Are you Settling for Less?

As I am finding my routine again and refocusing my days, I am feeling such promise and open doors coming this year to any who are willing to watch and pray.

We started up our Monday study of Bill Johnsons' "The Supernatural Power of a Transformed Mind" again and I just quickly wanted to share a couple of things from that...

One of the questions in Day 7 was asking where we are to set our minds - referring to Colossians 3:1-4 - and the answer, of course, is to set our minds on things above. Then Pastor Bill went on to ask why do we need to make a conscious effort to focus on eternal reality. I answered 'because we believe what we SEE and we think on what we believe...' When we train our minds to focus on the Bigger Picture - and to tune in to the fact that this world is not our home - and that the spiritual realm is right here, right now, we know that we are not only able to - but CALLED to - tap into it and our minds begin to 'see' and that eventually turns into thinking about Bigger Things, and then into believing God for Bigger Things!

Through the rest of this Day 7 devotion and study time - God began to remind me of the importance of CREATING AN ATMOSPHERE so that my spirit will be in tune and receptive to Him! I know that something as simple as playing worship music softly in my home - whether I am there and listening - or not - can create an atmosphere in which the Lord knows that He is welcome - and that He is expected! So - I have been doing this once more... really on purpose creating a worshipful peaceful place in my home - and it not only benefits me in my relationship with Him - but others, when they enter my home, can feel welcomed and loved! It's a win-win... I encourage you to just try this and see! I can remember back when I had a toddler and my days could be hectic... this is when the Lord first began revealing this practice to me. I would have Christian TV on or put some praise music on and my day would seem so much better! Not only was the atmosphere affected - but my focus leaned more on the Lord as I would hear a portion of the song playing, or hear a bit of teaching as I went about my day! If you do this - step it up... He is desiring to be more active in your life... and if you have never tried it - I encourage you to give it a try! (And don't forget to let me know how it is working for you after a few days!)

When we moved on to Day 8 one of the questions was asking if it is proper for us to respond as Mary did (in reference to saying, 'let it be done to me according to Thy Will'). I love how Luke 1:37 reads in the Amplified Bible... "For with God, nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment." Wow... that is so encouraging, isn't it?! I answered that yes, of course is it proper for us to respond as Mary did when we know it is a Word from God! So often, we receive a word and it SOUNDS good... but we take it in with a casual attitude, like "if it happens, that is great!" But we must learn to take action in our alignment with and agreement for the Word to come to pass! Often the 'action' is simply stirring up our faith to believe for it, but sometimes there is actual steps we must take and things we must contend for in order to see it come to pass! HOWEVER, we are learning that this does not have to be a hard and exhausting thing - it is a KINGDOM thing and we simply wield our Authority and pull Heaven towards earth!

Lastly, Bill Johnson leads us to 1 John 5:14-15 and asks how we are to ask for things... In the NKJV this Scripture reads like this: "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him."

So the answer of course is to ask 'according to His will'! I will be honest here and tell you that I used to think that this was a lazy prayer - a prayer not filled with faith and expectancy - but with room for doubt and uncertainty! Now - for many who pray this way - I am sure that is still true - however, reminding myself and knowing now that praying His will 'as it is in Heaven' is powerful and so much bigger and better and full of faith that I ever imagined has lead to this: having the key phrase 'on earth, as it is in Heaven' stirs up such faith in me and causes me to stop and consider how it really IS in Heaven... and it also causes me to wonder why we settle for so much less?

I don't know about you - but this year, more than any other - I feel that the Lord wants us to have all that we ask of Him... He WANTS to move in power and to see true Kingdom living... He wants us to rise up into our heritage and to begin to ACT like the Royalty that we already are! We must leave behind our pauper mentalities and pick up our Prince and Princess assurances... it is time for us to stand up and act like the Kings' kids... not spoiled and over indulgent - but full of love and life and confidence in not only who we are - but in Whose we are...

Holy Spirit rain down... and cause us to Rise Up - in all we are created to be and do this year!
Press in, Rise Up, and lift your vision higher...
No more settling for less than all of what God has for each of us!
In Jesus' Name,
Amen!

~Karrilee~