prophets came to Elisha and said, “My husband is dead, and the creditor has come to take my two sons to become his slaves. What am I going to do now?” Elisha asks, what do you have left in your house? She said, “I have nothing left but a jar of oil.” Elisha said, "Go borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not a few.”

The widow obeyed the word of the Lord and borrowed the vessels she could find. As she began to pour out the little oil she had into the empty vessels, she filled up the empty vessels until she poured into the last vessel and then the oil stopped. Then she took the vessels of oil and paid her debts and her two sons and she lived off the rest.

The enemy wants you to focus on the nothing you have instead of what you do have. Elisha saw the miracle in the little she did have. You and I “have to do our part” if God is going to do His part. Most of us have come to a place when we didn’t know what our next move was in our desperate situation.

How will we get the money to pay the mortgage, to pay the car payment, to buy our next meal? Where will we find the resources, the people, the talent, the staff, the workers, and the people to move forward with the vision? Look to God and not a man. Little is much when it’s in God’s hands. 

Pray this prayer TODAY, Lord, I looked to YOU and I surrender my thoughts, my ways, my spirit, my heart, soul, mind, and strength into your will and plans. I am not my own, I have been bought with a price and will glorify you with what I have left.

I give you my time, my resources, my all in all to see you multiply what I can’t do on my own. I commit everything to you in doing my part with my faith and confidence, believing that you will do your part.

Let God Show-Off For You (4)

Three Hebrew God-fearing men in Daniel 3 would not bow down to the pressures of King Neb that said, “You either bow or burn in my furnace.” Life can get interesting to say the least. Can you remember a time that you were in your own pressure cooker at work; your college life, a major setback, an Irma, where you almost drown in your pain?

Whoever said that we were exempt from pain and problems? These men told King Neb, you can turn up the fire all you want, but we will not bow down to your god. So the King turned up the heat seven times hotter.

To give you some points of reference, one can feel a burning feeling on their skin at 111 and will receive a first degree burn at 118 °F, second degree burn at 131 °F.  At 140 °F, the pain receptors overload and become numb.  At 162 °F, human tissue is destroyed on contact.  And, for an extreme point of reference, bodies are cremated between 1400 – 1800.  We see that the fire immediately killed the men who took  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to the door of the fire.  Because of the properties of fires below, we know that the fire was at least 1,000 °. Can you even imagine the heat from this fire?  I would bet you could feel the heat hundreds of feet away from the door. 

Are you feeling the heat in your situation? Notice their faith and determination of regardless if He delivers us or not, we still won’t bow.

Yes, The Lord did show up in the fiery furnace and not one hair was singed from their head, not even the smell of smoke on their clothes, they were determined, they were not going to wimp out. These men walked in the fire but did not walk away from their faith.

Friend, If you never faced a problem, how are you going to know just how GREAT your God is? Let God show-off for you in your dilemma, in your heated difficulty, in your darkness, in your despair, or your depression. This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. Allow God to Glow and Show-off for you and through you today.

Let God Show-Off for You (3)

In my devotion today I read, “Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen.” Ps 77:19 Have you ever questioned your GPS navigation along the way? I have, and I’ve also questioned the Lord in why this way?

Why would God lead Israel out of Egypt toward the way and the path of the Red Sea? Can you image the grumbling going on among Israel? Some must have been saying, “Why is Moses taking us in this direction? Doesn’t he realize that there’s no bridge to get us across the great waters of the Red Sea? What kind of leader is Moses anyway?

Is God leading you today right toward your own Red Sea? The reason we have THE WORD is to meditate on the great stories of Gods incredible power. That’s what builds our faith when we face our own situations. God enjoys “Showing-off” His mighty wonderful power in the midst of your impossible situations.

 YES, King Pharaoh determined Israel was trapped in the wilderness, and Israel’s God had made a huge miscalculation. Did God miss it this time? Was Gods GPS off, and was He wrong this time? That was the chatter among the Israelites.

“NO,” God is always on point, He’s always one, two, three steps ahead of the enemy. God knew exactly what He was doing. This was a divine set-up to destroy Israel’s enemy. With God’s nostrils, He blew a hole through the Red Sea and some commentators believe, five miles wide to get 2 to 3 million people across the great waters on DRY ground.

Don’t tell me God won’t show –off his power to show you “He’s Greater” than any force mounted against you. In the end, Israel’s enemy drowns in the Red Sea and Israel is on the other side dancing in a victory that there is “No other” like their Jehovah God. Trust Him, friend, “He is the way, the truth, and the life.” Even when you question what’s next?

Let God “Show-off” for YOU (2)

David learned early in life, battles and struggles are part of life. FOCUS on the Prize and not the pain or the problems. A wide receiver once said, “I know when I catch the football, there is going to be some pain, but I need to catch the ball because there’s going to be pain whether I catch it or drop it.”

David was in what seemed an impossible battle in fighting the giant Goliath. What GIANT are you up against today? You may be saying, “How am I going to pay my taxes or raise my teenager whose in rebellion, or my spouse has walked out on our relationship, or I was just laid off from my job, or the doctor just gave me a bad report.”

David would face pain in dealing with Goliath. Yes, he won the battle but His brothers thought he had no business in facing a giant. King Saul became so jealous when he defeated Goliath and started a plan to kill David from that day forward, Pain, Problems, “YES.”

Let God Show-off for you today, He never said this life would be all smooth sailing, but He did say, “In this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world.” He’s got a Plan and a Prize. Go ahead, get your hands on the ball because there will be some pain regardless. But in the end, you’ll cross the Winning line because He’s calling the plays and fighting for you every step of the way.

Let God “Show-off” for YOU (1)

Gideon was in a difficult place when Israel was under attack from the Midianites. Gideon only had 32,000 soldiers, when the enemy had 135,000. God says to Gideon, “You have too many with you.” What could God have been thinking? He knew that when Israel won the battle, they would say, “Look what our hands have done.” Pride my friend is a dangerous sin that destroys men.

When God trimmed down Gideon’s army, he went from 32,000 men to 300 men. God says, “Now you're ready for the battle.” If you do the math, that’s 400 to 1. What do you do when the odds are against you? Let God show His hand, His might, His power, His anointing.

What are you up against today? Does it look as if you’re going under? Does it appear that you're going to lose this battle with your health, your job, your finances, your marriage, your kids, your home, your dream, your future? God specializes in taking the underdog and causing them to rise higher than the odds against them.

Think about David fighting a giant Goliath, Three Hebrew men against King Nebuchadnezzar's fiery furnace, Elisha surrounded by the Syrian Army, Our Lord Jesus and the Roman soldiers who placed Him on the cross. Add up all the moments that Gods sons and daughters were out-numbered and HE always steps in and SHOWS-OFF His mighty power.

Jesus gave His life so we might WIN regardless of the odds against us. Let him fight for you today. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. If God be for us who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)Israel won the battle because God is for His kids. Let Him, show-off, His power and might for you today.

Gideon's Divine Encounter

Will God answer with Signs for your “Next Step” in life? As a child of God, one of the sweetest words you’ll ever hear from the Lord is, “I am with you.” In Judges 6, in the midst of Israel’s disobedience, God turns them over to the Midianites.

But God tells Gideon in Judges 6:12 “I am with you.” He calls Gideon to lead Israel back from their waywardness of Baal into a dimension of the “Only One True God.” Israel’s heart had grown cold and was under the oppression of the Midianites for seven long years.

In the midst of chaos and confusion, God shows Gideon in his own time of worship to offer his father’s bull as a burnt offering, and tear down the god of Baal and build an altar to God. After confirmation from the Lord, Gideon takes ten men with him in the night and tears down Baal and builds an altar to God.

Again and again, God confirms to him, “I am with you.” Gideon would be used by God to see Israel delivered from the hand of the enemy.

There is nothing wrong in asking God to confirm to you, your Next Step. Is He working for you and with you doing His Will and Plan? Mark Batterson says, “Prayer is the difference between you fighting for God and God fighting for you.” Don’t underestimate your time of worship with Him, He is there and will direct and lead you in your Next Step in life.